The main character, Celia, exhibited aberrant behavior from an early age, killing a baby chick because it wouldn\'t be quiet before she was two years old.
Even the town sheriff was reluctant to approach her Finally, she had to be committed..
Shooting into the ceiling when the house creaked, at school buses filled with noisy kids and neighbors laughing in their own yards.
She ended up being a danger to herself as well as others.
She descended checked into the darkness of bipolar, paranoid schizophrenic, psychotic behavior, coupled with bouts of extreme depression and suicidal tendencies.
Ruling with fear of her behavior was how she functioned.
They eventually also pulled away.
Her CHILDREN she controlled, manipulated and constantly threatened them with what she would do if they crossed or criticized her.
Eventually, they pulled away for fear of her rages.
Her SIBLINGS talked soothingly when they were around her but never challenged her.
She abused and neglected her helpless mother.
Her MOTHER had a stroke, perhaps because of her behavior.
Her HUSBAND she abused, threatened, and manipulated, beginning after the birth of their first child.
Because no one stopped her, she went on to abuse many family members.
Then it seemed to be too late.
She did not get help early enough to stop her spiral.
She felt displaced by her older sister and another younger sister born after the other baby \'died.\' Some family members noticed that something wasn\'t quite right, but they couldn\'t believe it and accepted, excused, and tolerated the behavior, enabling it to continue.
Her main concern at his funeral was, being seated on the second row and not upfront with her parents.
Seeing her parents caring for the brother, she blurted out, "Why are you bothering? He\'s going to die, maybe even tomorrow." She showed no emotion when that brother died.
She didn\'t like the attention he was getting.
Years later, when an older brother got sick, she was jealous and resentful.
Jealous and resentful, she felt disconnected when she felt displaced by a new baby.
In both cases, she displayed an eerily innocent lack of understanding.
She later killed, maybe accidentally, her baby sister for the same reason.
The main character, Celia, exhibited aberrant behavior from an early age, killing a baby chick because it wouldn\'t be quiet before she was two years old
