Hey, free to talk?

My life is pretty standard. Or so I thought. Had my mom, dad and three younger sisters. We were happy. I was 14 while my youngest sister Helen, was 4. My other two sisters were Hannah and Heather. They're twins. When they were eight, they told me that our parents were weird. Two years have passed... and I still think about what they said. I can't blame them. My parents were pretty weird. Their names were mom and dad. Nothing else. They didn't let us go out. Not even school. They taught us all we know. I'm sure that they didn't tell us everything about the outside world. They said that the outside world was dangerous and cruel. We didn't dare ask more.

I was always always scared of strangers. Thankfully, I rarely saw any. The only person I have seen other than my family is my neighbour. Every time I saw her out my window, she rushed somewhere and pulled up a board that read: "Do you need help?"

Sometimes she wrote things like "call 911" or "reply if you need help". At first I would close my curtains and forget about it. After a while, this "board game" was done too frequently. I thought she was creepy and weird. So, I just ignored her. But for some reason, after a while, I started giving answers to her questions. We soon became friends and chatted alot through boards. She told me about the outside world and how good it was outside. As the typical teenage I was, I started blaming my parents. My hatred towards my parents grew as days passed by. My new 'friend's name was Grace. She asked me mine. I just stood there not knowing what to say. Then, I noticed that my parents never gave me a name. Grace understood that the moment she saw me speechless. Grace named me. She named me Joy. I loved that name.

At dinner, my parents asked me what was wrong and that I've been acting weird lately. As if I had a grudge towards them. I sobbed then and there. I asked why I don't get to go out or why I don't remember my childhood and why they didn't name me. My mom started to cry. My dad got mad at me for raising my voice at them. Mom mumbled something and got up to go outside. My dad told my sisters to stop my mom and take my mom upstairs instead. And so, the dining room was almost empty. Just me and my Dad.

My dad placed his hands on top of mine and said that it's time that he had told me something. He said that I have been in a bad car accident when I was young and was in a coma for 10 years. He said that it was a miracle that I woke up. No wonder why I only remember 4 years of my life. "Why don't you let me and my sisters go out then?" I asked while wiping away my tears. "Because your doctor said that you had to rest at home. And we didn't want you to be alone so we made your sisters do the same. And, me and your mom did name you. "Joy". That was your name. You just don't remember it. Just like our names." my dad said. "What? Grace calls me that!" I said. "Who is this... Grace?" My dad asked. "Grace! Our neighbour!" I said cheerfully.

"But... honey, our neighbour moved to the countryside years ago." My dad said.

But- I ran upstairs and looked out of my window. There she stood. Grace. Holding a board that read: "Hey, Free To Talk?".

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