Amelia, 41

The untold secret:

Amelia has a secret, one she guards fiercely and keeps locked away in the shadows of her soul. As a librarian, Amelia's life is steeped in the comforting embrace of literature, the whispered conversations between dusty pages. But when she leaves the hallowed halls of her workplace and returns to her modest suburban home, she finds solace in a darker pursuit.

Amelia's mother was her beacon, the guiding light of her life, and she idolized her with the fervor of a child's love. But her mother, overprotective and fearful, refused Amelia the simple joy of a pet, declaring her allergic to animals after a single incident at a friend's house. Amelia's devotion to her mother never wavered, but deep within her heart, a seed of resentment took root, not towards her beloved parent, but towards the creatures that had stolen away her happiness.

As a librarian, Amelia's days were spent organizing and reshuffling the vast collection of books in her care. It was during one such task that she happened upon a tome on taxidermy. The pages, filled with the delicate art of preserving life beyond death, struck a chord within her—a twisted harmony that resonated with her long-buried resentment.

Amelia's secret blossomed in the shadows, an insidious flower that fed on her anger and longing. She began to collect roadkill, the broken bodies of animals that had met their end under the relentless wheels of fate. In her capable hands, these lifeless husks became something more, a macabre display of control and punishment.

In her basement, Amelia's eerie menagerie came to life, each animal suspended between worlds, unable to pass into the great beyond. She gave them names, whispered incantations binding them to her will. They were her unwilling companions, a constant reminder of the childhood denied her by her own body's betrayal.

This secret, born from love and twisted by anger, consumed her, becoming the hidden cornerstone of her existence. Amelia's friends and coworkers knew her only as a quiet, unassuming librarian, blissfully unaware of the darkness that lay beneath her placid exterior.

About Amelia:

Amelia's life began as a delicate tapestry, woven from the love and devotion of her parents. Her mother, a nurse well-versed in the language of the emergency room, was her guiding star, while her father, a quiet accountant with a love for dogs, provided a steady anchor in her world.

In her early years, Amelia was fascinated by animals, her dreams filled with the loyal companionship of a pet. But her mother, a woman who wielded her medical knowledge like a sword, stood as the gatekeeper between Amelia and her heart's desire. The moment that sealed Amelia's fate occurred during a visit to a friend's house, where a dish of strawberries led to a severe allergic reaction. Her mother, quick to diagnose the source of her daughter's distress, forbade Amelia from spending time at her friend's home, blaming their pet for the reaction.

Though Amelia loved and idolized her mother, the seeds of doubt and fear were sown in her heart. Her dreams of a Christmas puppy were extinguished, replaced by the crushing weight of her mother's certainty. Amelia's father, though he questioned his wife's diagnosis, was ill-equipped to challenge her authority. His love for Amelia was deep and true, but his fear of conflict left him unable to fight for his daughter's happiness.

And so, Amelia's life became a study in quiet longing, the absence of a pet forming a void in her heart. She grew up with an unshakable sense of loss, a pain that was never eased by her father's silent support. As Amelia's adoration for her mother remained steadfast, her fear and resentment of animals grew, fed by her belief that they were the source of her suffering.

In school, Amelia was a bright and dedicated student, her love for learning eclipsed only by her passion for books. She would lose herself for hours in the library, the quiet solace of literature providing a refuge from the world outside. As she grew older, her obsession with animals transformed into a morbid curiosity, a fascination with the creatures she could never have.

Amelia's academic success led her to pursue a degree in library sciences, a field that seemed tailor-made for her love of literature and solitude. After graduation, she returned to her hometown, securing a position as a librarian at the very institution that had been her sanctuary in her youth.

The years passed, and Amelia's life seemed to settle into a comfortable rhythm, her days spent among the familiar stacks of books and the hushed whispers of her patrons. Yet, the void in her heart remained, a gnawing hunger that refused to be silenced.

It was during this time that Amelia stumbled upon the world of taxidermy, an art that seemed to call out to her darkest desires. In the preserved bodies of roadkill, she found a way to both satisfy her longing for a pet and exact a twisted form of vengeance on the creatures she believed had caused her so much pain.

As Amelia's secret life took root, her relationship with her parents became strained. Her mother, still wielding her medical knowledge like a shield, remained oblivious to the turmoil brewing in her daughter's heart. Her father, still bound by his fear of conflict, could only watch in helpless silence as Amelia drifted further and further away.

In the depths of her basement sanctuary, Amelia created her own twisted family, a macabre menagerie that served as both her salvation and her undoing. She named each animal, whispered secrets to their lifeless forms, and found solace in the knowledge that she had finally achieved a measure of control over the creatures that had haunted her dreams.

Amelia's life had become a fragile balance of light and darkness, a dance between the comforting embrace of her library and the eerie shadows of her basement. As she moved between these two worlds, the lines that separated them began to blur, her secret life seeping into the corners of her mind like a slow poison or strawberries one could react to unknowingly.

Amelia, 41