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It’s been a few years since Sally died by the hands of her so-called Uncle, and two years since she killed him, while in prison during that time. During her time on earth after she died, Sally roamed around family homes scaring the adults, while playing with their children.
However, she eventually grew bored of doing that all the time. Obviously, she loves playing with the children and scaring the adults–all those moments brought her great joy. But she felt an odd feeling inside her that she’d once felt as a child: loneliness.
Before she died, she always felt lonely. Even when she was surrounded by others and when she was happy. She did feel happiness many times but she never felt truly happy. She always wondered alone when she wasn't spending time doing what she normally did.
One night, she was at a new abandoned house, where she mostly stayed. The house is a one story house with two bedrooms, one bathroom, a small living room and a kitchen with a rounded table and two chairs. Sally thought that a small family once lived here but she digressed.
She looked at herself in the mirror of an old bedroom. Blood poured down a bit on her face, near her once bright green eyes, now a bit dull, while most of the blood was in her hair, making her long wavy-curly brown hair turn Auburn. She sighed at her appearance, she hated the way she saw at herself.
Sally reached out, her fingers grazing the surface of the mirror. She wished she could wipe away the blood, wished she could return to the way she used to be—happy, or at least something close to it. But no matter how hard she wished, the reflection remained the same, a constant reminder of her fate.
She sighed again, pulling her hand back. She turned away from the mirror, feeling the weight of her appearance settle heavily on her shoulders. The loneliness she felt was overwhelming, and no amount of scaring or playing could chase it away.
She left her room and wandered through the empty house. Each step she took echoed faintly through the narrow hallway, the creaking floorboards beneath her feet were the only sound in the darkness. She glances at the window in the living room, the setting sun casted a warm light in the dark room. Sally turned around and made her way to the front door, her small hand reached for the doorknob and opened it.
Stepping out onto the pavement, Sally stares up at the sky. The breeze went past her, her hair flew gently in the air, her long pink nightgown fluttered side to side. The sky above is colored in shades of pink, blue, purple, and orange as the sun begins to go down into the horizon. Sally faintly smiles warmly at the beautiful sky above, the only one outside to witness the beauty she saw.
She took a deep breath, hoping this calm moment would last forever. And for a brief instant, she almost felt alive again. But not everything lasts forever, as the breeze turns colder, making the brunette shiver. Her body turned to the side and walked away from the house. She doesn’t know where she’s going but her feet kept on moving steadily down the street.
Her body stopped as it reached a playground, her eyes looking at the playground in front of her. Sally slowly started to walk towards a yellow slide until she caught a figure in her line of sight. The figure, who seemed to be a girl her age or a bit older than her, stood near the pole of the swings, staring up at the night sky.
Sally hesitated whether or not she should approach her. But her curiosity had gotten the better of her, as she found herself on the other side of the pole, to where the girl was.
The girl had shoulder-length brown hair with a magenta colored beret hat. She wore a long green jacket with long beige leggings that were ripped, and black boots.
When Sally touched the other side of the pole, she paused, unsure of how to start a conversation or what to say. The girl continued to stare up at the night sky, seemingly lost in thought. Sally could sense that the girl, like her, might be feeling a profound sense of loneliness or searching for something.
“Hello?” Sally’s voice was soft, almost hesitant. She wasn’t sure if the girl would hear her or even respond, but she felt a deep, almost desperate need to connect with someone, anyone, who might understand her.
The girl slightly flinched and turned her head around slowly, her expression a mix of surprise and curiosity. Her brown eyes, though shadowed by the night, seemed to hold a hint of sadness in them.
“Hi,” the brown haired girl greeted, her voice quietly. The girl looked at Sally with an expression that she couldn't quite decipher. There was a softness in her gaze, a sort of fragile understanding that made Sally feel both seen and vulnerable at the same time.
"I'm Sally," she introduced herself, trying to muster a bit more confidence. "I... I saw you standing here and thought maybe you'd like some company."
The girl hesitated for a moment, then offered a small, almost shy smile. "I'm Misfortune," she replied, her voice carrying a subtle accent. "It's nice to meet you, Sally. I was just... thinking about things."
Sally nodded, stepping a little closer. "What kind of things?"
Misfortune glanced back at the sky, her expression thoughtful. "Just... life, I guess. And how strange it is. Even when it's over, it still feels like there’s so much to figure out."
Sally felt a pang of recognition. "Yeah, it does. I keep thinking about everything that happened before... before I ended up like this. It’s hard to let go, you know?"
Misfortune nodded, her eyes reflecting a deep, quiet understanding. "I know. Sometimes I feel like there's something I'm missing, like there's something I'm supposed to learn or understand. But it’s hard when everything is so confusing."
The two girls stood in silence for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts, yet connected by the shared experience of their loneliness and the strange, lingering questions about their existence.
"Do you come here often?" Sally asked after a while, trying to keep the conversation going.
"Not really," Misfortune replied, glancing around the empty playground. "But it's peaceful here. I like it because it feels like a place where I can think without everything feeling so... heavy."
Sally nodded, understanding what she meant. "I get that. Sometimes I feel like the whole world is heavy, and it’s nice to find a place where you can just... breathe."
Misfortune smiled again, a little more warmly this time. "Yeah. Maybe we can think together, you know? It might make things feel a little less lonely."
Sally returned the smile, feeling a small flicker of hope in her chest. "I'd like that."
The two girls sat together on the swings, gently swaying back and forth, sharing the quiet night. For the first time in a long while, Sally felt like she wasn’t completely alone, and perhaps, in the company of someone who understood her. She glanced at Misfortune’s appearance which, like her, had blood on her face and legs, which were semi-covered by the ripped leggings. Along with that, Misfortune’s hair had streaks of dried blood and cuts on her hands too.
It made Sally feel a sense of comfort and happiness, which she knows she shouldn’t be feeling that way, but seeing someone who bore the marks of their own tragedy, much like she did. Misfortune's appearance was a reflection of her own, a visual reminder that she wasn’t the only one carrying the scars of a painful past. It made her feel a little less like a ghost and a little more like a person again.
As they sat there, the night continued to settle around them, the stars beginning to twinkle faintly above. The playground, once a place for children’s laughter, now became a sanctuary for these two lost souls. They didn’t need to fill the silence with endless chatter; just knowing they had someone by their side was enough.
After a while, Misfortune spoke again, her voice soft and almost wistful. "If it’s okay with you, how did you end up like that?"
Sally stopped swinging and thought for a moment, then gritted her teeth. "My uncle.” she said, with malice in her voice. “He killed me. He hurt me. He’s the reason why I’m like this! My parents didn’t know or understand what I was telling them and that hurt me… But it’s fine, I killed him anyway.” Sally's voice was filled with anger and bitterness as she spoke those last words, her grip on the swing’s chains tightening until her knuckles turned white. The memories of what her uncle did to her were still fresh, like an open wound that never fully healed. The satisfaction of taking her revenge had dulled the pain for a time, but it hadn't erased it. “And the worst part is that I don’t regret a single thing that I did to him.” She whispered that the last sentence with such malice and creepiness that Misfortune herself was creeped out.
But nonetheless, Misfortune listened to Sally’s words, her expression somber. She could sense the depth of Sally's pain, the way it clung to her like a shadow. "I'm sorry you went through that," Misfortune said quietly, her voice full of empathy. "No one should have to experience something like that."
Sally's eyes softened slightly, the anger in her voice dissipating. "Thank you, I appreciate that," she murmured, glancing at Misfortune.
Misfortune nodded, understanding all too well. "You’re welcome."
Sally looked at Misfortune, smiling at each other. They stayed quiet for a few minutes until Misfortune spoke. “Fuck your uncle! He’s such a piece of shit and a waste of space to Society–” She continued to insult the shitty uncle to Sally’s surprise. She didn’t expect Misfortune to say that but she started laughing so much.
Misfortune joined in with Sally’s laughter, after brutally insulting the piece of shit. The both of them didn’t stop laughing for a few minutes. Sally sees a kindred spirit in her. She could tell that Misfortune had her own painful past, her own scars, and that they were both searching for something—whether it was peace, understanding, or simply a sense of belonging.
"Do you ever feel like you’re stuck?" Sally asked, her voice a little quieter now. "Like you can’t move on, no matter how much you want to?"
Misfortune hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Yeah, I do. It’s like... I’m caught between two worlds, not really alive but not really dead either. And I don’t know what to do to change that."
Sally sighed, feeling a deep sense of resonance with Misfortune's words. "Me too," she admitted. "I thought that getting revenge would help, that it would make me feel better, but... it didn’t. Only a little, like a sense of relief."
Misfortune looked down at the ground, her own thoughts swirling in her mind. "Maybe we’re supposed to find something else," she said softly. "Something that will help us move on, or at least make things a little easier."
Sally considered this, her gaze fixed on the stars twinkling above them. "Maybe," she said, her voice thoughtful. "But what if we can’t find it? What if we’re just stuck like this forever?"
Misfortune didn’t have an answer to that. It was a question that had haunted her as well, the fear of being trapped in this limbo for eternity. But she didn’t want to give up hope, not yet.
"Then maybe we just have to keep looking," Misfortune replied, her voice determined despite the uncertainty she felt. "And maybe... maybe it’s easier to look when you’re not alone."
Sally turned to Misfortune, her expression softening as she realized the truth in her words. "Yeah," she said quietly. "Maybe it is."
For the first time in a long while, Sally felt a small flicker of hope—hope that maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t as lonely as she thought. And with Misfortune by her side, she felt a little less lonely or alone.
The two girls continued to sit on the swings, swaying gently back and forth, as the night grew darker around them. In the silence, they found a sense of peace, a moment of connection that neither of them had felt in a long time. And for now, that was enough.
“Okay, now I want to know how you got those, Misfortune.” Sally asked, leaning the swing closer towards Misfortune.
“Oh. I got hit by a car.” she replied, with amusement in her voice. This caught Sally by surprise by the way she said it and branded her speechless.
“By my dad and then I died.”
Sally stared at Misfortune, her eyes wide with shock. "What?" she whispered, barely able to process what she'd just heard.
Misfortune, noticing Sally’s reaction, gave a small, sad smile. "Yeah, it sounds pretty bad when you say it like that," she said, her tone still laced with a strange mix of humor and melancholy. "But that's what happened. My dad wasn’t paying attention or whatever, and… well, here I am."
Misfortune's voice softened as she continued, her eyes distant as she recalled her past. "My family... Well, it wasn’t much of a family. My mom, she felt pregnant with me and was forced to marry my dad. She told me that she wanted an abortion but it was illegal at the time. She was always smoking cigarettes and drinking what she called ‘juice,’ but now I know it was really alcohol. She didn’t care much about me, and didn't want me in the first place. I think I was just a mistake to her, something that ruined her life. My dad was no better—he was a drug dealer, distant, never around, and when he was, he would abuse me and my mom. And when he wasn’t, I was just... there."
She sighed, the weight of her words heavy. "I tried so hard to make my mom happy. She told me to always smile when I feel sad and I’d do anything just to see her happy, even if it meant doing things that weren’t good for me. I thought if I could make her happy, then maybe she’d love me. Maybe she’d want me around. But nothing ever worked. No matter what I did, she just kept drinking, and my dad kept ignoring or hitting me. I was alone, even when they were there."
Misfortune paused, her gaze shifting back to Sally. "So when that voice, Mr. Voice, came into my head and promised me ‘Eternal Happiness’ for my mom, I believed him. I thought it was my chance to finally make her happy, to finally be acknowledged. But I didn’t know he was lying to me. I didn’t know he was a demon, playing a game with me. I was just a naive little girl, desperate to feel loved. And I guess that’s what led me here."
She gave a small, sad smile, her eyes reflecting a deep sorrow. "In the end, I couldn’t make my mom happy. I couldn’t make her love me. But I think... I think I’m starting to realize that maybe it wasn’t my fault. Maybe it was never something I could fix, no matter how hard I tried."
Misfortune looked at Sally, her expression softening. "So yeah, I’ve been thinking and trying to figure things out. Trying to understand why things happened the way they did. But I guess, like you said, it’s hard to let go. Even when you’re not really alive anymore. But deep down, I know my mom loves me but at the end of the day, I was still an unwanted child and was neglected and abused because of it.."
Misfortune continued to tell Sally about her family and Sally didn’t know what to say. Part of her was horrified, but another part of her, the part that had grown accustomed to tragedy, understood all too well the pain of a life cut short by someone who was supposed to care for you. "I’m so sorry.. you didn’t deserve such a terrible home life, truly. she finally managed to say, her voice soft. “But I’m wondering, is that why you’re named ‘Misfortune’?”
Misfortune nodded at her question and continued to reply to Sally’s earlier comment, though her eyes betrayed a deeper sorrow. "It’s okay. I mean, it’s not okay, but... what can you do, right? You just keep going. Or not going, I guess, in our case." She let out a small, bitter laugh, and Sally couldn’t help but smile a little, despite the sadness of it all.
"Yeah, I guess you’re right," Sally said, feeling a strange sense of belonging and solidarity with the girl next to her. They were both victims of their circumstances, bound together by the unfairness of the world, yet somehow finding a small bit of solace in each other's company.
As they continued to sit there, the weight of their pasts seemed to lighten just a little. For the first time in a long time, neither of them felt quite so alone.
Misfortune turned to Sally, her eyes meeting hers in the dim light. There was something hopeful in her gaze now, something that hadn’t been there before. "What have you been doing after you died..”
“Huh? Oh, I was just going to people’s houses. Scaring the adults, while playing with the children they had. It was fun but after a while, I got bored and lonely. I used to be with these other people, who were messed up. Like us, they had horrible, sad lives. Some of them killed people before and after they died, and others killed after their deaths. It was great being with them but ultimately, I decided to leave. I don’t know why, but I did. I miss and love them dearly but I don’t know if I want to go back. I know some of them miss me too and I visit them from time to time. But I’m content with my decision..”
Misfortune stayed quiet, not knowing what to say. She couldn’t understand the need to distance oneself, especially from the ones who understood you the most. But she guessed that people need their own space sometimes.
“What about you, Misfortune? I’m guessing you’ve been wandering around for the most part of your undead life.”
“You’re not entirely wrong but for the first part. Before I knew I was dead, I was walking around near everywhere with Mr. Voice guiding me. But after I realized he was manipulating me, I stopped trusting him. This fox I called, Benjamin, helped me defeat him and I never heard from both of them again. After that, I just decided to explore the world, now that I am dead. And that’s how I’m here..”
The two sat together in silence once more, but this time it wasn’t a lonely silence. It was a shared quiet, a peaceful moment where, for once, the weight of their pasts didn’t feel quite so heavy.
As the night deepened and the air grew colder, neither girl moved to leave. They stayed side by side, the swings gently swaying, as the world around them faded into the background. In this forgotten playground, under the blanket of the night sky, they found a small sense of peace—something they both desperately needed.
And in that moment, Sally realized that maybe, just maybe, she had found a friend.
As the night continued to pass and the chill settled in, Sally suggested heading back to her old home. Misfortune nodded, and they walked together through the quiet streets, finding comfort in their shared silence.
When they reached the house, they made their way inside and settled in the small living room. Sally lit a single candle, its flickering flame casting soft shadows on the walls. They wrapped themselves in an old, threadbare blanket they had found earlier and sat together on the worn-out couch.
Misfortune looked at Sally with a small, sincere smile. “It’s nice to have someone here with me,” she said softly. “I didn’t realize how much I missed having someone around.”
Sally smiled back, her eyes reflecting the candlelight. “I feel the same way,” she replied. “Being with you tonight has been… quite comforting. It’s strange how a little company can make such a big difference.”
Misfortune leaned back against the couch, letting out a contented sigh. “It is strange. I’ve spent so much time alone, I forgot what it felt like to just… be with someone..”
Sally nodded thoughtfully. “I used to think I had to handle everything on my own. But being here with you, it feels like maybe I don’t have to be alone or lonely all the time.”
Misfortune reached out and took Sally’s hand, squeezing it gently. “You don’t,” she said. “We’re both here now. And maybe, just maybe, that’s enough for tonight.”
Sally’s eyes softened, and she gave Misfortune’s hand a reassuring squeeze in return. “Yeah,” she said. “It feels like maybe we’re not as lonely or alone as we thought.”
As the candle flickered softly between them, they settled in for the night. The room grew darker as the flame slowly burned out, but the darkness was softened by the warmth of their shared presence.
“Goodnight, Misfortune,” Sally said quietly as she closed her eyes.
“Goodnight, Sally..” Misfortune replied, her voice gentle.
They drifted off to sleep side by side on the couch, their dreams filled with a tentative hope for whatever the future holds.