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Norma’s eyes stung as she gained consciousness in her bedroom. She had been crying most of the evening, her eyes stung with the dryness that came over through her slumber. Her head hurt from crying, and from the strong emotions that swallowed her whole within an hour. She turned to her side, looking for Norman, who had fallen asleep next to her. She remembered that because she fell asleep to the sound of his voice softly humming next to her, she also remembered the feeling of falling asleep, being cradled by her son. Part of turning around was also instinct that she had gained through the past two weeks, the feeling of the mattress sinking in where her husband slept a feeling she had become used to. But now, now they weren’t husband and wife anymore. Not to Norma, at least. Now, norma was just a widow again. Norma Bates, the same old widow who couldn’t even bring herself to change her last name, which contained all those rough memories.
“Norman?” Norma murmured, her voice low and raspy from her dry throat. She shifted around in her bed, moving her arm from under the covers to try and turn on a lamp. Only, despite her touch, the lamp stayed the same. It didn’t turn on, it remained barely visible within that dark room.
Norma’s eyebrows furrowed as she reached out to try to turn the lamp on again, only it remained the same. What the hell? Why wasn’t the lamp turning on? With a small sigh of annoyance, norma decided to just sit up, and get out of bed to find Norman. She swiftly moved out of the bed, expecting to be hit with the coldness that took over the house only the day prior. Instead, the house was warm. The cold air still lingered, but now there was no need for the scarves and gloves that Norman and Norma had to wear before going to bed.
Although, Norma noticed a small breeze coming from the window. She sighed softly, presuming that she simply forgot to close the window at some point through the night. Only she never opened the window, did she?
She pattered over to the window, expecting to just close it. Although, she paused when she noticed the broken glass. More so, how it didn’t hurt or break skin when she stepped on a thick shard of glass that laid under her foot.
She furrowed her brows, pursing her lips as her eyes fell on the broken window. “What the hell?” She murmured. There wasn’t any harsh weather outside that could’ve broken the window, Norman sure as hell wouldn’t have broken it, and it didn’t look like the place had been robbed. And if it did, why the hell would they just break a measly window? Not even the new stained glass window only downstairs?
“Norman?” Norma called, wrapping her arms around herself. “Norman, are you here?” Only, she didn’t get a reply. She immediately bolted out of her room into the dark hallways, her heart pounding in her chest. Only, she immediately stopped in her tracks when she heard the loud sobbing that travelled through the house. It didn’t sound like Norman’s. Norman wasn’t one to sob. Who the hell is that?
Her eyes fell on a dark figure at the front window, kneeled down on the floor, beside two bodies that laid on her favourite rug. Norma’s eyes widened, her breath immediately felt like it was knocked out of her chest. Her eyes filled with more tears as she tried to block out the sound of her heart pounding in her ears.
“Oh my god, Alex!” She exclaimed, tears running down her cheeks, completely out of control. Norma wasn’t able to tell if she was crying because she eas confused, or if she was half relieved to see her husband again. Only, Alex didn’t look up, he just kept crying. Norma only recognised the words “no” escape his mouth.
“Alex, what’s going on?” Norma paused, looking down to the frail body he was cradling. She felt like the world paused.
The body was wearing a white nightgown, and had golden blonde hair. The exact same nightgown and curls that Norma had. She looked down at the body’s hand, this figure didn’t have a wedding ring, either. She immediately paused when she noticed Norman, the small “mother” that he murmured making her turn around.
“Oh my god, Norman!” She immediately sobbed. “Alex, we have to help him!” Once again, Alex didn’t listen. Was he deaf? “Alex, can’t you hear me?! We have to help him!”
What the hell is going on?
“Alex! Alex! What, are you deaf? Listen to me!” She pleaded, trying to get Norman’s attention. “Norman, honey. It’s okay, you’re okay. It’s okay.” She paused when Norman didn’t acknowledge her, either. He only kept looking to his side, staring at the body which laid in Alex’s arms. Norma decided to investigate, the body painfully familiar.
“Oh my god,” She whispered, trying to get a better look. The body was pale, no remaining life anywhere. Whoever this was, they were dead for hours. Alone. Norma paused when she noticed the body’s face, its closed eyes staring into Norma’s soul.
It was her.
That body was her.
Norma is dead. She was dead.
A choked sob left Norma’s lung, tears streaming down her cheeks. Was she dead? The Norma in Alex’s arms had the same nose, the same lips, even the same eyebrows. The hair was the exact same to how Norma left it that night, and its mouth was partly open, the way that norma’s mouth usually fell in slumber.
The body’s nightgown fell in a way that it was scrunched up to her thigh. With a shaky hand, Norma lifted it up to above her thigh. With the light of that cold winters night, Norma noticed the pinkish scar on her thigh. This was Norma. This was her. Norma shut her eyes, trying to make sense of the situation. How on earth could she be dead? Her eyes were open, she was breathing, nothing made sense. She tried to pinch her arm to assure herself, but she felt no pain. Another choked sob escaped her.
-
“Your name is Norma Louise Bates. You are 39 years old, and your birthday is the second of April. You’re married to Alex Romero, and you have two children. Your name is Norma Louise Bates. It is the 20th of December, 2015. For christmas, you’re changing your last name to Romero for Alex. You are 39 years old, and you are alive. That body is not you. It can’t be you.” Norma had her knees curled up to her chest. Norman and the body had been escorted only minutes ago, but Norma couldn’t go. She simply couldn’t let herself follow and see her fate. The night sky was lit up with police and ambulance lights, the silence of the night disturbed with sirens. Norma focused on trying to ground herself, especially because the police and paramedics paid no attention to her when she tried to gain their attention. “You’re Norma Louise Romero. You are not dead. You are not dead. No, you are not dead.”
The world around her went silent as she pulled herself up and out of the corner. She stared out the window, her eyes focused on Alex, who was standing on the front porch. He seemed quiet, and silent. Part of her was terrified for what he was thinking. How come he didn’t notice her? None of this made any sense, it was terrifying. She didn’t know if she was dead or not, she was only scared. She was so scared and so cold, it felt like everything was moving in slow motion.
“My name is Norma Louise Romero,” she whispered, another tear falling from her eye. “and i’m dead.”
With a shuttering breath, she spoke again as all the vehicles began to drive away. “I left my husband last night, and i died. It is the 20th of December, I died tonight. I took my ring off and I died.”
Her tone went from whispering to shouting as she continued to speak. “I took my ring off and i died. I’m dead. I wanted to tell him that I’m sorry and I died! I’m dead and there’s nothing anything anybody can do about it!” She sobbed. On instinct, she picked up a vase and threw it down the stairs. She heard the loud shatter of the glass vase making contact with the hard floor, but when she turned around, the vase remained in the same spot, and there were no glass shards scattered on the floor. Another sob escaped Norma, frustration building up. She let herself fall to her knees, loud sobs and screams swallowing her whole.
“I’m so sorry,” she sobbed, her arms barely strong enough to keep her sitting up. “I’m so sorry. Alex… I’m so sorry.”
The sun began to rise by the time Norma fell asleep, her cheeks wet and sticky with dried up tears. It felt like her entire world had paused, she had no idea what to do anymore. There was still so much she wanted to do. She didn’t want to die so suddenly, she wasn’t ready to leave. She didn’t want to die. If anybody were to ask, she would say that she wanted to die, but now, she was dead. People would assume that she got everything she wanted. But she didn’t. She wasn’t ready. Especially not now.
-
“My Name is Norma Louise Bates. I died two years ago before christmas.” Her voice was loud and confident as the house was busy with company. Throughout these last two years, Norma was used to company, especially defectives. For her, the people were a crowd. Without realising, all the strangers who entered her home were her audience.
All the people in the house were tearing the place down, trying to find any clues to what Norman Bates had been doing in his motel throughout the last couple of months. Norman was in prison, he confessed to murdering Sam Loomis only the day before. Of course, Norma didn’t know that. She was forced to stay in the house, she couldn’t leave. “My son, Norman, he’s sick. But he’s a good kid, it’s not his fault. It’s.. It’s kind of mine. But he is innocent. Whatever he did, it’s not his fault.”
Of course, as Norma suspected, nobody answered her. But it felt nice to just say whatever she wanted, because she couldn’t have it used against her. Within her time of being alone, she would talk to whoever came into the house, even if the conversation was very one sided. Sometimes she would even just talk to the wall, and just wail on whatever was on her mind. Now that she is dead, she has so much time to spare, and way more time to reflect on her life. When people she didn’t like would enter the house, she made sure to let them know. And even better, they would have no idea. It felt like a blessing in this garbage dump of a situation.
“I found out that i died from carbon monoxide poisoning after Norman held a funeral for me. Isn’t that nice? I wish I knew who turned up, but I think some people did, at least. Hopefully Alex, and Dylan, and Emma, And Norman. I don’t need anybody else there, I just hope that they went. I haven’t seen any of them in ages, I miss them so much. Especially Alex.” She casually spoke, although nobody answered. Despite the fact that it still bothered Norma after all these years, she learned to just ignore it and to go on with her day. She smiled, turning around before letting out a small sigh of boredom. This was getting really old. She was bored, all she wanted was to leave and see her family again. But of course, nothing could be done. She wished there could, but she could only smile and pretend that it didn’t bother her.
But it did. Every day, it felt like it was consuming her whole. She wanted her family, what was so hard to understand?
-
Norma let out a small sob as she sat next to Norman’s bloody body, he was already struggling to breathe. Dylan looked way more grown up, and he was sobbing beside Norma, with Norman’s body cradled in his arms, the same way how Norma would’ve been cradled in Alex’s arms all those years before.
Norma also found out that she was a grandmother, and that Dylan was a dad. She had a grand daughter, and Dylan actually wanted Norma to be alive. He actually wanted to see her. Norma was riddled with guilt, despite the fact that she knew her death wasn’t her fault. Somebody lit the furnace, and it wasn’t her. Only that nobody would ever knew that it was her. When people referred to her death, they would say that it was Norma’s suicide attempt, but it wasn’t. Despite how much she didn’t want to really admit it, Norma didn’t want to die. She never wanted to die. It felt like the knife was removed from her back when Dylan admitted that he wanted to see Norma again. It was all too much.
“I’m sorry.” She sobbed, shaking her head from side to side. Norma didn’t really know who exactly she was referring to when she said it. Should she apologise for failing Norman, or to Dylan for all she had done to him? She didn’t think any amount of apologies would ever make up for it. It was all too much.
She let out a shaky sigh as Norman stopped breathing, and as Dylan called 911. She sniffled as she focused on the two year old body at the table, whispering “I’m sorry” under his breath, although Norma didn’t actually hear it.
At the doorway, Norma focused on the night sky. Her body and Norman’s were put into body bags, being lifted out of the house. Dylan sat at the steps of the porch, watching his mother and brother leave yet again.
“My name is Norma Bates,” Norma whispered. “I died two years ago, and I am now alone. Nobody knows that I’m here, and nobody lives here anymore. I’m in my own pile of shit, and there’s nobody with me anymore.”
It felt like forever until Dylan left, Norma watched the car drive off, as well as the trucks that contained the two bodies. She looked back at the whole, the silence taking over. The whole place felt entirely eerie. What else was there to do anymore? She sighed, walking back into the house, taking a spot in the dining room before simply beginning to cry.
Norma Bates never wanted to die, she wanted the pain to end. And for her, that never involved dying. That involved being with Alex, and Dylan, and Emma, and for Norman to have never even been sick in the first place. All she wanted was her family, she wanted for everything to be lovely. And that never involved dying. And now, she was alone. Nobody was there to be lovely with her. She was never going to see her family again. They all probably moved on to heaven, or whatever there was supposed to be after you died. Because, if that was the case, Norman should be there with her. But he wasn’t. There wasn’t anything for her anymore. She was cursed with being alone for eternity.
With a sniffle, Norma spoke. “My name is Norma Louise Romero, and I miss my family.”
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