Chapter Twenty-Eight: Mama VS. Miranda:

I heard the following story second-hand from Mama, Doris, and Henry. It may be hard to believe, but I do. (It’s not because of her drinking either.) Here’s what happened.

Grandma was out at the time. I think she and Ms. Doris were out shopping at the time. We didn’t know what Henry was doing at the time. I went to therapy myself. Mama was back at the house alone. She had been in bed when this happened.

It started with the knocks. Loud pounds against the wall. Loud enough to shake the walls of her room. Loud enough to wake her up. Mama pulled the sheets over her head, mumbling to herself. The knocking didn’t stop.

Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud!

“Go away!” she yelled. Mama turned over in bed. But then something or someone grabbed her by the left ankle and yanked her out of bed.

“Ow!” she screamed, hitting the floor. Mama lifted her head, glaring. “What the hell?!” Something grabbed her by her ankle and dropped her towards the door. She grabbed onto the door frame.

“Let me go!” Mama yelled. “Get off me!” She tried to kick off her assailant with all of her might. Nails dug deeper into her ankle.

“Let go!” Mama yelled. She grabbed the nearest thing that she could on the floor. Mama picked up her shoe and tossed it at the thin air. The pressure let go with a yelp. She sat up smirking.

“Take that, you stupid piece of shit!” Mama yelled. She used her bed to pull herself to standing. Her ankle ached from where she was grabbed. Mama sucked in a mouthful of air.

“Ouch,” she whispered. She needed to get her ankle treated as she as possible. Mama would have to go down to the kitchen and get a bag of ice. She winced at the thought of going down the stairs.

“Damn it,” she whispered to herself. Mama took a breath before she limped to the door. She mumbled to herself in pain. She gritted her teeth the whole time. When Mama made it to the stairs, she felt a pair of hands on her lower back pushing her down.

“Whoa!” she yelled as she fell down the stairs. Crash! Mama fell tumbling down the stairs. As she fell, she could hear the laughter of a little girl. Mama landed on her back at the bottom of the stairs.

“Ow!” she howled. Giggling filled the air again. She opened her eyes and looked up Mama saw a girl with short red hair wearing bright green overalls looking down at her. She climbed that this girl was smirking at her.

“Now do you believe I am real?” she asked. The girl disappeared, laughing.

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By the time we got home, we found Mama lying at the bottom of the stairs whimpering in pain.

“Patsy!” Grandma yelled. “What on earth? What happened to you?!” She ran over and looked at Mama. She noticed what looked like a bright red handprint on her left ankle. Mama wouldn’t tell what happened. She kept howling one thing.

“That little demon did this to me!” she yelled. “That little demon did this to me! That little demon did this me!” My stomach dropped as I knew who she was talking. This wouldn’t be the last time Miranda terrorized everyone I knew.