ᎾᏢᎻᎬᏝᎨᎯ

Ophelia

The young girl sat in the front yard by herself, playing around with her two long black braids. After a bit, she heard footsteps approaching from behind her. Curiously, she turned around and saw her father's friend, Ralph.

The girl watched as Ralph walked up to her. He smiled at her pleasantly and knelt in front of her. "Hi there, Ophelia, is your father home?"
She shook her head, her braids bouncing a little with the movement. She stared back at him warily, though her apprehension was beginning to thaw slightly under his warm smile.

"Oh, where is he then?"

"At work," she replied quietly, hoping her short response wouldn't lead to any follow-up questions. "Who's watching you, then, Opal?" He said it softly, tilting his head. "I don't need somebody to watch me," she replied with more than a touch of sass. "I'm old enough to watch myself."

"But aren't you 8?"

"I'm almost 9," she corrected him, still bristling at his implication. "I can handle myself just fine."

"Oh well, then, how about we go to the fair and stop by your father's job to say hi?"

The offer did sound nice, and she was pretty sure her father wouldn't be home for a while. Still, a little voice in the back of her head was telling her to be cautious. Her father's friend had a kind smile, but she sensed a hint of something else in his eyes.

"So?"

"Sure," she eventually nodded, though there was still a part of her that hesitated. She tried to shrug off her unease. "Alright, Olphey, follow me to my car!"
He grabbed her hand and walked over to his car, opening the backseat for her.

She followed him, feeling her heart begin to beat faster. She told herself she was being silly and that he was probably a good friend of her father's after all. Still, she felt uneasy about being alone in the car with him.

He closed the door behind her, locking it shut, and then walked over to the driver's side. When he got in, he turned to her with a smile.
She watched as he got into the driver's seat and started the car, her hands fidgeting in her lap.

They drove on the highway for a while, far from the town, before arriving at the edge of the woods. He pulled onto a dirt road and started to drive deeper into the woods. She clutched her braids nervously; she kept her mouth shut for now, trying to ignore her instincts, but the feeling of dread was growing stronger.

Seeing the woods, her sense of unease grew. "Are we almost there?" she asked, keeping her tone even.
"Yeah, we're here."
He said to stop the car, open the door, and get out.

She followed him out of the car, hoping it was just her imagination making her nervous. As she got out, she noticed they were far away from any houses or roads. A feeling of dread washed over her as she realized she was all alone with him in the middle of nowhere.

"Cmon,"
He said it quietly, not even making eye contact with her. He grabbed her hand again and walked deeper into the woods.

Ophelia's breath caught in her throat as he took her hand. She knew something wasn't right; she just didn't want to admit it. She tried to pry her hand away, but he wouldn't let go. He kept walking, dragging her along through the woods.

Ralph suddenly stopped after getting deep into the woods, just sitting there silently. She tried to free her hand once more, but he kept a firm grip on her. She followed his silent lead, remaining still and waiting to see why he had stopped in the middle of the woods.

Her eyes scanned their surroundings for any clues as to why he had stopped. The woods were eerily quiet, and she felt alone and vulnerable. Her heart was beating so fast that she could feel it pounding in her chest. She continued to try to tug her hand away, but he didn't let go.

"W-what are we doing here?" she finally asked in a shaky voice. Her sense of foreboding only increased as she looked around the dense trees, feeling the quiet stillness of the woods.

"We're at the fair; we're just waiting for the others."

"Who else is coming?" She asked him, still uneasy about being alone with him deep in the woods.

"And what about my dad? Aren't we going to go see him?"

"No," he replied harshly.

Her heart rate sped up even further with his blunt response.

"W-why not?" She asked him, not liking the idea of being alone with him any longer than she needed to be.

"Shut up and just wait."

His harsh tone took her aback. She tried to pull her hand away again, but found he had a tighter grip on it than before. She felt utterly powerless in his grasp.

"What are we waiting for?" she asked, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice.

"Wait,"

She felt her pulse racing in her throat. She knew there was no one around who would hear her if she started screaming. Her sense of vulnerability grew as she remained still next to him, waiting for something. What he meant for her felt increasingly ominous.

"I don't want to wait anymore," she finally whimpered, trying once more to free her hand, only to find that his grip was still firm. He hadn't even looked at her since they'd gotten deep in the woods.

The woods were so quiet and secluded, as if they were miles away from any civilization. Her sense of fear turned into mounting panic.

As her hand slid free, she pulled away and stumbled backward. She took a few steps away from him, feeling relieved to have a little space between her and him. She glanced around the woods, looking for any way out of this situation.
She tried to start running away but found her legs shaky from fear. Her pace was no more than a fast walk as she desperately tried to get away from him.

She felt a hand grab one of her soft, long black braids, tugging her back before turning her around to face him. She was met face-to-face with a gun.

"You should've stayed, Ophel; the fair looked so exciting." He said it coldly.

The only thing she could do was shake her head feebly with fear, unable to utter a word. Her throat felt like it was closing up. Her thoughts were a complete mess, and her mind was still grappling with the reality of being face-to-face with a gun.

Before she knew it, she saw the trigger being pulled and heard a bang before everything went dark.

The last thing she saw was the sight of his cold, indifferent eyes before the world went dark. Everything became a blur of color and sound, with her ears ringing with the sound of the gun firing. As she slipped deeper into darkness.

A sudden pain jolted her to full alertness, waking her up after what felt like months. She opened her right eye, blinking a few times to remove the fog from her vision. She could barely see her surroundings; the darkness of her tiny space made everything seem ominous. She felt a sickening sensation in her chest as she realized why she couldn't see well. A warm, wet sensation covered her face, and when she touched her left eye, she felt the maggots wiggling through it, having a feast.
A piercing scream of agony escaped her lips as she awoke to a horrifying reality. She clawed the ugly things out, killing every single one of them.

After the last maggot had been removed, she remained in the darkness, her brain unable to comprehend what had just happened. She tried to make sense of her surroundings, but the pitch-black space made everything seem surreal. She felt a wave of panic beginning to take over as her heart rate started to speed up. The only sound she could hear was her own breathing, which only added to her anxiety.

She waited, hoping for something. A way out, an answer to how she'd ended up here, anything. But nothing came for months.

One day, she suddenly got the idea to escape the coffin by using her feet and began kicking the coffin lid. She broke apart the lid with her hands and feet, letting the loose dirt rush in.

The sensation of dirt filling her hands and feet was a welcome distraction from the madness that was threatening to take over. She continued to kick and push until the lid of the coffin finally gave in. With a final shove, she pushed it open and stepped out, breathing in the fresh air for the first time in ages.

With no idea where to go, she got up and started walking to a nearby forest.