Short Story / Lest It Come True (Analysis)
“Bill, go get your sister. Dinner is ready!” the mother shouted from the kitchen.
“It’s William, Mother,” the boy harshly replied from the living room.
“Just go get your sister.”
“Fine.” William droned and rose up from the couch. He stomped up the stairs in anger, trying to send a message to his parents downstairs.
“Be nice to her,” the father ordered, standing at the bottom of the steps after hearing his son’s heavy feet.
William ignored him and swung open the pink door that was at the end of the hallway. A little girl sat on the floor, a Barbie doll in each hand. She looked up when she heard her door open.
“Mom said it was time for dinner,” her brother snarled.
“Okay, Will.”
“God, can’t anyone get it through their thick skulls that it’s William?!” William screamed before slamming his sister’s door shut.
A second later, the door opened again. The little girl smiled when she saw her father grinning down at her.
“Pay no attention to him, dumplin’.” he told her.
She nodded.
“It’s time for dinner.”
The little girl stood up and followed her father out of the pink bedroom.
“So Annie, what did you do today?” the father asked, watching his daughter carefully go down the stairs one foot at a time.
“Played.” Annie answered, looking down at her feet.
“By yourself?”
“Yep.”
“Did you have fun?”
Annie stepped off the bottom stair, “Yep!”
The father picked up his daughter and smiled as he walked into the kitchen. William was already seated at the table.
“Hello Mummy.” Annie sang as her father put her down next to her brother.
The mother turned around from the stove and smiled.
“How are you?” Annie continued.
“I’m fine. How are you?”
“Sames.”
“It’s ‘same’.” William corrected.
“Pardon?” the mother asked.
“She said ‘sames’ which is wrong. It’s ‘same’. She should learn how to speak properly.”
“Sorry.” Annie sighed and put her head down.
The father sat down on the other side of Annie and put his hand under her chin. He lifted her head and smiled. Annie giggled when he stuck his tongue out. William rolled his eyes. The mother placed a bright green plastic plate in front of Annie. Annie picked up her matching fork and started pushing around the slightly cooked vegetables that were carefully laid out before her.
“This is gross,” she whined.
“Eat it anyways, please.” the father said.
Annie put her fork down, “But I don’t wanna.”
“Want to.” William mumbled under his breath.
The mother placed a plate in front of her son and gave him a hard look. William put his bare fork in his mouth, bit down and then pulled it out; grinding metal against enamel. The most awful noise came from his mouth.
“Mom, make him stop!” Annie cried.
“Mom, make him stop.” William mocked.
“Bob, control your son.” the mother said, putting more dishes on the table.
“William, stop it now!” the father shouted.
William put his head down and grunted, “Sure, take her side again.”
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing.”
“No. If you have something to say, say it.”
William brought his head up. “I said that you take her side again. You always take her side.”
“That’s not true.”
“Yes it is. She never gets in trouble-”
“That’s because she doesn’t do anything wrong.”
“Exactly! She’s your little princess and I’m…I’m just a pain in the ass!”
The father stood up from the table, showing his full six-foot tall stature. “That’s enough. Go to your room now, William!”
“Fine.” William got up from the table and walked out of the kitchen.
The mother sat down beside her husband and sighed loudly.
The father looked over at Annie, “Eat, honey.”
Annie shook her head, “I’m not hungry anymore.”
“Are you sure? You have to eat something though.”
“No. I’m fine.”
“Are you just saving room for ice cream?”
“No. I don’t want ice cream either.”
The mother looked over at Annie, now concerned. Not wanting dessert wasn’t like her daughter at all.
“Can I go back to my room?” Annie asked.
The father reluctantly nodded.
Annie slid off of her chair and ran out of the room. The mother and father just looked at each other in silence, sadness washing over them.
Annie sat back down on her floor and picked up her Barbie that had long brown hair. She looked at her own hair and then back at the doll.
“Same, same.”
The father opened Annie’s door again and stepped inside the room. He sat down on the floor in front of his daughter who seemed to be hiding something. Annie looked up at her father.
“Hi,” she said, holding her doll’s hair back.
“Hi.”
“Aren’t you having dinner with Mummy?”
“Not when I know that someone who is upset is sitting upstairs all alone in her room.”
“Mummy is going to be lonely though.”
“She’s fine, sweetheart. Are you lonely?”
“Nope.”
“Are you hungry? Now be honest.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Is Bill bothering you?”
“It’s William.”
“Whatever. Is he bothering you?”
“Not really.”
“But he is bothering you.”
Annie gave a shrug. “Not anymore than he always has.”
“Well, I’ll talk with him tonight.”
“Okay. Are you and Mummy still going out tomorrow night?”
“Yes.”
“Is William going to baby-sit?”
“That depends on if your brother changes his attitude or not. Do you feel safe when he watches you?”
Annie nodded, “Yes.”
“Good. Well, I’m going to back downstairs to talk with your mother for a while. Are you going to play up here for awhile?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. Have fun.”
“I will.”
The father smiled and went out of the room. Annie went back to playing with her Barbie dolls.
Annie spent all evening in her room, playing alone. Her mother and father came upstairs after the clock struck eight o’clock. It was time for bed.
The mother knocked on the door before she opened it. Annie was already in her pajamas and was just putting her dolls back in her toy box.
“It’s time for bed, pumpkin,” the father said.
“I know.”
“Jump in bed than.”
Annie closed her toy box and then made a running leap for her small pink bed.
“So you want me to read a story to you?” the mother asked, tucking the blankets around her daughter.
Annie shook her head.
“Do you want Daddy to read a story to you?”
Annie shook her head again.
“But we always read a story to you.”
“I don’t want one tonight. I just want to sleep.”
“Alright. Kiss?”
Annie kissed her mother’s cheek and then smiled. The mother moved aside, letting Annie’s father bend down and give her a kiss goodnight.
“Goodnight, sweetie. We love you,” he said.
“Love you too.”
The proud parents went out of the bedroom, making sure to leave the door open a crack. Annie pulled her teddy bear and squeezed it tightly. She fell asleep with tears in her eyes.
The next day, Annie woke up and groggily headed downstairs with her teddy bear in hand. Her father was sitting on the couch, watching the afternoon news. She poked his leg, trying to get his attention. He patted his knee. Annie crawled on the couch and then sat down on his lap.
“You slept a long time. Were you having a good dream?” her father asked.
“No. I was just tired.”
“Ah.”
“Where’s William?”
“He went to one of his friend’s houses.”
“Which friend?”
“I think he went to Andrew’s.”
“Oh.”
“He’ll be back later so he can watch you while your mom and I are out tonight.”
” ‘kay”
“Do you want lunch?”
“Cookies?”
“What about cookies?”
“Can I have them for lunch?”
“No you may not.”
“Please?”
Annie’s father stood up with her in his arms and marched into the kitchen where his wife was sitting at the table.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” the mother said to Annie as she was put down in a chair.
“Hello, Mummy.”
“Did you have a good sleep?”
“Yep.”
“Good. Are you hungry?”
“No”
The father walked over to the counter and grabbed the bread out of the breadbasket. “I’m making her something.”
“Okay.”
Annie swung her feet as she waited for her father to finish making her a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
“Don’t forget to cut the crusts off,” she reminded him.
Annie’s father smiled and put the plate with the sandwich on it, on the table in front of her. Also on the plate was one chocolate chip cookie. Annie picked up the cookie right away.
“Annie, eat your sandwich first.” the mother ordered.
Annie inched the cookie towards her mouth.
“Young lady, don’t eat that cookie…”
Annie touched the cookie to her lips.
“Don’t. I mean it…”
Annie chuckled and took a bite of the cookie.
William came home around four o’clock that evening, just as his mother and father were getting changed. They were to go to a formal dinner party that one of their close friends was holding.
“Now start dinner in about an hour.” the father instructed William in the living room as he fixed his bowtie.
“Yeah, yeah.” William droned.
“No friends over. I mean it.”
“I know.”
“Annie is in her bedroom, playing. Please be nice to her tonight.”
“I will be.”
Annie came down the stairs, holding her mother’s hand. The father smiled at his wife that was clad in a black dress that fell to her knees.
“You look amazing,” he told her as she dropped Annie’s hand to take his arm.
“Thank you.”
The mother and father looked at their children.
“We’ll be back around midnight. Annie, you are to be in bed by eight okay?”
Annie nodded.
The father opened the front door.
“Have fun, sweeties.” the mother said before walking outside with him.
After the door shut, William sat down on the couch and picked up the cordless phone that was on the side table.
“What are you doing?” Annie asked.
“None of your business.”
Annie sat down next to her brother and smiled at him. He raised an eyebrow at her and shuffled over slightly. Annie sighed when he began to talk to his friend. He stopped talking after a minute, put his hand over the mouthpiece of the phone and hissed, “Go upstairs, you little germ.”
Annie stood up from the couch and ran upstairs, back to her bedroom. She laid down on her bed and hugged her teddy bear tightly.
Five o’clock came and went. Annie’s stomach grumbled as she went downstairs to see if her brother had made anything for dinner. When she walked into the living room, she was surprised to see William sitting with two of his friends: Andrew and Jeremy. Jeremy was a quiet boy whereas Andrew was exactly like William, a trickster and boaster.
Jeremy smiled when he saw Annie walk into the room. “Hello Annie.”
“Hey Jeremy.”
“Annie, what do you want?” William snapped.
Annie stepped closer to Jeremy, trying to distance herself from her brother.
“Did you make dinner yet?” she asked.
“I’m not making dinner.”
“But Mom said that you were going to.”
“Well Mom’s wrong.”
“I’m hungry though.”
“Go deal with it than.”
Annie gave William a sad look and then walked out of living room, into the kitchen.
Jeremy scowled at William. “You’re so mean to her.”
“Because she’s a brat.”
“No she’s not. She’s an angel.”
“Exactly.”
Suddenly the sound of crying came from the kitchen. William didn’t move from the couch. Neither did Andrew. Jeremy leapt up from the chair he was sitting in and ran into the kitchen. Annie was on the floor, rubbing her eyes and gasping for air in-between tears. Jeremy picked her up and began to rub her back gently.
“What happened, Annie?” he asked.
“I tried to deal with it like William said to.” Annie sobbed.
“Did you try to climb onto the counter?”
“Yes.”
“You should have asked me to help you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. Do you want me to make you something for dinner?”
Annie sniffled and shook her head, “No thanks. I think I’m just going to go back upstairs.”
“Okay,” Jeremy placed Annie back down on the ground. “Are you sure you don’t want me to make you something to snack on?”
“I’m sure.” Annie ran out of the kitchen, walked through the living room and headed back upstairs. She stopped at the top of the stairs though once she heard Jeremy begin to ask her brother questions.
“Why are you so mean to her?” he asked.
“Because I hate her.” William mumbled.
“You don’t hate her. She’s your sister.”
“I do hate her. Everything was fine before she came along. Before she was born, my parents paid attention to me but then she was born and I got pushed aside. I wish she would just disappear.”
“Don’t say that!”
“Why not? You asked why I was so mean to her and I’m telling you. I’m mean to her because I wish she would disappear.”
Annie wiped her cheeks dry and ran into her bedroom. She grabbed her backpack and jammed her teddy bear into it.
When the boys went into the kitchen to make themselves a late-night snack around eight, Annie made her move. She crept out of her room and tiptoed down the stairs. After slipping on her shoes, she opened the front door and ran outside. She wasn’t sure where she was going. All she knew was that William wanted her to disappear and that’s what she was going to do.
In the kitchen, Jeremy was looking at the clock.
“You should go put Annie to bed, William.”
William looked over at Jeremy and then up at the clock. He nodded and then walked out of the kitchen. Jeremy and Andrew followed.
William stomped up the stairs and then swung open Annie’s bedroom door. The room was empty, to his surprise.
“Annie?” Jeremy called out.
William walked up to Annie’s bed and pushed around the blankets after noticing that her teddy bear wasn’t where it was supposed to be.
“Her teddy bear isn’t here,” he cried, now in a panic. “It’s always here.”
“I’ll go look around the house.” Jeremy ran out of the room.
“She might be outside.” Andrew said.
William shook his head, “She wouldn’t be outside. She doesn’t like the dark.”
“Annie!” Jeremy screamed from downstairs, running through the house.
William grabbed Andrew and ran out of the bedroom. The two ran down the stairs.
“She’s not here.” Jeremy panted, running into the living room. “I think she ran away.”
“She wouldn’t run away.” William replied.
“She would have if she heard you say that you wanted her to disappear.”
“She didn’t hear me though.”
“She could have. We should call your parents.”
“No!”
“William, your sister is missing. We know you hate her and all, but she’s just a kid-”
“I don’t hate her!”
“Call your parents than so they can help us look for her.”
William shook his head and jogged over to the door. He stepped into his shoes and opened the door.
“Where are you going?” Andrew asked.
William ran out into the night. Jeremy and Andrew looked at each other before running after him.
“William!” Jeremy shouted, running after his friend who was already at the street corner. William turned around to Jeremy and started crying.
“This is all my fault,” he wept. “I made her run away and now I can’t find her.”
“We’ll find her. I promise you that we’ll find her. Now think. Where could she be?”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do. Where is her favorite place to go? Where’s one place that she gets super excited about when your parents mention that they’re going to take her there?”
William thought for a second and then began to run again. Jeremy looked back at Andrew, who was still walking down the street.
“Hurry up!” he shouted before going after William again.
“Where are you going?” Jeremy asked William, trying to keep up with him.
“The playground. She loves it there. She could spend hours in the sandbox if my parents would let her.”
William turned the corner and ran into the park. He ran over to the playground.
“Annie!” Jeremy shouted, running in the opposite direction William was going in.
“Annie!” William screamed, going over to the slide.
A faint moan came from the sandbox. William gasped when he saw curled up body nestled in the cold sand. He ran over to the sandbox and jumped in it.
“Annie…Annie, please wake up. Please?” William begged, shaking Annie’s shoulder.
She cracked her eyes open and said, “Go away.”
“Are you okay?”
“Why do you care?”
“You’re my sister. I love you.”
“No you don’t. You said that you wanted me to disappear.”
William picked up his sister and cradled her in his lap. “I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry.”
“You’re always so mean to me.”
“I’m sorry, Annie. I really am. It’s just been hard for me to get used to having someone else in the family.”
“Well I’m sorry for being born.”
William brushed the sand off of Annie’s cheek, “Don’t be sorry. It’s my fault. I was just so used to having Mom and Dad to myself that when you came along, I freaked out because I couldn’t have them all to myself anymore.”
“Can’t we share them?”
“I guess we can.”
“You guess?”
William chuckled, “I’m kidding. Of course we can share them. We have to. We’re brother and sister.”
Annie smiled widely.
“So, do you want to go home?”
“Yes.”
William stood up with his sister still in his arms and then grabbed her backpack that had her teddy bear in it.
“We can’t tell Mom and Dad about this.” Annie said as William, who was being led by Jeremy and Andrew, carried her out of the park.
“Why not?” William asked.
“Because you’ll get into trouble.”
“So? I deserve to get into trouble.”
“No you don’t. It was my fault. I ran away. You can tell on me, if you want.”
“I won’t tell on you, Annie.”
“Okay.” Annie yawned and put her head on William’s shoulder.
William leaned his head against hers as she closed her eyes.
When the three guys walked back into the house, William went straight for the stairs. He stepped lightly up the stairs and into Annie’s room. Annie let out a whimper as she was placed in her bed.
“Sh…It’s ok. It’s bedtime.” William whispered as he wrapped her blankets around her tightly.
Annie drifted back off to sleep. William looked at his sister for a moment before he laid down beside her. Annie snuggled up to her brother and threw her arms around him. William smiled as he closed his eyes.
The mother and father arrived at home around midnight, just like they said. They were shocked to see Jeremy and Andrew passed out in the living room. When they saw this, they went up to William’s room, but he wasn’t there. Now in a panic, they quickly went to Annie’s room. A heavy sigh of relief came from the mother. The father ran his finger down his son’s cheek, making him bat his eyes open.
“Hey.” William yawned.
“Hi. How did it go?” the mother asked.
“Good.”
“Anything exciting happen?”
“No, not really.”
The father nodded and then his eyes traveled down to Annie’s feet that were poking out from the bottom of her blanket.
“William, tell me something. Why is your sister wearing her running shoes to bed?”
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