Prompt: You finally meet your child's imaginary friend. Who turns out to be a serial killer.
When Sarah first started talking about her imaginary friend, I didn't think much of it. Most kids have imaginary friends at some point, right? But as time went on, she became more and more obsessed with her friend, whom she called "Mr. Tickles." She would talk to him constantly, even when she was supposed to be sleeping. And the things she said he did...well, they were starting to give me chills.
One night, I decided to confront Sarah about Mr. Tickles. "Honey, can you show me where Mr. Tickles is?" I asked her.
Sarah smiled and nodded. "Sure, Mommy! He's right over there." She pointed to the corner of her room.
I walked over to the corner, half-expecting to find nothing. But to my shock, there was actually someone there. A man, dressed in a clown costume, with a big red grin painted on his face.
I was frozen with fear, but the man just smiled at me. "Hello there," he said in a friendly voice. "I'm Mr. Tickles. It's nice to finally meet you."
I didn't know what to do. I wanted to grab Sarah and run, but my legs wouldn't move. And then, suddenly, Mr. Tickles lunged at me with a knife.
I managed to dodge out of the way and ran out of the room, grabbing Sarah on my way. We fled to the neighbour's house and called the police.
It turned out that Mr. Tickles was actually a notorious serial killer who had been on the run for years. He had been hiding out in our house, watching us, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. And Sarah, sweet innocent Sarah, had been his unwitting accomplice.
I'll never forget that night, or the terror I felt when I finally came face-to-face with Sarah's imaginary friend. It's a memory that will haunt me for the rest of my life.
