Lost Souls: Finding Solace

Alissia had certainly left scars scattered all around the house. There was a deep sense of hurt and pain that every member of the family would carry – permanent scars. It was difficult to tell who was hit the hardest. On the night of Alissia’s murder, Rachel had sat on the top step of the house, frozen by the cold-blooded carnage which had ensued. Their last conversation moments before had been brutal, and it dawned on Rachel that she had forever lost her sister, the only sister she would ever have. Rachel had never felt a true sense of responsibility within the household. She had taken advantage of her status as the baby of the family and had used this form of power to control those around her, or so she thought.
At the time, Rachel hadn’t realised that she was nothing more than yet another pawn in her father’s sordid game. That night, Rachel had gone into a trance. The screams had got slighter and had fast turned into distant echoes. Rachel had remained alone, full of remorse and terror, powerless to end her sister’s lethal punishment. Rachel had desperately averted her gaze, as she witnessed her sister’s lifeless corpse transported away. She didn’t catch a glimpse of the disfigured face and broken and slaughtered corpse which were passing her for the very last time.

Every day, Rachel would wake up and for just an instant, she would forget. She would forget her last deathly encounter with her sister. She would forget the night of Alissia’s ceremony. She would certainly forget the defining moment of betrayal, the moment that saw her handing over her sister’s phone to her father, the same father that she was now estranged from.

How naive Rachel had been to think that her actions were in any way honourable. Rachel had been complicit in her sister’s murder, however much she tried to persuade herself otherwise. Rachel would wake up each morning and within seconds, she would flash back to the moment her sister had walked away from her for the last time. The haunting image of her sister’s last breath taunted Rachel still now. Rachel belonged to a broken family, though the feeling of belonging had disappeared the night of her sister’s honour killing.