16 GRIM TALES

He Knew Me ......Didn't He?

He Knew Me... Didn't He?

It was clear the man was following me. I had circled around the same building three times at least and he was still on my tail like a pound keeper trying to nap a stray puppy. My pace was quick, faster than his...I was trying to keep a distance. The streets were dead silent, and the stars did not whisper a word alongside the moon, who eagerly watched my situation. My necklace bounced back and forth while my packet holding the loaf of bread swayed. I peered over my shoulder, but the figure was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, I tripped and went flying to the ground tasting the dirty hard muck. I heard a snicker cut through the silence. "Heh heh heh"

The man was in front of me now, for that very moment I was a statue, a still statue sculpted from fear. I couldn't move. He stepped towards me, I screamed for help as I tried to slip out of his sight. Though I did put up quite a fuss, the man didn't seem to flinch an inch. He handed me a piece of paper, then afterwards vanished like the wind. Seemingly, as if he was never there. The note read, "Dear Julia. You're a smart little girl, so if you know what's best for you, you'll zip your mouth and obey our orders. We know who you are. We know where you live. We know everything. Our one request from you is that you leave the backdoor unlocked tonight. If you don't, your fate will be much worse." I scrunched the ball of paper up and threw it aside. With terror running through my veins I sprinted home. I rang the doorbell several times. "Ding ding ding!"

Mom Martha opened the door. "What in the world is wrong with you?" she questioned. I scurried in. Mom Martha had set the table. Dad Danny was there eating, however he had stopped and instantly asked me what was wrong. I recalled everything to them. They immediately called the authorities. Dad Danny's voice was vaguely heard as I made it to the top of the staircase. "This is very urgent and I would respect it if you could visit tomorrow, early morning." I didn't eat anything, I didn't feel like having any soup, even though Mom Martha had insisted. In a ball I curled up, letting my thoughts wonder making me procrastinate, hallucinate moreover anticipate the worse. I clutched my necklace tightly, I loved Mom Martha and Dad Danny as if they were my real parents and they loved me too. Despite the fact they had adopted me just over a year ago.

As these seconds soon turned to hours my stomach growled like a hungry hyena. I tip toed downstairs, to my astonishment my bowl was still on the table. Maybe they knew I'd get hungry? I picked up the bowl, the icy ceramic leaned against my fingers. I was just about to warm it again when a foul stench fought its way into my nose. This soup was left out for far too long or maybe it was ...something else. Without really thinking twice I unlocked the backdoor, it was clear there was no other choice. I ran into my bedroom without a moment to lose, then locked myself inside. I hid under the covers, shut my eyes tightly- trying, trying with all my might to flee away from this despicable reality. I knew my actions would surely have consequences, but that didn't matter just like how this necklace meant nothing anymore. I soon lost myself to darkness. Morning awoke me. The gentle gleaming sunshine tapped me on the shoulder, comforting. Police sirens buzzed outside. I went downstairs and opened the doors to the police. They questioned me about my dead guardians who laid motionless upstairs. Of course, I knew nothing, was that truly a lie? Even though there was a lot of cops going around, I made my way to the kitchen.

The gold shimmer of which the necklace had once grasped, had no value now, it wasn't worth a precious penny. The links, which were held together through thick and thin had tragically broken. I opened the locket ever so slowly, like how I opened the door of my parent's room when I'd done something wrong to be met with their frown. When I peeked inside, the photo held smiles as bright as the sun. Such beautiful smiles which somehow stung more than their frowns. Smiles could kill, smiles could kill...sweetly bitter smiles could kill, I thought. I let the necklace creep through my fingers and fall to it's fate, down the drain. Soon after I poured the soup from my bowl down too, the poison which had been mixed with the soup soon found its only prey the necklace and melted it to its inescapable death.