Little Betty

Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

The relentless raindrops created a cacophony that reverberated in Bethany's ears as she struggled to find sleep. She tossed and turned, pulling her blankets over her head in an attempt to drown out the noise. After several minutes of restlessness, she sat up in her bed, sighing in frustration. Her gaze fell to the flashlight on her nightstand, and she reached for it before making her way to the bedroom door. With the torchlight in hand, she directed its beam toward Betty's room, situated diagonally across from hers. Another sigh escaped her lips as she observed that Betty's room was still illuminated. Bethany pushed open the door and stepped inside, discovering Betty seated on the floor, engrossed in a playful world with her dolls. "C'mon, Betty, why aren't you in bed?" Bethany said, wiping her face with her hand before sitting down on Betty's bed. She surveyed the room, and her eyes landed on the large wall clock, its hands pointing almost to three in the dead of night. "It's almost three in the morning, and you're still up. Are you still upset with me?" Bethany inquired, her concern evident. For a few minutes, Betty remained silent, her attention fixed elsewhere. Then, abruptly, she ceased playing with her dolls and pointed toward the window, which was strangely ajar. "He's the one," Betty whispered, her voice trembling with fear.

***

Bethany snapped awake, drenched in sweat, only to realize it had been a vivid dream. Panic surged through her as she hurriedly grabbed her flashlight and rushed to check on Betty. Her heart raced, knowing she had broken their usual night-time tradition. Clad in purple pyjamas, she hurried to Betty's room, desperately hoping to find her sister safe and sound. Betty was indeed in the same position as in her dream. Bethany's eyes darted to the window, confirming it was tightly closed. The clock's hands were on the verge of striking 3 a.m. Anxiety gnawed at her as she approached Betty, intending to pull her out of her strange trance. But before she could reach her sister, an unseen force yanked her backward, causing her to collide painfully with the wardrobe. She writhed in agony, trying to regain her composure and get Betty's attention. Then, to her horror, Betty pointed to the window and whispered the same chilling words, "He is the one," just as the clock struck 3 a.m.

***

Bethany's heart pounded in her chest as she awoke once more, this time in her own room. She couldn't ignore the eerie pattern any longer. With trembling hands, she glanced at her wristwatch, which confirmed it was nearly 3 a.m. Determined to break the cycle, she mustered her courage and headed towards Betty's room. Yet, as she approached Betty's room and relived the same unsettling scenario, she found herself inexplicably back in her own room once again. The inexplicable loop between 2:58 and 3:00 a.m. continued, leaving Bethany trapped in a nightmarish repetition.

***

"Bethany... Bethany," a gentle voice called out, and Bethany slowly awakened in the real world. Her mother's familiar blue eyes met hers, glistening with tears as she tried to smile.

"You're going to be late," her mother said, tugging at the blankets. Concern etched across Bethany's face as she asked, "Is Betty alright?" Her mother's tears welled up, and Bethany knew something was terribly wrong.

She scrambled out of bed, tears in her own eyes, and rushed toward Betty's room. However, her path was blocked by her father, who enveloped her in a tight, tearful embrace. It was then that Bethany realized her beloved sister, the sibling she had always wanted, had disappeared, leaving behind a void that couldn't be filled. "It's all my fault. I should have been with her. If I didn't screw this up, she would still have been alive," Beth muttered under her breath, her voice filled with guilt and anguish, as they somberly removed Betty's cold and stiff body from the room.

As she gazed at her sister's lifeless form, Beth was overwhelmed by a haunting flashback of her earlier dreams. Without thinking, she bolted to Betty's room, causing her father to stumble in her sudden rush. On her knees beside Betty's bed, she wept uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face as she tried to make sense of the overwhelming grief. Her father held her tightly to his chest, his own heart aching, and asked, "What are you seeing?"I'm seeing her playing with her toys," Beth whispered, her sobs, as the weight of her sister's absence bore down upon them. "How do you want your mom to react if you're like this?" Max choked out through his tears, hastily wiping them away with his large, calloused hand. Addie, Bethany's mother, joined them on the floor, the three of them forming a huddled circle. "That time kept recurring. I was stuck between 2.58 a.m. and 3.00 a.m.," Bethany explained, her voice shaking. She stood up and pointed to the window. "There was someone right here in this room." "What?" Max exclaimed. "That's what she kept repeating," Bethany continued. "If you probably didn't wake me up, I'd still be stuck in that time loop."

"You and I know that's not possible," Max replied, his disbelief and fear evident.

"Dad, I know what I saw," Bethany insisted, her voice trembling. She gestured to the spot where Betty had been.

"I was here between 2.58 and 3 a.m., sitting right here. It was the first time it happened. She pointed to the window and said, 'He is the one.' Then I woke up, and it was 2.58 again, and it kept repeating until Mom woke me up. I remember, it was raining heavily "Beth, please, I can't bear to lose another daughter," Addie sobbed, her emotions in turmoil.

"You sound...insane with what you've just said. None of this is helping." She turned and walked out of the room, followed closely by her husband, leaving Bethany alone with her bewildering experiences. Beth, alone in the room, grappled with the unsettling experience, questioning whether it was a time loop or a mere dream. She spoke to herself, trying to make sense of it all.

"I know what I saw. It was real, not a dream," she affirmed. But the question that haunted her was who Betty had referred to. Pulling out her notebook, Beth settled on the floor in the same spot where she had seen her sister and directed her gaze toward the window. She uttered a quiet plea, "Night should come again," as she awaited the return of the mysterious occurrence, determined to uncover the truth.

***

Beth, visibly nervous and frightened, tapped her legs on the ground in an anxious rhythm, betraying the turmoil within her. Her eyes darted repeatedly to the clock, counting down the seconds until 2.58 a.m. finally arrived. When it did, a determined Beth stormed back into her room, resolute in her quest to confront the enigmatic figure that had shattered her family's peace in a single night. Closing her eyes, she focused on the sound of the raindrops hammering against the roof and the deafening crashes of thunder. With measured steps, she cautiously approached the spot where she had seen Betty sitting. She was careful not to make eye contact with the mysterious figure from the past. As soon as she heard Betty utter the haunting words, "he is the one," she snapped her eyes open, fixing her gaze on the window, finally seeing who Betty had been referring to.

"He is the one," Beth confirmed, her voice filled with a mixture of fear and revelation.