Rapunzel

The wind stroked the green grass, whose intense color was only interrupted by the red sprinklings of flowers resting at his feet. The boy stomped at it. Smiling as they crumbled under his feet. The petals reminded him of the red bow a girl in his class used to wear before she disappeared. He had hated and loved her at the same time. 

Before him, a lighthouse reached against the sky. Where the white clouds once again reminded him of his former classmate. They were as pale as her skin. 

She had been his dream victim. The one who would take his virginity and then die under his grasp. But someone had taken her from him. Kidnapped her from a nightclub in the city where he usually lived, when he wasn't visiting his aunt and uncle on this God-forsaken island. 

The media said she had entered the bathroom in the Neverland Club but never got back out. The owner's name was Peter. The boy knew him well, so he believed the middle-aged man when he said that no one had found a trace of her. It was like she'd fallen through a hole in the ground. Like Alice, following the rabbit to Wonderland. 

The high building grew taller as he walked. A cabin lies beneath it. Its red roof carried a chimney at full use as the old lady living there was baking one of her pies. The boy did not like her. The old hag always gave him dirty looks everytime he passed by. Not that it mattered. She was not the one he was here for.

The soothing tunes of a girl singing reached his ears. Her blond hair shimmered in the sun as she skipped through the tower door with a yarn doll swinging in her hand. Only to stop in her tracks when she noticed him. 

"Hello," he said with his smoothest voice. "Nice to see you again."

She hesitated before coming closer. They had talked many times before, but she still didn't trust him. He'd used his whole summer to get to know her, which wasn't easy. She was only half the age of his eighteen years of life. Younger than he had preferred, but beggars can't be choosers. He leaned towards her over the bushes surrounding the garden. 

The girl looked shy away. "Nan got mad last time we talked," she replied silently. "She doesn't like you."

"That's because she still sees you like a child, not as a big girl like I do." 

She shone, and he had to fight the urge to show how much he enjoyed deceiving her. "Have you been in your secret place again?" he asked, nodding towards the lighthouse. He knew she had built something at its top, like a tree house hidden in the encapsulated stone. 

"Yes, I've made it really pretty now," she smiled. All my yarn dollys are up there. And a lot of blankets and books!" her smile grew, exposing the separated front teeth hiding under her upper lip. 

“Will you let me see it this time? I promise not to touch anything.”

Her smile disappeared. “I can’t. Nan will get really mad if I do.”

“Please?” he tried. “We don’t have to tell her.”

She hesitated. “Well … I guess so. But not now. Nan’s almost done with her baking.” 

A murmur of annoyance grew in his stomach.

“But can you come back tonight? Nan has promised to let me sleep in the tower. I’ve been asking for ages, and she finally said yes.” she said, shining again.

The murmur transformed into a purring cat. “Of course, that sounds great.”

“Perfect!” the girl chirped, twirling around, creating a dance with the doll in her hand. “It will be like a slumber party.”

The boy smirked. Yes, a slumber you never will wake up from.

The night rested over the sky like a blue blanket covering the sun. The boy waited at the trees surrounding the plot. The girl had promised to light a candle on the windowsill when she was alone. He had the rope he would use to strangle her in his pocket. Plus, some other protection. He didn't want to risk leaving traces on her body. 

The light came up, and he had to stop himself from giggling. Red bow girl had escaped, but this one wouldn't. This was his night. 

He sneaked past the garden towards the door. A light trickle of fear reached his arms when the old wood creaked in his grasp, but no one came running from the cabin. The old hag must be sound asleep, he thought as he continued. The stairs were worn, and the light dimmed, forcing him to use his phone to guide him to the top. 

"Hello?" he whispered as he approached the top floor. The room was small and in the same white stone as the rest. A ladder stood in the middle, leading to the lighthouse light over his head. "Little girl?" he tried again. 

"In here," she answered. The sound came from a group of blankets behind the ladder. He hadn't noticed them in the dark. They hung over what he assumed to be a table, creating a temporary home or hiding place. Not that she could escape him now. 

He put his hand in his pocket, ensuring the goods were still secure, when the ladder again caught his glance. Maybe a fall would be a better cover-up? Who will look at a little one's privates if they've been smashed toward the ground?

He moved closer, unsure if he wanted to attack her directly or talk to her first. Just to enjoy his victory further. He pulled away the blanket covering the shorter end of the table.

Empty.

From life, at least. In the back, books were stacked on each other, accompanied by dolls made of yarn, just as the girl had said. She, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen. He was on his way to crawl back out when a bag of something made him stop. He couldn't distinguish what it was. It had a soft shape. Like a cat who had crawled together into a knot, but it was perfectly still. He moved closer, letting his curiosity overtake his self-control.  

His next movement led him to hit his head against the tabletop.

Hair. 

The bag was full of hair. Short. Long. Braided. 

Human.

He threw himself around. Ready to run for his life but stopped just as quickly when he saw two feet waiting on him outside. Beside one side of dem laid the yarn doll the girl had carried. On the other side, he could discern a silvery point gleaming in the moonlight that had forced itself through the room's small window.   

He was about to scream when someone else's voice echoed from the staircase. 

"Rapunzel, my sweet girl," the old lady sang. "What are you doing?" 

"Collecting yarn, nan," the girl chirped. 

"Oh, what color?" 

"Brown, nan.

"Oh, that is good. I was almost out of that", the old lady replied. "Oh, and Rapunzel," the old lady continued.

"Yes, Nan?"

"Make sure to put the rest of your prince in the mulch. We need it for the vegetables. Except for the heart. Mother wants that."

"Yes, Nan," the girl chirped again before stripping the blanket off the table.