Piper woke up trembling, wondering, what she had just heard.  There it was again, a rat-a-tat-tat, rat-a-tat-tat.  Gunshots!  Not just any gunshots, but those of a high-powered rifle. It was an unmistakable sound. She didn’t know how she knew that was what it was, it just sounded like what a rifle would sound like.  She jumped out of bed and snuck to her window, peering out into the woods. The bright glow of the moonlight allowed her to see a short distance into the woods.  Suddenly, she saw it, a movement, and the flash of a face.  She jumped back to make sure she wasn’t in view of the shooter. When she looked back out, she couldn’t see anything, but she heard something. A faint voice calling her name.  She sunk into the corner praying to God not to let her see that man again.  She looked across the room and the shadows of the light showed her the very thing she didn’t want to see.  He was back.  In the corner was a man with a pale white face and eyes as black as night, he was staring at her.  She cried and begged him to leave her alone, but he just stared, never moving.  She reached for the light on the nightstand and turned on the lamp. He was gone, but she could swear she heard a slight chuckle before the light turned on.

She jumped up and ran to the bathroom to splash her face.  Why did she agree to stay here alone while Rich went away for the week.  You know why, she thought to herself; to save your marriage because you are going crazy, and he can barely tolerate you anymore.  Piper started crying, she couldn’t make sense of anything right now. She was agitated, irritated, and seeing things that she knew were there, but Rich and her stepsister, Toni, kept telling her she was imagining things. “It is your stress” they would say. “It will just take time; you are still depressed” they would tell her.

Piper had a miscarriage 10 weeks ago; it had brought all of the grief back up from losing her mother to a tragic fall 8 years earlier.  Piper was only 17 and Toni was 18 when it happened; it left a huge hole in her life with all of the things her mother would never get to see; her graduation from high school or college, her wedding, her baby.  The fall was ruled an accident; she had been going down the steps, to the basement, and slipped on something left on the step.  It was a toy or something that used to be the girls when they were younger.  Phil, Toni’s dad, thought it was odd that the toy was left there; he could never figure out what it was doing there and thought maybe Ramona, Piper’s mom, had been clearing out the basement of old toys and clothes.

Phil married Ramona after the two divorced from their spouses 2 years prior.  Piper was only six and Toni was seven when the two joined their lives.  Toni and Piper didn’t fight often, but they didn’t hang out either.  Piper and Toni each had every other weekend visitation with their other parent, and it worked out to make their weekends the same, meaning every other weekend they were together at Phil and Ramona’s house.  Toni’s mom, Sandra, had drinking issues and agreed to give Phil full custody of Toni but wanted her every other weekend.  Piper’s dad agreed to have the same schedule for Piper as Toni’s mom. Phil and Ramona thought it would be good for the girls to be together as much as possible, to build their relationship. The two tolerated each other but didn’t hang out. They had a very different circle of friends, and only did things together at home when it was a family night, like playing games.

They remained cordial until one incident in high school that fractured whatever friendship they had.  It was Piper’s Sophomore year and Toni’s Junior, when Phil and Ramona were gone for the weekend and left the girls alone.  They told them they trusted each of them and trusted there would be no parties at the house.  The girls agreed that they would not indulge in any such activities.  No sooner were Phil and Ramona out of the driveway than Toni looked over at Piper and said, “there’s a really cool party this weekend, and I want you to come with me”.  Piper looked at her like she was crazy. “Why would you want me to tag along, they are your friends, and you never want to hang out with me”?  “Oh, come on Piper, don’t be a drag. You can drive my car if you want”. Piper knew why Toni wanted her to go now; she wanted Piper to be the designated driver so she could get drunk. Toni knew that Piper didn’t drink, so she figured she had a free ticket to drink all she wanted.  In the end, Piper agreed to go only because of the guilt she would feel if Toni tried to drive herself home and something happened to her.

At the party, Piper was sitting by herself at the fire.  She had a glass of punch that didn’t taste so great.  Dan, the high school quarter back, a Junior, came and sat next to her.  Hey, I thought you were all innocent, what are you doing drinking that stuff?  “Toni brought it for me so I wouldn’t drink; she wants me to drive her home” explained Piper.  “Let me see that” said Dan as he grabbed the glass, smelled it, and took a small sip.  “If you drink this, you won’t be driving home; I don’t know what she put in it, but I guarantee you, this isn’t alcohol-free”.  Piper grabbed the glass and threw the contents out, looking down and grateful that it was dark enough so Dan couldn’t see her red face. She felt so naive and out of touch.  Dan looked over at her and told her not to feel bad, that he liked her innocence.  He told her he was tired of this party scene. He had stopped hanging out with this party crowd some time ago, but his friend wanted him to go, so he gave in.  Dan explained that everyone thought the jocks were party animals, but he didn’t fit into that mold.  He said he didn’t really fit in anywhere.  Before thinking about it, Piper invited him to her church.  She told him about the teen group study she was in and how they helped the younger kids navigate life as a Christian.  She told Dan that she, too, didn’t fit in anywhere but with her Christian friends.  Just before Dan could say anything, Toni walked up and looked at the two of them.  Something crossed her face that looked very dark.  She looked at Piper and said, “let’s go, I don’t want you here any longer, I’m driving you home”.  Toni turned to Dan and told him she’d be back in a half hour or less.  To that, Dan informed her he was going home as well; this just wasn’t his scene.  He turned to Piper and said, “I’ll take you up on your offer; see you Sunday”.

The drive home was awful; Toni lit into Piper accusing her of stealing her man. “You’re just like your mother; you think you have to steal someone else’s man because you can’t find your own”.  Piper was devastated. She tried to explain that she didn’t know Toni had a thing for Dan and she didn’t even have feelings for him herself.  She told Toni she thought Dan was nice and invited him to church.  Toni laughed a bitter laugh and called Piper names she can’t remember and probably wouldn’t say them out loud if she did.  After that, the two didn’t talk. They never told their parents what happened because they didn’t want to admit they were at the party; that was their only alliance to each other.  Other than that, they only spoke to each other if they had to.  The following year, when Ramona fell to her death, the two stood next to each other at the funeral, but Toni barely spoke to Piper.  She mumbled some sort of condolence, but that was it.

 Fast forward to two weeks after the miscarriage, Toni called her and told her she wanted to be a part of her life again. Toni apologized for how things turned out. “I feel terrible Piper, I know we were just kids, and I should have been there for you after your mom’s death. Instead, I let my jealousy get the best of me.  I know you didn’t mean to take Dan away from me. Uh, I mean he and I weren’t anything to each other, and I know you weren’t trying to hit on him.  Will you forgive me? I want to be there for you during this difficult time”.  Piper was taken by surprise but was in such a state of depression from losing the baby.  She had been five months pregnant and thought she was in the clear.  She had already finished the nursery.  Her excitement had been so great, she couldn’t stop herself from completing it, so she used neutral colors to accommodate whatever sex she had.  After losing the baby, she was inconsolable, and Rich didn’t know what to do.  Phil came over to try to comfort her but couldn’t get through.  Out of desperation, he asked his daughter to try to mend things with her stepsister.  Toni was all too willing to step in and take over.  

Toni was the perfect sister for Piper; she came over after work to check on her. She took Piper to her follow up Doctor’s appointment, allowing Rich to remain at work, and she even offered to get Piper’s antidepressant filled.  During one of Pipers appointments, Toni had gone back in with her and told the OB Doctor how depressed Piper was. She explained how Piper was dredging up terrible memories of her mother’s passing and wondered if a prescription of some kind would help.  They left the office with a prescription for Diazepam.  “Hey little sis, I know I was a cruddy big sister, but I am going to make up for everything. I will help you through this”. Piper just looked over at Toni and smiled weakly. “Thank you, Toni. I need family right now”.

Toni ran into the pharmacy for Piper, but when she came out, she looked frustrated. “They have to order the Diazepam but said it would be in tomorrow or the next day; they gave me 3 days’ worth to get by.  I will come back over after my shift at work and pick it up. That way you don’t have to wait for Rich to get home”.  Toni offered.   “You don’t have to do that; you’ve done so much already. Rich can get it, and I can wait” replied Piper.  Toni was insistent, telling Piper it was the least she could do. She dropped Piper off at home, made Piper a cup of tea, gave her the first dose of Diazepam, left a note for Rich, and told Piper she would see her in the morning.  Piper smiled as Toni left; it felt good to try to rekindle a relationship.  Heck, it wasn’t even rekindling; it was building from scratch, but she liked it.  Maybe she would come out of this alright after all.  When Rich came home, she told him about her day and said she was starting to believe things would be alright.  She smiled and kissed him. Rich looked genuinely pleased; he had been very concerned for Piper. He wasn’t sure how he would help her out of the abyss she was sinking into. He had hardly been able to mourn himself because her depression sank so quickly and so deeply. To see her smile, already, told him things would work out.

A few days later, Rich was worried again. Piper was getting agitated for no reason. She would lash out at him for the smallest things; a wrapper on the counter, he left the door open too far, he had the room too cold, or too hot, then she started swearing she was seeing things that weren’t there. It started out mild, like a spider on a wall. When Rich didn’t see what she was pointing at, she would blow up. By the following week, she was waking up at night screaming because there was a man standing in the corner.  He couldn’t convince her otherwise until he turned the lights on and went to the corner.  She had no explanation other than she thought the man must have run out as Rich was turning the lights on.  She was hallucinating during the day and night; it wasn’t just night terrors.  Rich wanted to get her help, but she insisted it was fine; she just needed time.  Toni was there to help and had picked up her medication a few days prior.  Toni promised to help her.

Toni started coming over more often to allow Rich to leave the house without fear. It was taking a toll on him. It had been 8 weeks since Piper went to her follow up and told him she thought things were getting better.  Now, almost ten weeks after the miscarriage, he was living in a nightmare, and he could barely stay awake at work.  He wanted to help his wife, he wanted to mourn with her, he was lost at how to help her, and he was ridden with guilt because it felt so good to get out of the house that was drowning in sorrow, tension, and utter chaos.   Toni convinced Rich to take a week off, from the house, and let her stay with Piper.  Toni had been in touch with Pipers Doctor and asked if Piper could start doubling up her medication. She told Rich that she would pick it up and make sure Piper took it and rested.  Reluctantly, Rich agreed; he needed to sleep so he could be productive at work. He decided to check into a hotel, closer to work which was 20 miles away, and be alone for a week.  Piper agreed he should go; even though she had bouts of agitation and hallucinations, she knew this was taking a toll on him and she feared she was going crazy.  She told Rich that she would start counseling the following week and, maybe, get additional testing to see if they could figure out what was going on.  Rich kissed Piper goodbye and made her promise to call him if it got too bad and Toni couldn’t help.  Piper agreed, reminding him that Toni was going to be over after work, with her prescription, and was going to make dinner and be with her the rest of the week.

That afternoon, around 4:30, Toni came over, dropped of the new prescription, and apologized to Piper that she could not stay the next few nights; she volunteered to take the overnight shift at work.  She told Piper she would be a phone call away and she knew Piper could do this; she was getting stronger every day.  Piper didn’t feel very confident, but she didn’t want to be a burden, so she told Toni she understood.  Toni gave Piper her medication, made her a quick sandwich, and hugged her goodbye.  Piper watched Toni leave and wondered what she would do if she started seeing things again. She knew they kept telling her it wasn’t real, but she couldn’t convince her brain otherwise. She decided to call her friend, Jen, who lived a few houses away.  Jen was married to Dan, the guy from high school that drove the wedge between Piper and Toni.  Piper wasn’t sure if Toni knew that Dan and Jen lived so close, so she hadn’t said anything. She knew it wouldn’t matter; Toni had told her that was water under the bridge, but she didn’t want to mess up a good thing.  Now that Toni couldn’t stay, Piper figured she’d invite Jen to come over the next day. Jen offered to stay that night, but Piper assured her it was fine, as she hung up and watched a large rat walk across the floor. “It’s not real” she told herself as the rat carried a bloody finger in its mouth.  Piper looked away and searched for the television remote.

Piper turned the television on and watched as oil poured out of it.  She got up to grab some towels and stopped.  This can’t be real, she thought as she watched it pool around her feet.  She sat down and touched her feet, relieved to feel they were dry.  “I’m glad their dry” said the woman next to her.  Piper jumped out of her chair and ran to call Jen.  

Jen made it over in 5 minutes.  Dan and Piper remained friends ever since that night in high school. It was a platonic relationship. They truly enjoyed each other’s company, enjoyed teaching bible study together, and hanging out. It was Piper that introduced Jen to Dan; she knew they would be a great fit.  Dan wanted Jen to stay with Piper; he agreed to take care of their toddler as long as necessary until Rich returned. Dan was going to call Rich, but Piper insisted he didn’t.  When Jen arrived, Piper was in tears. “I know I’m going crazy. Everyone is trying to help me. My Diazepam isn’t working. I think I’m just having a breakdown”.   Jen asked how many milligrams of Diazepam she was taking. Piper told her she thought it was 5 mg two to three times per day.   She told Jen it was probably time to take another.  Jen went to get the bottle and pulled out an oblong green pill. “I had to take Diazepam once, and it didn’t look like this. Are you sure that’s what it is”? asked Jen.  At that, Piper became agitated; “what do you think I’m lying? Look at the bottle Jen, what does it say”!  Jen spoke softly and told her that she was going to make her some sleepy tea rather than the medicine and see if it helped her sleep.  It took a while to calm her down, but Piper finally agreed.  Jen told Piper she would sit in the room with her until she fell asleep and would move to the couch afterwards.

Once Piper was asleep, Jen began searching the internet for oblong green pills with the number 107 on one side and RH on the other. It took her a while, and she found several possibilities, but one had some disturbing side effects: agitation, hallucinations, confusion, and many others.  It was Ropinirole, and it was used for Parkinson’s patients to control movement.  The longer and higher doses, the greater the risk.  Jen was devastated; all she could think about was why and how Rich could do this to Piper. They were the perfect couple. They led bible studies, they volunteered during the Holiday’s for various gatherings, they supported each other. What would drive Rich to do this to Piper and how could she not see it?  If Jen was correct, and this was Ropinirole, it took about 48 hours to clear from the system, maybe longer. 

The next morning when Piper awoke, Jen asked when her last dose of Diazepam had been.  She told her it had been 4:30 when Toni had come over; Toni was always insistent on making sure she was prompt with her medication.  It was now 8:30 a.m., Jen thought, if she could convince Piper to stay off of the medication about 32 more hours, she could assess how Piper was doing.  Jen had seen some of Piper’s episodes, but not many. Piper was embarrassed about what was going on, so she had insisted on being out of the spotlight. She hadn’t been to church since the miscarriage and refused to let visitors in. “Piper, when did you start your prescription” Jen asked.  Piper gave her the timeline and told her how Toni had been kind enough to take her to her appointments and get her prescriptions filled for her.  “Where did you say Toni works” asked Jen.   “At the nursing home, in town. She is a medical assistant there, she helps all the patients”. Jen’s face drained of color. 

Piper asked her what was going on.  Jen asked Piper if she trusted her, to which Piper told her she trusted her with her life.  “Good, you have to listen to me, and I don’t want you to get upset.  I think your sister switched out your medication. This is going to sound crazy, but I think what you are taking is a medication that is given to Parkinson’s patients.  I couldn’t figure out how this could happen, but when you told me Toni was getting your prescriptions filled, something didn’t add up.  Now that you tell me she works at a nursing home, I can only guess she is stealing her patient’s prescriptions and substituting your Diazepam with this medication. I know it sounds crazy but look what I found on the internet”.  Jen explained and showed Piper what she had been researching that night. Piper couldn’t wrap her head around it.  “But I saw things last night and I didn’t have the medicine. I saw butterflies in the room, and I saw a bird eating them up. I didn’t want to wake you up because it wasn’t scary to me” Piper told Jen.  Jen explained that it takes a couple of days to get out of the system.  “Look how much more coherent you are now, and it’s only been 16 hours.  Look, not everyone will react like you, but I’m guessing your sister took a chance”.  Said Jen.  “That would explain why the first time she picked it up, she told me they only had a small supply and had to order more. She offered to pick it up once it came in. Why would she do this, after all these years. Why would she come into my life, only to wreak havoc,” cried Piper.  “I am guessing that your stepsister is sick in the head. Sick with jealousy and sick with anger” responded Jen.

“Listen, we have to pretend we don’t know what is going on. We have to be able to prove it. If Toni calls, don’t let her know I was over. Don’t let her know you stopped taking the pills. We have to throw as many out as you should have taken. I’m sure she will count the pills to be sure you are taking them” Jen explained. Piper agreed and the two spent the day together.  Toni had called to check in and told her she would stop by to make sure she was okay in the afternoon but had to get back to work. Piper agreed.  Jen went to the upper level when she heard Toni come in.  Earlier, Jen went home and had Dan drive her back so the car wouldn’t be there. When Toni came in, Piper was sitting in the chair with a blanket up around her neck, tears in her eyes.  “Oh sis, how are you” asked Toni.  “I’m fine, Toni, I’m just afraid. I saw that man again and he wouldn’t leave.  I just sat here until it disappeared, I don’t know what I am going to do,” said Piper.  Toni offered to get her medicine, but Piper told her she took it a few minutes before Toni arrived. Toni looked at her for a good 30 seconds and Piper looked back, letting her eyes get heavy and looking behind Toni.  Toni turned to look behind her and then back at Piper.  Piper told Toni there was a bird sitting on the wall behind her. Seeming to look satisfied, Toni took the prescription bottle, opened it, and counted the pills.  “I just want to make sure you have enough to get you through the week.  We’ll have to see about getting your dose increased next week” said Toni as she fixed a sandwich, brought it to Piper, and told her she would see her tomorrow.  Piper nodded her head and Toni told her how proud she was that she was being such a brave lady.  Before leaving, Toni turned to Piper and said “Hey if you think about it, I left my workout bag in the basement, could you grab it for me. I will take it home tomorrow when I come over”.  Piper thought that was odd but nodded her head yes.

When Toni was gone from the driveway, Jen came downstairs.  “Is there any doubt what I’m saying is true” asked Jen.  “None said Piper, I am still not myself, but I am not as agitated as I was, and my hallucinations are nowhere near what they were.  What do we do next?”  Jen called Dan and told him what had just happened along with her plan.  Jen was going to make an anonymous call to the nursing home and tell them what she believed was happening. She asked if they had surveillance cameras.  She talked to the Operations Director and was told that they did have surveillance, but everyone knew they weren’t in use; budget cuts didn’t allow anyone to monitor it.  Jen begged to have them turned on and monitored over the next week. She gave a bit of the story to the Director, who was horrified to think a patient’s medicine was being stolen, but not overly surprised that it could happen.  They didn’t allow narcotics in the patient rooms for that reason, but all other meds were allowed.  The Director agreed to turn the cameras on and said she would find a way to monitor them when Toni was on shift.

When Rich returned home, he couldn’t believe his eyes or ears. Piper was her normal self, maybe a hint of sadness left in her eyes, but she was smiling.  Dan and Jen were there to tell what they thought was going on and how they were waiting to hear from the Nursing Home.  Rich was devastated and angry with himself.  How could he not see this? How could he trust Toni who had been a terrible stepsister? Why wasn’t he there when his wife needed him?  He hugged Piper, begged her to forgive him and promised he would do what he could to make it up.  Piper told him he didn’t need to feel guilty; who would have guessed something like this could happen?

It was only a short week later when the call came, it was the police department and they told Piper they wanted to come by in person to talk to her. They informed Rich and Piper that Toni was arrested for stealing medications. She would likely be convicted of a felony and possible federal charges since the Nursing Home was a State Facility.  When they went to her house, they found several other medications, pictures of Piper and Dan in high school, and a picture of what they concluded was Ramona with a large X through her face.  They asked if they could see her basement because they found crazy notes about doing the same thing to Piper as she did to Ramona, the man-stealing witch.  Piper led them to the basement and as they flipped the light switch, nothing happened.  It was dark in the stairwell, so the officer turned the flashlight on.  There on the top three steps were several objects placed on the steps, likely to trip someone as they were going down in the dark.  Piper turned to Rich with tears in her eyes. “Oh Rich, to think Toni did this to my mom is unbearable. Phil will be devastated.”  Rich hugged her, told her he loved her, promised to be by her side no matter what, and that he was glad to have his wife and best friend by his side. 

Toni was sentenced to the maximum penalty of twenty years.  Phil was heartbroken, but somehow not surprised; he had always seen the darkness in his daughter and was never able to break through to her.  Piper remembers the accusations Toni threw at her after her sentencing. Toni was outraged when she learned of her sentence. She began yelling at Piper; “You did this you bitch, you stole everything from me, just like your filthy mother. You made my dad love you more than me, you made my mom like you, you made my teachers turn against me, you took my boyfriends.  You are the Pied Piper; one who entices people to follow you at the expense of others”.

 Piper got pregnant two months later and delivered a healthy baby girl at full term. Her name is Ramona Joy, Rami for short.  Piper mourns for what could have been; her mom to be there and be grandma to her baby and a stepsister who could have been the caring aunt if things were different. She chose not to dwell on the sadness, but rather to rejoice in her blessings. She never saw the man in the corner again, butterflies in her living room, rats carrying fingers, nor had she ever heard voices again. She was Piper, she thought; she was not someone who stole others’ joy, she was one who gives life she thought, as looked down at Rami. She looked up and gave thanks for this little life that she was blessed with.