Meroko

When I was growing up in my old house, things always went missing. From my Cd player, to my Mom's favorite novels, to the television remote (for like a month!). Now, I know what you're thinking. But there was something different to these disappearances.  It wasn't just the 'Where the hell did I put that shit?' Kinda feeling, but the feeling that whatever it was had just, vanished, from the face of the earth.

I talked to my Dad about it when I was about 9 or so. He said in a playfully spooky voice that we must have a Poltergeist following our family. Apparently the same things used to happen in the house we moved out of when I was a baby and my Sister was around 3 or so. These things hadn't happened back in Monterrey, where my parents lived when my Sister was a baby, so he said it probably attached itself to me. I was younger back then so I had an unrealistic idea about the appearances of ghosts. I couldn't help but think of a person shaped blob of white making moaning sounds. So  I had taken to curling myself up in my blankets when I slept, Subconsciously thinking that a creepy ghost was watching me.

The disappearing items continued, and when I was around 12, I had a much more realistic view of ghosts. And now wanted to think up a name for our Poltergeist. When I was going up the stairs to my room I noticed something. See, in the hallway upstairs that leads to mine, my Sisters, and my parents rooms, is that lid-thing in the ceiling that leads to the attic. I'd had a gut feeling since Dad told me about it, that our poltergeist lived up there.  

It was fairly easy to find a stool that I could stand on to remove the lid-door-thing. I was a tall 12 year-old, but Although I could remove the lid, I could not go into the attic itself. I could only get my head and forearms in.

This is when things really get started.

The first thing I noticed was right in front of me. A doll. Remember what I said about the different feeling when our Poltergeist steals something? Because of that feeling I always kept tags on all the things our Poltergeist took. This was the first one my brain was developed enough to remember. A little  doll with white yarn hair and a frilly pink dress. It looked exactly how I remembered it from when I was 4. I reached out and pressed onto the chest, sure enough, a light squeak came out. Our Poltergeist took her from me over 8 years ago, and I was still happy to hear the squeak. I picked up Shasta (The name of the doll) and noticed, written on her skirt in black felt pen was:

'My Name Is Meroko'

I smiled a bit. Glad that Meroko decided to give me back Shasta.

But that was 8 years ago.

After Shasta came back and I learned Meroko's name I started talking to her, I'd get no responses, But it was nice having a confidant.

A little after I turned 14 though, It starting feeling wrong, and strange talking to a ghost, I still did, but only when I was talking about my life, not my interests anymore. Almost in response, Meroko's thieving  became, although less frequent, involving more important things. Dad lost his work keys for about 2 weeks straight, until my friend Stephanie found them in a box he had looked through at least 10 times.

Last years incident though is what has inspired me to wright this. Now that I was nearly finished with my first 2 years of Community Collage, I'd been looking up Universities.  But whenever I brought home files, brochures, or resumes Meroko stole them in less than an hour.

A week into this, I asked Meroko to stop, and that I want a change of pace. Right before I drifted off to sleep though I heard a feminine voice whisper in my ear.

"But I like it here Jadeth, I don't wanna move."

Tired and not really thinking about what I'm saying I whisper back

"Sis is already studying in-depth Psychology at Yale, and I'm not planning on living with my parents for the rest of my life..."

"I can fix that."

I haven't seen either of my parents since.

Every so often I heard banging coming from the attic, But I was too scared to go up there. I knew Meroko won't hurt me, I just couldn't bring myself to open the lid.....

But I had to get out of here.

I was scared.

One day I called my friend Alianna to ask If I could crash at her place for awhile. I kept everything in my sight as I packed a bunch of my clothes, books and my computer. As I walked out the door and to my Dad's old Pickup I practically heard her hiss in my ear.

"Don't leave Jadeth..."

"Fuck you."

I was only at Alianna's for a week and a half. My job was stable enough for me to rent a small apartment near the University I had gotten a full tuition scholarship for. Thank god, It was far away from my old house. It was on the top floor.  Which I hoped meant the bumps and thuds at night were birds landing or squirrels hopping down from trees.

Every so often though I hear a voice hiss in my ear.

"There's no Attic here, I don't like bringing things to the roof. Mom and Dad don't like it up there either........."