The Little Girl Next Door

Chapter 1 - Befriend Thy Neighbour

Hello, readers! This is a little story I've been working on. I enjoyed writing it immensely.  I was just in the mood for writing something wholesome, you know (especially with all the crap going on in the world right now). So I hope you enjoy.

I've always loved the trope of "serial killer befriends little girl" (like Steve Buscemi in Con Air when he meets that creepy little girl in the empty swimming pool). But do take this story with a pinch of salt. There are triggering scenes for more sensitive readers.  The main character is a little girl who befriends a homicidal maniac after all but just as a warning. This story takes place a few years after the events of JtHM, so around the late 90s. Not that I  remember that time since I wasn't born yet, being only 21 and all  (the 90s, wut?!) 😂

I bought the image of the beautiful little girl above from iStock. She just fit Molly so well. It's awesome finding stock images that look so much like your characters...

Well, read on.

Mommy says she has nothing to fear. Their new house wasn't scary; it was just her imagination making all those creepy noises, that's all. But Molly swore she spied the figure of a little ghost girl gazing at her from the far corner of her new room as she whimpered, hiding under her sheets.

Maybe if she counted to ten, the girl would vanish, but Molly wouldn't dare take a peek. Instead, she held on tightly to Lucia, her cabbage patch kid. Lucia's head smelled of baby powder and comforted Molly greatly in times of need, especially when her parents would argue and keep her awake at night.

They argued a lot lately, and one word always rang out—divorce.

What does that mean? Molly was only six; she didn't know much of the world yet. All she knew was that her Daddy had moved to the state of California for work, and already he was finding it hard to fit in, just like Molly.

Molly had had to say goodbye to all her friends at her old school. It was okay; her Mommy had promised her she would make new friends soon. So long as Molly smiled, then she would make plenty in no time.

But it was summer now, and Molly wouldn't start school again until August. With July just around the corner, Molly would finally become a big girl at six, and she couldn't wait.

She won't be able to have a party like she did on her fifth birthday last year, but Mommy and Daddy had promised to do something special with her, and the butterflies flapped around her tummy.

Closing her eyes at last, Molly soon disappeared into the land of sleep, dreaming about her birthday, until she heard a strange noise outside.

Bolting upright, she clung to Lucia, peering at the window. The blue moon was full tonight, and she swallowed, wondering whether she should get out of bed to look.

What if it was the bogeyman?

With a small cry, she threw her My Little Pony sheets back over her head, holding on to Lucia.

"It... it will be okay, Lucia. I will keep you safe, p-promise. Mommy said we have nothing to be scared of. We're just not used to the house's new sounds yet."

She's wrong, Molly. It's the bogeyman, and he's coming to get you...

Molly closed her eyes, squeezing them shut. "No... you're wrong, Lucia..."

It's the bogeyman, Molly, coming to take you away from your Mommy and Daddy...

Tears slipped past her eyelashes, and she cried a little louder now. "Please stop, Lucia. You're scaring me..."

He's coming to get you, Molly. He's going to take you away...