Taqdeer

3. My Sweet Cherry

The notes stopped coming. The only thing I looked forward to in my day was gone within a week. Did my parents find out? My father can get a bit too scary when it comes to men around me. Or anyone honestly. I believed he did something to the person who sent me notes.

But I was wrong. Four days later, the notes came back. Just not in the same place. Now they aren't found on my dresser but I find them on the floor. They are always slipped from under the door to my room.

Something changed. They weren't as sweet or heartwarming anymore. They were more..... vulgar. I didn't like the words or the tone anymore. The notes are not handwritten anymore either. They are just typed out. They lack the charm. And I lost the interest and the butterflies.

Which is probably why I didn't defend them when my mother found them. I gave her the rest too. I just kept the first few favourites of mine. Still hidden away. Still in some stupid hope.

My parents weren't amused. They were so angry, they filed a police report. I have a stalker and everyone is looking for him. I once wanted to meet him. I wanted to ask him to take me out of this prison and away from here. But I'm scared now. I don't trust the man who writes all the things he would do to me in a brash manner.

My father went stricter than before. According to him the world outside is just a sea of sharks, ready to bite onto the souls of the innocent. He always warns me off men, calls them a waste of time and then tells me to never leave the house.

But I want to leave. I want to see what is out there. I'm not a kid anymore. There must be some good people outside.

I stand on top of the stairs and try to listen in on my parents and the police talking.

"The case is going cold. We are still trying to find the stalker but he has gone off the radar. We would still keep an eye out." My parents sigh.

"We were supposed to go to a wedding for a few days. But now-"

"Do not worry madam. You do not have to live in fear. I will get some security to remain close by. You should be fine."

I didn't know there was a wedding. Which means I won't be going. For the first time I don't mind being back in this house alone. It looks like an opportunity to me. If I can convince them to not lock the door from the outside, I might be able to step out.

But there is a stalker on the loose.

But the police assured us to not live in fear.

I should be fine. Right?

🌙

I didn't want to leave the house. I convinced my parents to let me lock the door myself so I could run away in case of some emergency. But then I was too scared to step out. I've never been on my own, and I haven't been outside in several years. I don't know anything.