Timothy and Madelyn | Teen Ink

Timothy and Madelyn

April 23, 2016
By Fatim Haidara BRONZE, New York, New York
Fatim Haidara BRONZE, New York, New York
3 articles 0 photos 0 comments

There was a man named Timothy who lived in a big old house with his wife named Madelyn. Timothy grew up in that house with his parents. As a child he didn’t have friends to play with because he was homeschooled. He spent most of his time at home. As Timothy got older, he spent less time with his parents and more time doing what he loved doing: building things. He’d stay in his room for hours and hours building miniature ferris wheels, and merry-go-rounds. Though Timothy spent much of his  days at home, he liked going to the local carnival once a week.  He would spend hours looking at the amusements rides and study how they were built. Usually, he’d ignore all the people around him, but on a particular day he saw a young woman, with long blond hair, just standing in the middle of the carnival.  He was instantly struck by her beauty, and he wondered who she was. He carefully went up to her and tapped her on the shoulder.
“H-h-hello,” he shyly said.
She quickly turned around. He noticed she was holding onto a doll. The doll had blue eyes, brown hair, and long curly eyelashes.
“Hi” She replied back in a shaky voice
“I was standing over there near the wheel and I couldn't help but notice you.”
“Umm i don’t know what to say”
“You don’t really have to say anything, I just wanted you to know that. Why are you just standing here?”
“Umm, ummm, I don’t know i just like standing here” she nervously replied.
“I really like the carnival too…do you mind if i stand here with you?”
“Sure why not”
3 months later Timothy and Madelyn were already married and lived in a house with no kids. Madelyn had always want to be a mother she had a whole collection of dolls that she would treat as her own children. But the story was she could never have any. Madelyn would just stand in the middle of the venue, and would watch the kids run around or walk with their parents. Madelyn had always dreamed of having a little blonde haired girl with big brown eyes, and the longest eyelashes; eyelashes that could reach all around the world. As she stared at the children, her eyes flooded  with tears.
And today was no different as Madelyn cried while standing in the middle of the carnival, except this time a little girl came up to her and tapped her on her arm.
"Excuse me ma'am, why are you crying? You should be happy. Today is a happy day. Don't be sad" the little girl said.
"Oh hi sweetie, you're right I shouldn't be crying. The sun is out and I should be happy," Madelyn said as she wiped away her tears. She knelt down and held the little girl’s arms. The little girl continued talking about her exciting day: she won a stuffed elephant at a game she played, and she showed the elephant to Madelyn; her parents let her have cotton candy; she even shared some with her mother. As the little girl went on and on, Madelyn just stared at her.(add description of the little girl) Madelyn had the urge to just take the little girl and runaway. Madelyn knew this little girl had her own family, and that she was happy with her family.  Still, Madelyn’s urge was growing stronger. Madelyn tightly shut her eyes, and opened them very quickly. Before she knew it, the little girl was already in her arms. Madelyn ran faster than the wind that blew in the chilly fall.
Madelyn reached the car, and she could hear Timothy in the background, breathing heavily. She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't think of him. He ran up to her and asked, “Is this another one that you want ?”
  “Yes! Come on, let’s go!”
They both got into the car, and Timothy started the engine. The little girl was softly crying during the ride.  As they pulled up to the driveway, the little girl could hear a crow in the distance. Madelyn carried the little girl out of the car and rocked her in her arms as she said, “shhh it’s okay, You’re gonna be just fine, don’t cry.” 
“I want my mommy “ the little girl cried
“I am your new mommy.” She paused, thinking about how to calm the girl, then turned to her husband. “Timothy! Go catch the elephant. It’s in the trunk.”
As Madelyn rocked the little girl back and forth, she carried her to the basement. As the girl passed by the living room to go to the basement she noticed that the house had two floors. On the first floor, which resembled a grand hall, there were only two lamps and a couch. Both lamps each had five light bulbs, and every bulb was covered with plastic flowers. The couch, which was covered in plastic, was maroon colored and made of leather. No tv, no table. The second floor was even bigger than the first floor, but it was completely bare. She slowly pulled her neck to see the top stairs, she had realized there was a yellow caution tape.
Madelyn reached the door to the basement. She pulled it and a gush of wind passed by.  The both walked down the creaky staircase, Madelyn held onto the little girl hand and they reached the bottom of the stairs. The basement was huge, there was only one item: a small white bookcase. The basement walls were hollow. You could here soft mumbles and whimpers coming from the walls; it was as if the walls were talking .The house was owned by Timothy’s parents and they passed it on to him. Rumor has it his parents were found dead in the house, but the case was never solved.
Madelyn then went behind a curtain and dragged a small mattress to the middle of the room
“This is where you’ll sleep” Madelyn said in her most charming voice. “I’m going upstairs to make us some dinner, you must be very hungry.” Madelyn went up the stairs and locked the door behind her.
The girl could hear the cries and whimpers from the walls as she looked around the room. Her face was plain and red. Fear was in her eyes as she thought about the fact of not seeing her mom and dad anymore. How empty her parents would feel. Her chin quivered, and she felt as if these two strangers would now be her parents. She heard the basement door shut close. She heard the pitter-patter of footsteps above her.  The little girl lied down on the mattress and wept. Meanwhile, upstairs, Madelyn was busy in the kitchen.She had brought out all the pots, placed them on the counter. Timothy walked into the kitchen asking what she was cooking for.
“Today is a happy day, I want to cook for my new family”
“okay well don’t get too excited” said Timothy

The little girl could hear Madelyn pacing back and forth. She looked around and noticed how plain the room was.  As she got up from the bed, and walked around, she let her fingers slide on the wall. Dust was all over her hands when she looked at them. The air was thick and smelled like old musty socks. As soon as you’d enter the room it would hit you in the face like a baseball. As she kept walking around the room she reached the white book case. It was empty and white, whiter than the clouds on a bright sunny day. The girl shook the bookcase, and then she heard a quiet scream. She shook it harder, and the scream became louder. She pulled the bookcase with all her strength but it didn’t budge. She tried over and over and over again, but it didn't move an inch. She went to lay back on her bed crying and thinking about how her happy day turned into a sad one. She wondered if she would ever see her family again and then she fell asleep.
The next morning she woke up, she had heard the door unlock and footsteps coming down the stairs. Madelyn had a pink and white plate with brown bears on it, there was a strawberry poptart on the plate. The girl sat up in the bed, she stared at Madelyn as she walked down the stairs.
“Goodmorning beautiful.”
“H-hi.” The little girl said
“Do you want a poptart?”
The girl said nothing Madelyn approached her, and put her hand on her shoulder, and asked
“What is your name?”
“M-m-my name is…. Suzie”
“Suzie, that’s such a beautiful name.”
Madelyn had left the basement and went back upstairs. Suzie didn't  hear a lock when Madelyn was leaving. The night before Suzie talked to the voices in the wall. That night suzie was just sitting on the bed, then Suzie had heard her name she quickly turned around.
“Suzie…. Suzie come here we wanna talk.” the voices had whispered.
“Who is that, who’s calling me?” Suzie said while panicking
“Suzie it’s us, the walls, come here”
“Come where? Suzie replied.
“To the bookcase we want to talk to you”
Suzie had slowly approached the bookcase and and put here head in one of the shelves, she cuffed her ear and said “Hello, it’s me”
“Suzie, Suzie welcome to our home, we’re more than happy to have you here”
“Who are you guys?”
“My name is Alice, and the rest are my friends. I know you can't see us, but that's okay. You can use your imagination.”
“Umm okay. how did you guys get into the wall? who put you guys in there?”
“who else? Timothy and Madelyn”
“THEY PUT YOU IN HERE, WHAT WHY?”
“it's a long story Suzie, don't worry about it”
“What do you mean don't worry about it? Tthat could be me soon. I have to worry. Give me the long story short”
“Fine, Long story short, once Madelyn doesn't need us anymore she throws us away, Not literally but you know what I mean. She gets rid of us because she doesn't need us anymore. Or another Long story short, if we try to escape she puts us away.”
“So does this mean i'm  never getting out of here?”
“Depends”
“Depends on what?”
“Depends on if you make it to the man's house”
“Man? There’s a man I need to make it to?” Suzie said in a confused voice
“Suzie if you ever try to escape, make sure it’s in the morning. Timothy always leaves the door open to grab the paper. Every now and then Madelyn will leave the basement door open, because she gets too excited to even think you'll run away. Always remember the neighbor down the block, he is a tall bald headed man.”
Suddenly she sprung from her bed and tip-toed to the stairs. She crept up the stairs slowly, not trying to make a sound. She slowly opened the door, looked to her right. The front door had been left open by Timothy; he went outside to pick up the paper. Then looked to the left, Madelyn was in the kitchen having breakfast. She was having a bowl of white plain oatmeal, with some raspberries on top. The basement door had cringed a little bit, Madelyn thought it was probably Suzie waking up. But really it was Suzie leaving. Madelyn heard footsteps running across the room. She turned her head and saw Suzie. She was running with all her power, though she was very small she was very fast. Madelyn had gotten up and as she wanted to begin to run, her small pinky toe hit the leg of the table. The impact was so hard that her spoon had fell out of her bowl. She held her foot, howling in pain. But she realized that Suzie was getting away. She called for Timothy. He ran through the back door in shock.
“Honey! What happened?”
“GET THE GIRL SHE’S RUNNING AWAY”
“Where is she?”
“Timothy are you stupid, where else could she be if she was running away, in the sky?”
“Oh sorry dear, I’ll go get her”
Timothy ran, it was surprising how fast he ran for an old man like him. He wasn't out of shape nor was he in shape. Suzie was already down the block, close to a neighbor’s house. She banged on the door  with both of her fists for a long time. Through the window she saw a man slowly walking towards the door. Suzie looked back and could see Timothy in the distance . She heard the door open and she quickly turned her head. She looked up at the man and noticed the man was bald, and he wore two pairs of glasses that were stacked on top of each other. The man looked confused, he raised his eyebrow and stared at Suzie. He looked above Suzie and saw Timothy. He grabbed Suzie closed the door and pushed her into the house. He turned to her and asked
“Do you know that man?”
“No” said Suzie
“So why was he running after you?
“There’s a lady that took me away from my Mom and Dad. I think the man and the lady are married, but the house they took me too was big and very scary. ”
“When did they take you?”
“ I was with my Mom and Dad at the carnival”
“You’re the little girl...there are police reports about you all over town”
“Please take me home, I want to see my parents. Please!”
“I’ll call your parents. Would you like anything?”
All of a sudden there was a big bang on the door. Timothy was outside yelling for the man to let him in. “c’mon let me in. You can’t have her!”
The man picked up the phone and dialed the number as quickly as he could. He turned and looked at Suzie and told her to run to the to the back room. She got up and put her short legs to use. Timothy was still at the door baging as hard as he could. He had threatened to break it down. A lady had answered the phone . Her voice was delicate, and but strong.
“H-hello, is this Suzies mother?”
“Yes, why are you asking, have you seen her?”
“I have, well not like I took her but like she ran here from the neighbors”
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh”
In the background you hear Suzies dad ask what's wrong, and the mother responds “this man, he's got her, she ran away from his neighbors” She had a tremble in her voice and she began to cry. You could hear her sniffle and gulp for air.
“We’ll be right on our way, right now, Bill get the car started.”
“Okay, I live on 207 brentwood drive see you in a few, by the way her kidnappers are at the door.”
“What?! That's insane.”
Then the phone was disconnected. The man had went to look through the hole of the door, he saw Timothy's angry face arguing with Madelyn. He could barely hear them, but he heard something about how did you let her go like that. He then heard a car pull up, the car door slammed and it was Suzies parents. They walked up to the door, and Suzies mom had dark blonde hair with big brown eyes and long eyelashes. Unlike her dad he had brown hair and blue eyes. They both look at each other and walk up to Timothy and Madelyn.
“ Who are you?” Suzies mom asked.
“We’re Timothy and Madelyn, and you?” they said in a synchronized voice
“We’re Suzie’s parents, what are you guys doing here?”
“Suzie, oh my god, she's such a wonderful kid. You should be very proud of what you got there”
“Thank you, we know” Suzies mom had an attitude, she was really sure she wanted to punch Timothy right in the nose
“Now why don't we all get to know each other, what do you say, Our house is right down the street”
“Know each other?! Why the hell would I want to get to know you, you are a kidnapper, you stole my child, you took her away from her family. Do you understand the pain we’ve been going through, and after all of it, you want to get to know us? Hell no!”
As soon as Suzies mother said hell no, Suzie’s father punched Timothy right in the nose. His knuckles cracked and his hand was red. Timothy moaned in pain, Suzie’s mom turned and looked at him and said “Thank you because if you didn't do it, I would have done it myself” Madelyn stood there frozen. She was not able to move because she was so frightened. She then grabs Timothy by his arms and drags him down the street all the way home. Suzies parents knock on the bald man’s door. He opens it just a little bit and peeks over their heads just to see if Timothy and Madelyn were gone. He opens the door, and lets them in.

Right before Suzies parents were about to enter, the police pull up.
“Sir, Ma’am, please stop walking and get on your knees and put your hands up”
Both Timothy and Madelyn try and outrun the officers, but one officer catches Madelyn right as she attempted to run, while the other officer was running after Timothy. Madelyn yelled
“Timothy stop running, there's no point of running anymore, stupid.”
Timothy turns around and tries to talk to Madelyn
“Huh? What did you say?” He said as he was running out of breath.
Suddenly the officer jumped on his back and tackled Timothy down. They both fell hard on the floor. The officer pulled Timothy by his cuffed arm so he could get up. Brought him up against the car and shoved him right next to Madelyn. The officer poked his head in the car and read them their rights.
“You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can or will be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you cannot afford an attorney one will be given to you. Do you understand your rights?”
Neither of them responded. The officer shrugged and got into the front seat and drove away

“Wow what a scene, Law and order 101!” Suzies mom said.
“Honey, be mature,” Suzie’s dad said.
“Now, hello my name is Jason. Please come in and take a seat. Suzie you can come out now”
“Okay now, do you promise it’s safe?” Suzie timidly asked.
“Yes, I promise. Your mom and dad are here.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Suzie, it’s me, Mommy. C’mon sweetie, the mean people are gone now.”
“Okay, I’m coming.”
From the corner of the room you could see little toes sticking out from behind the bedroom door. Then slowly Suzie peeked out her head. You could see her normal sized forehead stick out, with her little baby hairs all laid onto it. Then two big googly eyes with eyelashes that were longer than her toes stuck out. Her eyes battered and she saw her mom. Their eyes had connected. Suzies mother exhaled, she had felt a sense of relief. Suzie runs to her mother, her mother then picks her up and squeezes her till there's no breath in her left. Suzies mother bottom lashes began to stick together, because her tears streaming down her face. With each tear that fell it had a hit of black in it. Some of it got on Suzies shirt.
“Oh, sorry sweetie”
“That's okay mommy, don’t cry today is a happy day” Suzie said in the same sweet voice she had when she asked Madelyn why she was crying.


The author's comments:

When I first started writing this piece I wasnt sure where I was going with it but when I started to get the han of it, I made it into something great. 


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