Autobiographical Extract

There was a sharp scraping sound just out of my view, inside the building. For a moment, a silent, heavy air hung around me – an air of frightened anticipation. A resounding click preceded the slight opening of the door, leaving it slightly ajar, before the door opened fully and revealed the building’s residents.

My sister hadn’t changed since my last visit, in which I was indecisive as to whether that was a good thing or a bad one. Smiling sheepishly with a beady pair of bright eyes and an extravagant outfit, she beckoned me inside. I regularly wondered how we could have had the same parents. Dodging around the bumbling infant, I let out a deep breath. That woman never failed to spark a significant terror in me, but the last thing I would do would be to show it. I stepped around another of her children, and tried to settle in the lounge, which had always had a large window facing the road in front. Feeling now more uneasy than frightened, my sister trotted cheerfully into the room, and faced me with a large plate of sandwiches that had appeared in her hands. Politely refusing, I surfaced another weak smile and sat down on the sofa. Lumpy, as usual. Bouncing out of the room, I stretched my arms and relief finally spread over me. After a few minutes, one of the small children who I had avoided earlier stumbled into view. She toddled in my direction, with her hands outstretched as if she wanted something from me. Confusion spread like a virus through me, infecting my mind with a flurry of raw thoughts. I was never good with children, preferring the company of sensible individuals in favour of helpless idiots. My thoughts were silenced as the child tripped - over one of the cheap toys scattered around the room - and fell onto her hands. The resulting scream was in itself enough to warrant covering my ears, at least until my sister re-entered, scooped her up and strode back out. Again I was left alone, with the pleasant liberation of my thoughts to entertain me.