(font: "Batang") [The cartoons played on the screen, loudly. Jessie sat on the carpet in the living room in her Mickie Mouse onesie eating ice cream from a plastic red bowl. Her eyes focused on the mouse tricking the cat into trapping himself in a cage, but her ears focused on her parents hushed whispers.]
(font: "ink free")[[Hide behind kitchen island to listen]]
(font: "ink free")[[Finish ice cream]]
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/toddler%20tv.jpg">
</div>
<script>
var audio = document.createElement('audio');
audio.src = 'https://www.free-stock-music.com/music/darren-curtis-the-old-pumpkin-patch.mp3';
audio.loop = true;
audio.play();
</script>(font: "batang")[She set her bowl down on the side, the spoon tilted onto the carpet. The stickiness of the ice cream clung to it. She ignored this as she tiptoed to the kitchen island--this time she would know what her parents were discussing.
Her mother, 5'6 and drained, leaned against the fridge. Her father, 5'11 and blotched faced, said things fast without breathing between words.
"We've grown apart and I'm the only one trying to get back to where we were. You don't talk to me anymore and wonder why I'm unhappy," he hissed.
Jessie scrunched up her face in confusion.]
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/kitchen.jpg">
</div>
(font: "ink free") [[Make presence known]]
(font: "ink free")[[Keep listening]]
(font: "batang")[Jessie slurped up the ice cream that melted in the bowl while the end credits to the cartoon played out. Her ears could not block the tension in the kitchen. Her chest tightened along with her grip on the spoon.
Jessie's thoughts traveled to the blank spaces in her mind.]
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/pexels-pixabay-235985.jpg">
</div>
(font: "ink free")[[Recall a happy memory]]
(font: "ink free")[[Call for mom]]
(font: "batang")[Jessie got up from the kitchen floor and walked around the island.
"Mom, dad..."
Her father stopped talking mid-sentence and put on a bright smile. "Hey, sweetie. Did you finish your ice cream?" He knelt down to scoop her up and pinched her cheek.
She thought to herself maybe she imagined the serious look in her dad's eyes because his eyes warmed, staring at her.
"Yup, all done!" Jessie giggled.
Her mother came closer and kissed her cheek. "Bed time," she said.]
(font: "ink free")[[Let mom lead you to bathroom]]
(font: "ink free")[[Ask what they talked about]]
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/toddler%20tv.jpg">
</div>
(font: "batang")[Jessie's mom sighed in frustration. "You know why that is. If you didn't sleep with that other woman-"
"You said you forgave me."
"Well, it's hard to forget..."
Behind the counter, Jessie tried to piece together what sleeping together was. //Is mommy upset daddy didn't cuddle her?//
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/angry%20couple.jpg">
</div>
"You haven't proven that I can trust you." The veins on her neck pulsed. "Of course, I'm not talking to you. A simple sorry doesn't fix things. How could you do this to our family...to Jessie?"
"What do you want me to do? Duct tape my eyes shut and give away all rights to privacy?"
"Maybe-"
Jessie's eyes watered. She couldn't stand her parents not talking to each other. Her father ran his hands through his hair, smoothing over the bald patch in the center. Jessie didn't want her father to lose any more of his hair.
Maybe, she could help mommy talk to him.]
(font: "ink free")[[Fake cry to switch their focus]](font: "batang")[On the first day of kindergarten, Jessie's parents took off work to be there to capture the momentous day at her request. She needed her parents there to see her off in her Cinderella dress.
Her father dressed in a pumpkin costume and carried her through the front doors while her mother took pictures. Jessie made her mom wear whiskers to be her mouse friends.
To Jessie, her parents were people that could make her wonderlands come to life.
The sound of their conversation penetrated her ears and she could no longer stay in her memories.]
(font: "ink free")[[Hide behind kitchen island to listen]]
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/cinderella%20pumpkin.jpg">
</div>
(font: "batang")["Mommy! I finished my ice cream!"
The conversation in the kitchen quieted down and the sound of the faucet came on. "Come bring your bowl!" Jessie scrambled up from the floor and sped walked to the kitchen. She could sense the tension in her mother's voice and didn't want to make her more upset.
When she entered, her mother knelt down with a smile and kissed her on the cheek. "You have to get ready for bed. It's a school night." She picked her up and places her on her hip. "Time to brush your teeth."
Jessie hugged her mother's neck and smile over her shoulder at her father.
His eye hard as stone, made her turn away. //He was looking at mommy's head//, Jessie thought.]
(font: "ink free")[[Let mom lead you to bathroom]]
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/toddler%20tv.jpg">
</div>
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/pexels-christa-grover-1910472.jpg">
</div>
(font: "batang")[In the bathroom, Jessie stood on a pink stool and brushed her teeth. The bristles bent at the pressure she placed on the handle. Her mother stood in the doorway to make sure she brushed for the full two minutes.
"Don't forget your tongue." Jessie stuck her tongue out and washed it with the same vigour.
A few seconds later, she plopped her tooth brush in the holder and hopped off the stool. "Done!"
Her mother squinted her eyes. "Did you wash the roof of your mouth?"
Jessie giggled, "Yes!"
"Okay, time to get tucked in." She held Jessie's hand.]
(font:"ink free")[[Go to bedroom]]
(font: "batang")["What were you talking about?"
Jessie's parents shared a look that she could only decipher as adult business she shouldn't concern herself with. She didn't like the way her stomach hurt when her parents kept secrets from her.
"That's a conversation between me and your mom, sweat heart." Her father rubbed her arm, affectionately. "Why don't you let your mother get you ready for bed?"
Jessie buried her head in her mom's leg, hugging it closely. "Okay..."]
(font: "ink free")[[Let mom lead you to bathroom]]
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/child%20and%20mom.jpg">
</div>
(font: "batang")[Jessie rubbed her eyes to make them, puffy and pinched her cheeks before she let the first cry escape her lips. Coming from around the island, she clung to her father's leg. "My stomach hurts!" Her ears got redder the more she wailed and soon real tears flowed.
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/pexels-lucas-pezeta-2092791.jpg">
</div>
Her father picked her up and sat her on the island. "Don't cry. How about I make you some tea so your stomach calms down." She sniffed.
"Okay..." Her mother wiped her tears. "Can I have marshmallows?"
"Marshmallows go in hot chocolate, silly." Her father pinched her cheek and she giggled.
Her plan was a success.
She played with her mother's wedding ring, twisting it around her finger while she waited on her tea. "I wanna marry a prince!" Her mother smiled, softly.
"What if you have to kiss a frog first?"
Jessie scrunched her face, "Not that prince!"
Her father placed the tea in front of her. "Careful, it's hot." Three marshmallows swirled in the middle.
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/marshmellow%20tea.jpg">
</div>
"Yay!" She finished her tea and ate the marshmallows.
Her mother picked her off the counter. "All better?" Jessie nodded. "Bed time."]
(font: "ink free")[[Let mom lead you to bathroom]] (font: "batang")[Laying in the bed, Jessie's eyes drooped while her mother tucked each side of her into her fluffy sheets. She followed the usual routine of singing their lullaby together.
"Bed time. Bed time. Sleep sleep sleep. In your dreams, you'll see see see. The big chocolate fountains and rainbow streets. Everything will be sweet sweet sweet." She kissed Jessie's forehead. "When you wake up, you'll eat eat eat and mommy and daddy will hug you all day."
Jessie's eyes closed as she felt a cold hand touch her forehead. Her father hummed the tune off pitch, but she didn't care as long as her parents were together.
"Good night. Sleep tight."
They closed the door.]
(font: "ink free")[[Stare at light under door]]
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/tucked%20in.jpg">
</div>
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/bedroom%20door.jpg">
</div>
(font: "batang")[Jessie's small hands gripped her bed sheets tightly while she watched the shadows move under her door. Her Tinkerbelle night light glowed by her side, but it did little to light peace inside her heart.
Again, the whispers of her parents filled her ears before their door shut. She pressed her face into her mattress and wished for the dream world to take her.]
(t8n:"slideleft")+(font:"Segoe Script")["Jessie, don't go to sleep yet."]
(font: "ink free")[[Ignore the voice]]
(font: "ink free")[[Ask what they are]]
(font:"batang")[Jessie ducked under the blanket and held Mr.Tiggy, her stuffed tiger, with her eyes shut.]
(font:"Segoe Script")["I'm a friend."]
(font:"Segoe Script")+(text-rotate:45)["Don't you want to have a happy dream?"]
(font:"batang")[Jessie peaked from behind her covers. The door to the closet beside her bed cracked open.]
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/closet%20door.jpg">
</div>
(font:"ink free")[[Yes]]
(font:"ink free")[[Go Away]]
(font: "batang")["Who are you?"]
(set: $name to (prompt: "Give me a name:", "Demon?"))
(font:"batang")["What are you?"]
(font:"Segoe Script")["''I take on the form you want me to be.''"]
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/shadow%20creature.jpg">
</div>
(font:"batang")["Can you be a unicorn?"]
(font:"segoe script")["If you come to the closet. I'll be a unicorn."]
(enchant: ?Link, (t8n-depart: "dissolve"))[[Enter closet]]
(font:"Segoe Script")["Get up, Jessie. Soon enough, a dream so sweet will come."]
(font:"batang")[Jessie pushed her blanket back and sat at the foot of her bed.]
(font:"batang")["Why are you in the closet?"]
(font:"Segoe Script")["This is my home, Jessie," The voice said. "Join me."]
(font:"batang")["Will I be back before morning?"]
(font:"Segoe Script")["''If you want to be.''"]
[[Ask what they are]](font:"batang")["You're not real!"]
(font:"Segoe Script")["If I wasn't real you wouldn't be able to hear me."]
(font:"batang")[//That's true,// Jessie thought.]
(font:"Segoe Script")["I'll take you away from
your troubles
and
bring you to
the best place
in all the realms."]
"If you're real, can I see you?"
"''Come to the closet.''"
"But, how can I go if I don't know who you are..."
[[Ask what they are]]<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/inside%20closet.jpg">
</div>
(font:"batang")[A white light enveloped Jessie. Her hands reached out to feel the space around her. The clothes that hung in the closet...gone. The shoes on the floor...gone.
She was gone.]
(font:"Segoe Script")["I'm here."]
(font:"batang")[A wet muzzle touched Jessie's cheek. Her small hands reached into the light.]
(font:"batang")["$name, you are a unicorn!"]
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/unicorn%202.jpg">
</div>
(font:"Segoe Script")["Because you command it."]
(font:"batang")["$name, this doesn't look like the best place in all the realms..."]
(font:"Segoe Script")[[Climb on me]](font:"batang")[$name kneeled on the floor as Jessie climbed onto their back. She held onto their black hair and hugged them tight.
The white space melted in front of her eyes and color oozed around them.
The soft sound of a carnival played in the background and the smell of popcorn creeped up her nose.]
(text-rotate:75)+(font:"batang")["Wowwwwwwwwww!"]
(font:"Segoe Script")["Do you want to go on some rides?"]
(font:"batang")["I would...but I'm not tall enough."]
(font:"Segoe Script")["You can ride any ride you like. Pick one."]
(font:"ink free")[[Fireball]]
(font: "ink free")[[The Pirate Ship]]
(font: "ink free")[[The Drop]]<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/the%20drop.jpg">
</div>
(font:"batang")[Jessie's neck craned up at the height of the ride. "I don't think I can do this..."]
(font:"Segoe Script")["But, Jessie...how can you be on the best place in all the realms and not get on?"]
(font:"batang")["I don't know..."]
(font:"Segoe Script")["''JESSIE!'' This is a safe haven. No fear and best of all no bad parents."]
(font:"batang")["My parents aren't bad."]
(font:"Segoe Script")["But, they make you feel bad, don't they?"]
(font:"batang")[Jessie kept silent.]
(font:"Segoe Script")["Get on the ride and forget about your troubles."]
(font:"batang")[Jessie bunched up her pajamas and walked to the gate.]
(font:"batang")[The rise to the top was slow. The flashing lights from the rides blinded her vision until she reached the top. Her breath chilled at the starless sky. Then, she looked down. Her bare feet dangled in the air and then the drop. Her stomach flew into her chest and her scream pierced the night.
(t8n:"rumble")+(text-rotate:45)["AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"]
At the bottom, Jessie clutched the railing as she trickled off the ride full of exhilaration.]
(font:"Segoe Script")["Wasn't that fun, Jessie!"]
(font:"batang")[A new smile found its way onto her face. "Yes, you were right $name...I could do it."]
[[Pick new ride]] <style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/fireball.jpg">
</div>
(font:"batang")[The fireball was an eternal circle. Jessie's face rippled as the wind hit it and the ride Accelerated. Her hands remained tight on the over the shoulder restraints. Her body jerked on each circle.
//Around//
//Around//
//Around//
The blood rushed to her head then dropped at the bottom. Then, rose as the ride...
//Circled//
//Circled//
//Circled//
Finally, it slowed to a subtle back and forth motion before the gears stopped. Jessie held onto the metal railing as her feet floated underneath and her stomach felt queasy.
Green gunk flew out her mouth and onto the pavement. She held her stomach and wiped her mouth. Small chunks stuck to strands of her hair.
"I don't feel so good."
$name trotted over to the little girl and brushed their muzzle along her stomach. Color returned to Jessie's face and her stomach settled.]
(font:"batang")["I don't feel sick anymore."]
(font:"Segoe Script")[I can take away all your pain. Here, everyone's happy. Doesn't that sound nice?"]
(font:"batang")[Jessie nodded her head. "What if the pain is in my heart?"]
(font:"segoe script")["All pain, Jessie. Even the ones your parents cause."]
(font:"batang")[Jessie brushed her hands through the black mane, thinking of her parents harsh whispers to each other.]
(font:"ink free")[[Pick new ride]]
(font:"ink free")[[Fireball]]
(font: "ink free")[[The Pirate Ship]]
(font: "ink free")[[The Drop]]
(font:"ink free") [[See the Sunrise]]<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/pirate%20ship.jpg">
</div>
(font:"batang")[Jessie ran onto the Pirate Ship, excited to ride the big kid ride for the first time. $name stood near the gate waiting for the ride to start. They were the only people in the park, but Jessie didn't show any signs of caring. To her, the park was her playground and she couldn't wait to explore more.
Sitting on the final row of seats, Jessie grinned from ear to ear as the ride started. The first rounds back and forth, sent butterflies to her stomach. She held onto the bar tighter as the ship pointed directly at the ground.]
(font:"batang")["Best dream ever!" She screamed.]
(font:"batang")[When the Pirate ship came to a stop, she skipped off the ramp and hugged $name. "Can you ride too?"]
(font:"Segoe Script")["No, I enjoy watching you have fun. Do you want to ride something else?"]
(font:"ink free")[[Pick new ride]](font:"batang")["Look! The sun's coming up!"]
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/sun%20rise.jpg">
</div>
(font:"Segoe Script")["Jessie, do you want to stay here with me?"]
(font:"batang")["In the amusement park?"]
(font:"Segoe Script")["Anywhere you want."]
(font:"batang")["Isn't this a dream..."]
(font:"Segoe Script")["No, it's as real as I am. You can ride all the rides you want or I could show you another great place and don't forget //Jessie//, I can be anything you want me to be."]
(font:"batang")["What if I want to go back home?"]
(font:"Segoe Script")["If you want to leave me all alone..."]
(font:"batang")["Will that make you sad? Is no one else here?"]
(font:"Segoe Script")["I can't leave here and no one wants to be my friend..."]
(font:"batang")["But, my parents..."]
(font:"Segoe Script")["'IF YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR PARENTS, GO! BUT YOU MUST TAKE A FINAL RIDE...AND IT WON'T BE AS FUN AS THE OTHERS.'"]
(font:"batang")["$name, you're scaring me..."]
(font:"Segoe Script")["I'm sorry, young one. I just hate to be alone. The choice is yours...stay forever or go back to your horrid parents..."]
(font:"ink free")[[Final Ride]]
(font:"ink free")[[Stay forever]]
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="
https://jaz12.neocities.org/steep%20ride.jpg">
</div>
(font:"batang")[Jessie's heart rate sped up as the ride climbed to the top of the sky. The sun burnt her skin and her hair popped in the heat. She was rising through the atmosphere. Clouds covered the bottom of the ride. She knew the descent would be merciless, but she trained her thoughts on her parents.
To calm her nerves. she tried to sing her lullaby but her mouth fastened shut.]
(font:"batang")[~~Bed time.
Bed time.
Sleep sleep sleep.
In my dreams, I'll see see see.
The big chocolate fountains and rainbow streets.
Everything will be sweet sweet sweet.
When I wake up,
I'll eat eat eat
and mommy and daddy-~~
The ride dropped. Her screams echoed in the wind and her head suctioned to the head rest. Her pajamas caught fire and the skin on her arms and legs peeled, revealing her bone.
Jessie's eyes watered as the clouds cleared away and the hard pavement took their place. She shut her eyes and her heart beat out of her chest. The front seats of the roller coaster crashed first, jerking her and shattering her teeth.
Just before she hit the pavement a white light appeared.]
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/white%20light.jpg">
</div>
(font:"ink free")[[Bedroom]]<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/devour%20child.jpg">
</div>
(font:"batang")[The lights on the amusment park flickered.
Darkness surrounded Jessie.
"$name...are you there."]
(font:"Segoe Script")["I'm here //Jessie// but you won't be!"]
(font:"batang")[$name's claws reached out in the dark, scaring the young child. She fell back and tried to scramble away but it was too late...
//JESSIE NEVER MADE IT OUT OF THE CLOSET//]
(font:"ink free")[[Home Screen]] (font:"ink free")[Welcome, to Bedtime...
For children, night is more than getting ready for bed. It is the border between their reality and worlds adults are no longer in touch with.
Turn on your volume to feel the unspoken anxiety that is always present in the real world and in our minds.
Put yourself into the headspace of a child...one desperate for love and happiness for her parents.
Click the options that suit your own personality to see where it leads you.
Ask yourself by the end of the piece what does it mean to face reality?]
(font:"ink free")[[Enter the night]]
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/closet%20child.jpg">
</div>
(font:"batang")[Jessie woke from her sleep in a panic. The walls around her were black and her throat constricted against her cries and yells for help. The door to her closet pushed open and her parents stood in front of her with worry edged into their faces.
"Jessie, what are you doing in your closet?" Her mother asked. Jessie couldn't form words as she was lifted out and held onto her mother, tightly. Her legs wrapped around her as they sat on the bed and her father rubbed her hair, gently.
"Do you want us to stay here?" Her father asked.
Jessie nodded her head and the three laid in the tiny bed together until her breathing slowed down and her eyes closed again. Her parents cocooned her, wrapping her in their warmth.
She didn't know what lied ahead for her family, but she was williing to find out.]
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/sleep.jpg">
</div>
[[Bonus]](font:"Segoe Script")["I'm still here, Jessie..."]
(font:"Segoe Script")["Find me in the dark"]
<style> img {
max-width:50%;
max-height:50%;
}
</style>
<img
src="https://jaz12.neocities.org/shadow%20creature.jpg">
</div>
[[Home Screen]]