The Attic

By Nichole LeeAnn Turnow

Sometimes when we least expect it, life changes; leaving us dazed and wondering what has happened. Later, we decide that we must have missed something or lost a moment in time. Did life take a leap when we werent watching, or did we simply forget? Is the world keeping something from us or are we keeping something from ourselves?

As Doctor Samuels probes Sarahs mind, she begins putting the pieces together. In the midst of being plagued by flashbacks and blocked memories, she senses that something strange is happening. Sarah is aware that she is depressed and crazy but begins questioning how crazy she really is. While her fears come to life and the shadows of her dreams seep into reality, the true picture awakens inside her mind. No longer does she wonder how she came to be in the mental hospital and no longer does she want to know the truth. Sarah discovers that she is forever a prisoner and may never leave. She is trapped, locked inside The Attic.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Sep 13, 2007
• ISBN: 9781434327789

Nichole LeeAnn Turnow

Nichole LeeAnn Turnow was born in Toledo, Ohio. She first discovered her passion for writing while in high school. At the time, poetry was her main focus; she was always jotting down lines in her spare time and reciting her work to family and friends.   One day, many years after high school, she developed an idea in her head that wouldn’t go away. She started writing; only a couple of paragraphs at first and then a couple more. Eventually, ideas were spilling out of her brain onto paper and her hand could barely keep up. After realizing that she had pages of paragraphs on this one idea, she decided that she was going to write a book; that was the day that "The Attic" was born.   "The Attic" is Nichole’s first book and she hopes that you will take pleasure in reading it. She will continue writing and hopefully, you will continue reading her work.   Nichole enjoys life and has a love for the arts. Her husband, parents, siblings and friends have always supported her creativity; no matter how bizarre her ideas were.

Book preview

The Attic

Nichole LeeAnn Turnow

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AuthorHouse™

1663 Liberty Drive, Suite 200

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.authorhouse.com

Phone: [phone]

© 2007 Nichole LeeAnn Turnow. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in

a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means

without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 9/10/2007

ISBN: 978-1-4343-2778-9 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4343-2777-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4343-2778-9 (ebk)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2007906148

Printed in the United States of America

Bloomington, Indiana

Contents

Introduction

Prelude

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

About the Author

INTRODUCTION

Lying on the couch, staring blankly at the television, she remembers a time; a time of confusion and hopelessness, a time not so long ago but so far away. She was once a shell of a person; teetering, ready to crumble.

A life interrupted has sent her to the attic. The attic is not a place in the uppermost region of her home; it is a place inside her mind. This place of seclusion keeps her hidden in the dark, unkempt, shadows of her fears. It keeps her sheltered from thought and blocks out her dreams. This place keeps her from life and, at the same time, takes it from her.

She is a stranger to herself and us all. She is a mess of images and secrets. She is locked away from the world outside. She is locked inside her attic.

PRELUDE

Sarah was once a bright and intellectual girl; a very creative and open-minded thinker. Her inner beauty shined outward, upon all who she encountered. It was as if she were an angel disguised as a young woman. Sarah had dreams and desires just like the rest of us. Her intense passion for life and all that thrive in it was envied by most that had come to know her. To Sarah, every day would become a new beginning to something, somewhere. In many ways, she was just like half of the people in this world.

In other ways, Sarah was like the remainder of the population. She was a soul possessed by loneliness with nervous wandering eyes and a paranoid mind, unable to rest. Sarah was a being in need of love that had become hopeless due to her inability to receive the tender emotion.

Pressures from the world became unbearable; they were all around her and seemed to trap her. Sarah had become tormented by her loss of control over her life and her failure to make reasonable decisions. Something was overtaking her mind; it was seeping into her subconscious and she could not stop it. Sarah felt like a demon was controlling her thoughts and actions; the force ran through her veins and used her flesh. It pushed her essence deep inside, into the darkness. It persuaded Sarah away from life and isolated her. This uncontrollable force kept her locked inside the attic.

Finally, it was free and in control. It won by using trickery and deceit, by masking itself and making Sarah need its comfort; but, really, it needed her. It was very clever and learned to control Sarah by making her depend on it; it helped her, she thought. She was convinced that it made her happier and cleared her mind. Sarah believed that ideas and facts made more sense in this place but she was wrong. It clouded her mind and drained the life from her. It held her captive from the people that she once knew and from those who no longer knew her. Sarah allowed it to consume her. She wanted to speak and think for herself but her words were lost. She searched but only feelings were left; ones that she could not explain. It spoke for her and she could here it using her voice but did not agree with it. Sarah had become a slave and remained quiet. She had changed.

You could remember Sarah if you tried; her never-ending smile, patient hand and kindness. Yet, if you saw her, she would be unrecognizable. Her eyes were protected by daggers that pierced your thoughts; fear was growing inside of her. No longer could she find her, unforgettable, ear-to-ear smile. Sarah could not laugh or cry; neither did she utter a word, not even a whisper.

CHAPTER 1

S arah? Sarah?

Yes, Doctor Samuels? Sarah looks away from the television.

Let’s go Sarah, follow me.

Sarah stands up, stretches and proceeds to follow Doctor Samuels down a long, bare, hall. The hall is drab and has an uncomfortable feeling; it smells musty and old. The walls are painted white and have begun to peel while the floor tiles are chipped and decorated with sprawling cracks.

Here we are. Doctor Samuels opens a door at the end of the washed-out hall. Holding the door open, he summons Sarah to enter. Sarah shuffles into the room, dragging her feet. Doctor Samuels follows in after her.

Inside the room, the walls are very similar to the ones in the hall; they look worn and cracked, except for one. One wall is decorated with two dingy pictures; the first picture is of a hunter holding a shotgun and standing in the middle of a wheat field during the fall season and the second is of a flock of ducks flying out from behind some tall grass. Between the pictures are a set of antique shelves, which seem to clutter the wall. The floor, which slants slightly to the right, is covered with a layer of scuffed up linoleum that used to bear an angular pattern of some sort. A fairly new looking desk made of cherry stained oak sits in the middle of the room, facing the doorway. Two chairs are lined along another wall; opposite the wall with the pictures and shelves. The chairs, also, look like antiques and have been kept in fair condition; one is red and one is blue, both are striped in gold threading and lined with brass studs.

Have a seat Sarah. Sarah chooses the blue chair; blue is her favorite color.

Now, Sarah… Sarah? Doctor Samuels whistles to grab Sarah’s attention which is fixated on numerous objects in the room.

Sarah focuses in on Doctor Samuels, I’m sorry, what?

You were dazing off…somewhere else perhaps? Doctor Samuels tries to joke with Sarah but she, absently, stares at him, having wasted his humor.

We need to talk Sarah.

"Why? I don’t feel the need to