Kitchen dialogue

Young 3-year-old boy walks into the kitchen, to see his 10-year-old sister pouring milk down the drain.

"Essie? What are you doing?" the boy asked.

But the girl stood still, proceeding to empty the carton. The boy was confused.

"Why do you pour it out? It's not bad... mom bought it just yesterday," he tried to reason with her.

She stared blankly as the last drops fell down, and then threw the carton into the trash can.

"Essie?.."

He could feel something was wrong, even though he didn't know what exactly.

Suddenly, his sister turned, a usual smile gracing her features. "What? You're hungry, Danny?"

"You didn't like it?" the boy asked.

"Um? Didn't like what?" the girl's voice sounded flat. However, the boy didn't think much of that. He knew she was like this even before his birth.

Mom once said she's been like this since she returned from the hospital, where she was in coma after hurting herself very badly. After her classmate had died mysteriously.

"Milk. Was it bitter?" the boy walked over and looked down at the emptied carton, noticing some missing children' faces painted over with red crayon and pierced through.

"Why did you paint it?" he asked.

The girl's cheerful smile never wavered, only brightening further. "'Cause it has to be like this!" she giggled, patting little brother's head, and then put her finger over her lips.

"Shh!"

The boy hummed, curious. "It's a secret?"

"Mm-hmm!" she giggled playfully, with an eerie, unfeeling undertone the boy was just too young to distinguish.