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One night, a pair of twins were born. One named Annie, and the other named Anna. As soon as they were born, it was clear that something was seriously wrong. Anna was born without a liver, and Annie without a heart.

So, the doctors made the impossible decision to remove Anna's heart and give it to her sister. Annie survived, but there was no saving Anna.

Annie's parents kept this dark secret away from Annie for years. That the only reason she was alive was that her sister had been sacrificed.

...

But at a certain point, she was old enough to know the truth.

Soon after Annie turned thirteen, her parents related the sad story to her. Annie was understandably in shock.

'Why was I spared,' she thought. 'I didn't deserve to live any more than her.'

For the rest of the day, it was impossible for her to think about anything else. And who could blame her? The fact that her very heart was not her own traumatized her.

That night, she struggled to fall asleep. She tossed and turned for a while until eventually, she began to feel sleepy.

But was at that moment that she heard something. Something that shook her to her very core.

A voice.

A voice, saying:

ANNIE, ANNIE. GIVE ME MY HEART BACK.

I AM DOWNSTAIRS.

Annie sat up in bed, ready to scream. She listened to see if she would hear anything more, but all she found was silence.

'Maybe it was just my imagination?' she thought.

The next morning at school, she didn't feel her normal self. She didn't talk to anyone, but hid away from the other kids. Something she never normally did.

The only thing occupying her mind was Anna.

She was glad that it was Friday.

When night came, she lay awake waiting for the voice to return. She waited, ready to defend herself from whatever might be lurking.

But eventually, she grew tired and let her guard down.

And that's when she heard it.

The voice.

ANNIE, ANNIE. GIVE ME MY HEART BACK.

I AM ASCENDING THE STAIRS.

Annie stumbled out of bed, grabbed a flashlight, and bravely entered her parents' room.

"Mom, Dad, are you awake?" she whispered. Her parents yawned. "We are now," they responded.

"I'm hearing a voice," Annie said. "I heard it last night, and I heard it again now. I think it's Anna."

"Oh Annie, don't be scared," her mother said, trying to encourage her. "Anna's still gone. All that's left of her is our memories. Don't worry about her."

Annie awoke the next day sleep-deprived. Nothing sounded good to eat, and she didn't want to do much of anything at all. She spent the day trying to sleep, but being unable to.

For the first time in what felt like forever, she was finally tired at bedtime. She crawled under the covers and began to drift off.

But much to her discomfort...

...the voice returned.

ANNIE, ANNIE, GIVE ME MY HEART BACK.

I AM AT YOUR DOOR.

Immediately, Annie ran out of the room, eyes closed yet crying, flailing her arms in an attempt to defend herself.

"Mom, Dad!" she yelled as she flung her parents' bedroom door open. "It's Anna, she, she, she..." And Annie broke down sobbing in the dark, in the quiet.

"Annie, it's going to be okay," her father said. "We're here for you. Don't be scared."

But it was no use. Annie went on crying until she fell asleep.

Annie slept in longer than she ever had before. When she finally woke up, she instantly feared what would happen that night. She tried doing everything she could to delay evening's arrival, but it came just the same.

She sat up in bed on that night, breaking into a cold sweat. 'Would the voice return?' she thought. 'What would it say, what would it do?'

She kept her guard up as long as she could.

For hours, she listened for the slightest noise. The smallest disturbance of anything.

But she only heard silence and saw still darkness.

Eventually, as she grew tired, she inevitably let her guard down.

And then.

Then the voice spoke.

Sounding closer than ever before.

It said:

ANNIE, ANNIE. GIVE ME MY HEART BACK.

Silence.

Annie was paralyzed in fear. 'Why?' she thought. 'Why didn't Annie say where she was this-'

LOOK UP.

Said the voice.

In a state of pure terror, Annie slowly lifted her head to the ceiling.

She saw nothing...

...

...

...

...and that's when ANNIE came down from the ceiling and stabbed HER.