I was 7 years old when my mother gave birth to my younger sister. We've moved over 10 countries over the years, so I barely remembered much about my childhood except the constant move. I had waist-length dark brown hair, blue eyes, and pale skin with freckles. Ava, my younger sister, resembled my facial features and demeanor but had light blonde hair and large eyes. Her eyes were envied among her peers, but I found them unsettling. The way she smiles like a doll whenever we give her something also made me shudder.
She never had many real friends in her play group from as young as two years old. The other kids would tremble at the sight of her, for reasons we couldn't comprehend. She was benign towards her peers, yet they were always petrified when left alone with her. Ava was naturally good at school, so she got good grades and easily attached herself to the teachers. Being homeschooled for the critical years of my life, I was inexperienced about life at school. She would always tell me how good her life is, but I knew she was a lonely kid.
When she was 7 years old, I caught her ripping the head off the pink teddy bear that belonged to Alexandra. Alexandra was our neigbor's daughter, and she was the same age as her. They were close friends until they both went off to primary school. As I'd expect, Alex made new friends and easily elided my sister from activities at school judging by her reserved nature. I knew Ava was contempted by her behaviour, but she remained smiling whenever she could. During the evenings, Alexandra would sometimes approach our doorstep with her friends, and they would throw rocks at us just for fun.
One night, I heard shrieking coming from the neighbor's home. Knowing they were home alone, I went to check. I saw Ava standing in their lounge with the same blue skirt she wore to ballet class, but she had the head of a teddy bear. The incident made me tremendously perturbed, but I suppressed the feeling in order to keep my composure for our family. The way Ava looked at Alex when the head of the teddy bear came off was apprehensive. Her large, blue eyes were widened with blood vessel streaks, and her pale face and hair contrasted well with the night.
On my 20th birthday, I was moving out with some friends, and my younger sister would be moving to India with our parents. She was already 13 at the time, but she remained asocial. They homeschooled her once more after the teachers complained about her anxiety and excelling grades. I was happy for Ava, knowing she was uneasy with other kids.
"Ava, are you good at your right now?" I would ask her every now and then. "Please tell mommy and daddy if you need anything."
"I'm happy!!" she would reply shortly with a forceful grin. "I don't need Alex nor anyone else to be smiling."
"Well, I'll be leaving tomorrow, and you're going with the parental. Please take care...," I said before closing the door behind me.
Six months after going off to live in an apartment with my friends, I heard a gruesome news about a 13 year old girl shooting her classmates. I instantly recognized it was my sister. Her facial features had changed drastically from makeup. The parents were mine, but I was quite infuriated that they didn't inform me about it beforehand. My male friend gave me a pat on the back before strolling off. I knew Ava was coming after me, or at least coming after my friends.