Any tears that have lingered until now have stopped, frozen in their tracks. Someone has been in my room; and not just any someone, but him. I can’t tell my dad; I can’t tell anyone. I’m alone in my fear of the man who has suddenly decided to come back to existence. I’m alone to wonder how long he’s really been watching me, and why he’s only now chosen to make his presence known. Night is on its way, and I’m suddenly so afraid of the dark. The man with the red eyes loves the shadows. If he’s going to show up, he’s going to show up soon. I sit up on my bed, curl into my blanket, and wait. I won’t let him catch me sleeping again.
Before long, my resolve begins to fade. The warmth of the blanket coaxes my mind into a haze; and soon enough, I’m asleep again. After what only feels like a few minutes, I open my eyes. The room is completely dark. My heart beats out of control as the undeniable presence of a person surrounds the silence. My hand slithers through the blackness and pulls the switch to my lamp. Dim light floods the room.
There he is.
My heart explodes. He’s right there; a mere feet in front of me. His red eyes bore into my soul. He’s probably been gazing at me like this the whole night; a shiver runs down my spine. The lack of emotion on this man probably scares me the most. I don’t have the slightest clue what his intentions are.
I search for words to say, but nothing comes to mind. “Hi.” I stutter like an idiot.
He smirks; that’s all this man does. Anger suddenly wells up inside my chest. Who is this man to think he can come into my room uninvited, and then act so rudely?!
“Why are you here?” I finally find my voice, and it’s tainted with a lifetime’s worth of acid.
This only brings another smirk to the man’s face. I am now at a loss for both words and emotions. His reaction is so confusing. Silence passes through us for the longest time. All the man continues to do is stare at me; one thing has changed though; his eyes have gained an emotion, a confusing emotion, but one none the less. He’s examining me; trying to decide on something. Some inner turmoil barely leaks out of his red orbs. His smirk holds just the smallest amount of a wince.
Our eye contact is finally broken when the man looks down. He takes a few steps toward the window, and then looks back at me. “I’m fulfilling a promise to your sister.” And then he’s gone; just like that. He didn’t jump out of the window, he didn’t run to the door. He’s just gone.
I find myself unable to sleep the rest of the night. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to sleep again after this night’s encounter. Hours tick by in silence. The sun eventually starts to rise, and my phone goes off sometime later, signaling the coming of morning.
A few minutes later my dad knocks softly on the door. “Alex, are you up, honey?”
“Yeah, dad, I’m up. I’ll be ready in a few minutes.” I say.
Footsteps go down the stairs. I wait for them to finish going down before stumbling out of bed. I throw on the first thing my hand reaches. Matching clothes is useless; everything is dull and gray anyway. The only object that seems to hold color still is the perfect blood-red Carnation on my windowsill. It’s a constant reminder that Karen is gone, and that her red-eyed lover has now taken some sort of interest in me on her behalf. For the first time since Karen’s passing, I’m actually looking forward to school. The busy schedule will help me forget about the man with the red Carnation, and in turn, help me forget about Karen. I willingly go to my friends in the hallway, and they accept me with open arms. Hugs and condolences are passed around from everyone. A marker is soon being passed around for everyone to sign my cast. It’s big enough that all of my friends have room to write lengthy messages about how much I mean to them. My heart can’t help but feel happier. The rest of the day is spent laughing with friends and paying hardly any attention in class. At the end of the day my dad is waiting at the front of the school. I hop in the truck, pull my crutches to my lap, and we drive off as we did yesterday. Unlike yesterday though, I answer all of my dad’s questions. My attitude has made a complete turnaround for the better in just one day.
