Moths

The first thing Jenny noticed about the new house wasn't the Jacuzzi, or the wrap around porch, or even her new room. It was the moths. The first one flew out the door when they unlocked the house for the first time. It wasn't a big deal, and the family had even had a good laugh about it. But then she started seeing more of them. Nestled in the corners, in drawers, even in the old pots and pans left by the previous owner. She hated moths. To her, they were just ugly, dusty butterflies. But nobody else seemed to mind. At first Jenny though that nobody else was really bothered by moths. They were everywhere. They were in her room, and that's what really upset her. But the most moths were in the living room. Every time she flipped the light on or walked into that room, she swore she could hear the rustling of hundreds of gray wings folding, trying to hide from her. She was surprised anybody would even sit in there. But they did, and they cooked with the pots, and the ignored the two moths flying around the ceiling fan at dinner. 'There are a lot of moths here.' Jenny stated, picking dully at her food. 'Suppose so.' Her brother said, stuffing the cooked chicken into his mouth. She looked away, disgusted. 'Is it the light? I mean, maybe it's the light that's attracting them. We could turn on the porch lights at night to try and draw them out. Or maybe it's the smell; that-' Jenny was cut off mid-sentence. 'Jenny, calm down. There are hardly any moths. You're just over reacting.' Her father said, cutting his food. 'I haven't noticed any.' Her mother said, slowly sipping her soup. Since she had gotten sick, she hadn't spoken much. She was looking better today, it seemed like. Or perhaps it was just the lighting. Jenny remained silent, eyeing the moths above her head. She didn't sleep that night. She couldn't. It seemed when ever she closed her eyes, the moths started moving. They hid from her; of course, they knew she would swat them if she saw them. But when her eyes were closed, the moved. She put in her earphones, and tried to block out the noise. It took her an hour, but she finally fell asleep. Her dreams were gloomy and confusing, and she didn't remember them in the morning. But the words screamed in her dream were still in the back of her mind, 'The moths.' She awoke to the sun peeking through her window. She sighed, and covered her head with her covers. An eruption of wings came from her bed, flying up past her face. She screamed, realizing the moths were not only on her bed, but also in her bead. She jumped out and ran into the hallway, panting. Her brother stumbled out of his room, wide eyes glazed over. 'W-what?' He asked, looking around. She could only stare as three moths climbed slowly through his doorway, onto the ceiling. She covered her mouth as another moth crawled over her brother's foot. He didn't even notice. 'There are moths everywhere!' She screamed. 'How do you not see them!?' He sighed. 'You're such a drama queen.' He mumbled, going back into his room. Jenny stayed, staring at her open door, back against the wooden railing, for a while. She couldn't go back in there. She couldn't. It had been like this for a week already. No more. She went downstairs for breakfast, still in her pajamas. Her father looked up at her in mild surprise. 'Aren't people usually dressed by 8:30?' He asked, returning to his toast. 'Yeah, funny thing about that. I was awake this morning, at 6:00. But then I was woken up by moths, Dad. In my room. In my bed.' Jenny complained, still shaking off the memories. 'So that was you screaming your head off this morning?' He asked, looking up at her with a slightly angry expression. 'I- Have you even listened to me? Dad, moths! Everywhere! Up on the ceiling, in the furniture! Yes, I was screaming, because there were 20 moths in my bed!' She exclaimed furiously. How could he not see what was crawling over his breakfast plate? She shrieked and picked up the newspaper, smashing the moth on the table. Her father jumped back, almost knocking his coffee over. 'Listen, Jenny, I know you're upset