This is the legend of Ko teikā. She is a human that has been slowly driven insane by simply being alone. It was the year 1886. She was a nice young woman by the age of 18. Her life was perfect. She had a nice fiancée, she had her parents, and a child on the way. One night it was a small storm. She didn’t think much of it and slept. In the middle of the night she heard a blood chilling scream. She rushed to her parents to find them dead. Their bodies were just too horrible to look at. Her mother’s body was mutilated to the point of where she wasn’t recognizable. Her father’s body was hanged and his limbs were bent in ways they shouldn’t be. She screamed and heard her betrothed scream.

                “No! NO! GO AWAY!’’ He screamed. It suddenly ended. Then she saw the killer. Her best friend.

                “Hello Victoria. I was just having fun here. Well. I best take my leave. Farewell.” Her friend said in a sing-song voice. She grinned wickedly and left, leaving Victoria to her tears. Then the worst thing imaginable. A demon came to her cries.

                “Hello my dear. Why are you crying?” The demon knew very well why she was crying but wanted to hear her say it.

                “M-My best friend came and murdered my whole family. Why would she do this?” Victoria tried to calm herself but just broke in to sobs again.

                “Now, now my dear. How about we make a deal. I’ll kill your friend and you give me your soul.” He licked his lips hungrily. Victoria took a moment of thought.

                “Ok. So you only want my soul? Deal.” She said through her cries. The demon then disappeared. She was scared of what would happen. She knew that if she sold her soul that wouldn’t go heaven or hell. Victoria then knew what she had to do. She took the knife and plunged it in to her heart not knowing that the demon was sure to get angry. He came back and was livid. She sold her soul and didn’t think of what would happen if she killed herself. Hm. I will give her the worst punishment. She was dying but didn’t expect to live.

                “You broke the contract. Now you are to live for eternity, not ever to die. I will not have a soul to eat thanks to you. Have fun for eternity.” He bound her to the house and the tunnels underneath it. She would never be allowed to leave them. He decided that she shouldn’t talk so he wired her jaw shut. He killed her unborn child.

                Over the years she has lured children in, not being able to speak. She would just make it seem better than life. She slowly went insane from not having anyone to talk to. For a while the house was condemned. Then in 1997, they built another house. Of course there were rumors going around about the house that was previously there. Everyone who lived there with a child soon moved away. Until one day. The Evans family moved there and didn’t pay any mind to the rumors. After all they are just rumors, aren’t they? They can’t be real. Right?

              "Mommy! Mommy! Guess what!" The youngest child of the Evans family called.

              "What is it Kota?" The clearly exhausted mother asked.

              "Well. I found a closet that's locked. Why is a closet locked mommy?" The curious child aksed.

              "It was locked when we got here sweety. Now I'll tell you what. Go grab a book and I'll read it to you. Deal?" Kota's eyes widened.

              "Deal mommy! I'll go get it!" She went to grab her favorite book. Kota soon found that it was gone. Where could it be? She searched the house in all her favorite places to hind things. She couldn't find it anywhere. She walked past the hallway where that locked closet was. It couldn't be there. Could it? She slwoly walked to the closet. Right as she was about to open it, someone grabbed her shoulder.

             "AHHH!" She screamed.

             "Shh. Calm down honey, it's just me. I'm sorry I frightend you, I was just going to ask you what you were doing down here." It was her father.

             "Oh daddy. I was just trying to find my book. I thought that it may be in here. Could you help me find it?" He thought for a moment.

             " Could it possibly be outside on your bench? Or in your fort?"

             She gasped. "I left it outside. I completely forgot! Thanks daddy!" She gave him a quick hug and ran outside. She came back in and her mom read it to her. Dinner time came and Kota asked something.

              "Daddy? Why is that closet locked?" Her curiosity over came her.

              "I don't really know cupcake. I'll have to ask some of my co-workers. Maybe it's locked to keep nosy kids like you out of the basement." He said in a baby voice. Kota giggled. They watched Lion King and she fell asleep before the movie ended. Her father carried her up to her room then said goodnight.

              BANG! Kota sat up instantly. Oh it's just a storm. She walked across the hall to her parents' room only to find them gone. She looked downstairs and saw them passed out on the couch. She giggled and then went to the kitchen. Kota grabbed a glass of water and drank it down. She went back up to her room and passed by that locked closet. She heard a voice.

               "Kota. Kota. Come play with me Kota." It said in a sing-song voice. It was kinda creepy, but she didn't pay attention to it.Kota continued to her room. When she got settled down in her bed, she heard scratching on her closet door. She threw her covers over herself and shut her eyes tightly.

               "It's only a dream. It's only your imagination." Kota kept telling herself these things over and over. The scratching got louder. Now it sounded as if something was crawling to her bed. She clutched the covers tighter. She was mumbling reassuring words. A flash of light. Boom, thunder. Scratching getting closer. Flash. Boom. Scratch. Flash boom scratch. Faster and faster the noises had sounded.

               "STOP!" Everything stopped. No thunder. No lightening. No scratching. Nothing but her fast-paced breathing was heard. She calmed down and eventually went to sleep.

              The next morning, she awoke to the smell of pancakes. She ran downstairs as fast as she could and tripped a little when going down the stairs. Kota giggled and ran past the closet. When she ran past it, all she heard was meniacal laughter. A chill ran down her spine and she contiued to run. When she reached the dinner table all she heard was that creepy laguhter. Her mom asked her something, but all she could do was read her lips.

              "What was that mommy? I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention. I'm just a little tired." Then after that followed a yawn. Her mom giggled and gave her come pancakes. Kota drowned her pancakes in syrup adn ate happily. Half way through, she heard that scratching again. It was deafening. It just kept getting louder. Then to make matters worse the laughing started again. Laughing. Scratching. Bang. The storm started again. Laughing. Scratching. Bang. Laughing, scratching, bang. Over and over. She started crying, not being able to control  herself. She couldn't take it. She stabbed her fork in to the table with inhuman strength. Her parents jumped a little bit and ran over to their crying child.

             "Please. Make the noises stop." Kota tried to speak through her crying. Then she realized where it was coming from. The closet. She ran as fast as she could to the closet.

             "STOP IT ALREADY!" She yelled at the door. Kota ran to her room and threw open the closet door. Her eyes searched for anything unusual and saw a note. It read

              Kota, dear. I know that you're scared. There really isn't anything to be scared of. I'm really

             Sorry that I have made you hurt, but worry not. If you do what I say then I will stop.

             Be ready child. I will be giving orders soon.

          Kota wasn;t sure if she should trust whoever wrote the letter. She didn't want to do what they said, but then again she wanted the noises to stop. She silently agreed and her parents came in. They were asking her questions, but the words were slurred. She looked down at the note and showed it to them.

           "Kota, why are you showing us a blank sheet of paper?" They looked at her wierdly and she didn't know what to do. She heard whispering.

           "Kota, Kota. Come to me. You know you want to. Ha, hehe. Come darling. Steal the house keys from your father. but don't get caught. Hehe." That's what the voice said. Wait, no nevermind. it sang. Her head then started to pound. She couldn't take it. Kota then collapsed on the floor.

          Kota woke up and it was late. She looked across to her clock. 12:00. She remembered what that voice had said. She crept down the stairs to grab her dad's keys. She looked in the living room. No luck. Went to her dad's study. Nothing. She looked in the kitchen and found it on the hook where she couldn't reach. She slowly pushed the chair to the hook. Kota carefully climbed up the chair and grabbed the keys. She jumped down ever so softly and moved the chair back to it's original place. She walked leisurly to the closet. When she reached it, she didn't find a key hole. It must have been locked from the inside. The she saw a note that explained it. Slide it under the door little one. She shrugged and slid it under. Then the laughter that she hated so much started to rumble deep down under the house. Stop! Stop! I can't take this! Please, stop. She thought but it just kept getting louder. She screamed and then it felt as if something compelled her to smash her head in to the wall. The noises stopped. Then a note under the door. No need to hurt yourself. Just get me something sweet. Not now, tomorrow. Sweet dreams. She cried. This was all too much for a small girl. She's only 8. Why me? She cried herself off to a dreamless sleep.

         When she woke up, she went downstairs and was exhausted. Like a zombie, she walked to the kitchen.

        "Mommy. Daddy. Can we go to the candy store?" She asked as sweetly as she could.

        "Sure cupcake. Not too much though." He chidded. She giggled and nodded. For some reason that giggle didn't sound like hers. It sounded forced and not at all out of amusement. She tried to force a real smile on to her face to show that she was really grateful. Then she excused herself and went to go get changed. Kota got changed in to a blue dress with white stockings. She tried to do her hair in a fishtail braid, but then settled for a ponytail. She put on her favorite shoes and went downstairs.

        "Ok daddy. I'm ready." She said lazily. Kota rubbed her eyes and then her ears. They hurt from all that noise. When her dad was ready, she nearly burst through the door and ran to the car. After she buckled herself in the car, she locked the doors and made sure they were locked. Her dad chuckled at her paranoia. Soon they were at the candy shop. She found the most surgeriest candy and got 2 of them. When they got home, she ran to the closet and slipped them under the door. Then as soon as he slipped it under, a note came out. No, not yet little one. Later. Then came back only one of the candies. Looks like it needed one after all. She then trudged back upstairs to read her favorite book along with one new one. After a little bit she was called down for lunch. They were going out somewhere. She was curious and tilted her head to the left like a dog. They laughed uneasily and took her to the car. After some time in the car they arrived at a mental hospital. They think I'm crazy? My own parents? She sat there with a straight face and stared out the window. They led her inside. They got to the doctor and she had to wait outside when they explained her situation. She heard crying from inside. The opened the door to see her mother crying.

       "No mommy. Please don't cry. I don't like to see you sad." The little girl went to her crying mom to hug her. Her mom was reminded that it was her child that caused her to cry. As she brought Kota in her arms. She cried harder while she held her daughter. Now for a test.

       "Now Kota. I am going to show you a series of photos and tell me what you see. Say the first thing that comes to your mind." The doctor explained.

     " Ok. Let's start." The doctor nodded and held up the first picture.

      "Demon." The doctor got a little bit bewildered. Then showed the next picture.

      "A women with her guts everywhere." The doctor was staring to get worried. Kota was saying all this with a straight face which worried him.

      "A little boy hanging by his toes. His head is cut off." She said as if it was obvious. The doctor was really worried now.

      "Er- Thanks Kota. Please come back tomorrow. I will study this... Experience." The doctor said uneasily. Her mom began crying again and Kota ran to her and hugged her. The doctor noticed that Kota showed no emotion when she was in the office. He let it slide and left to study the child's interpretation of the pictures.

     "Daddy. Why did you send me here? Do you think I'm crazy?" She asked.

     "No cupcake. We just wanted to see a little test that everyone your age gets." He lied through his teeth. Kota could tell. He thought she was insane, along with her mother. Even the kids at school make fun of her and her white hair with blue eyes. They think that she's strange. That mysterious voice likes her though. The voice tells her that she's good. Even though the voice hurts her, at least it doesn't call her insane.

    "Daddy. Don't lie. I'm not normal. I know this. The least you could do is tell me that." She looked him in the eyes. He gasped as he saw her eyes flash red. He nodded and explained.

    "I'm sorry cupcake. You're not being you. Crying all the time and talking about voices inside your head. That's just not you." She sighed. Even her father hates her. She looked out the window and waited to get home. As soon as they got home, she ran to her room. She took out a piece of paper and wrote to the voice. People think I'm crazy. I went to the mental hospital to be checked. I'm not crazy, am I? She finished the letter and went to the closet. She slid the note under it and left.

    "Happy birthday to me." She muttered. She's 9 now. She went out to her yard and played. She hung up a tire swing and played with that for a while. Kota got bored and decided to take out her bike. She took off the training wheels and decided to go for a quick ride. She sped up as she passed her house on the other side of the rode. Kota ended up going to the park. She tried to talk to the other kids. Before she could even speak, they would yell 'freak' or 'stay away.' People are so cruel. She sighed as she walked over to the swings. Everyone screamed and ran away from her. She decided that when she got home, she would just kill herself. No one wanted her. Not even her parents. No one would cry. It could be quick and painless. Just one quick slice, just a chair kicked from underneath. No one would care if she was gone. Her parents would just get another kid, one better than her. She cried silently as she thought these things. Mumbling those things. She knew what she had to do. She would go to the closet and meet that voice. She will be with that voice until she dies and maybe even later on. She decided that she didn't want to get things for it anymore. Kota wanted to meet it.