A Familiar Stranger

She looked around the empty park. The sun was low in the sky and the moon was already rising. Adrian had messaged her to meet him there, but no one was anywhere to be seen. She stared hopefully into the oncoming darkness, awaiting his arrival. The cobblestones moved slightly beneath her feet as she paced the length of the path. The wind picked up, stirring the bushes around her. Cold fingers grasped her wrist.

“Kirra, so I finally meet you,” a deep, husky voice said from behind her.

She turned to come face to face with a largely built man. Wrinkles formed around his eyes as his cracked, yellow teeth unfurled from within his thin lips. His smile was cruel and his silver eyes showed only darkness. Pain shot up her arm as he tightened his grip. Kirra twisted her arm out of his large hand and distanced herself from him.

“You’re not Adrian,” she accused.

He threw his head back and laughed loudly, giving her a chance to run. It would drown out the sound of her feet thudding on the uneven ground. She quickly removed her sandals and started toward the nearest place she was familiar with; the asylum. Memories flooded in, unpacking themselves from the mental boxes they were stored in. This place used to be her second home, before her mother’s decease. Now she was left with the tattered mental images of room 627, and broken promises of recovery.

By the time the streetlamp’s were on, she was close to the only door to get inside. The front lights illuminated the entrance, along with the lone window accompanying it. Rose bushes lined the front of the grey building, deceiving passer-by’s of the depressing atmosphere inside. She slowed her pace slightly and jogged up the short staircase. There was a black-painted carving in the wooden door.

“Visiting hours – 9am to 5pm,”she read, slamming her fist against the door.

Kirra violently shook the door handle, praying it was still unlocked. Distant footsteps alerted her of someone else’s presence. Jerking her fragile body around, she saw him running at her from the end of the street; a shadow in the darkness, then revealing himself under the streetlamp’s light. He was getting too close. Thinking quickly, she picked up a rock from the garden and with one swift movement, smashed the window. No alarms followed.

She propped herself up on the railing of the stairs and heaved herself through the window, tearing shallow gashes in her stomach. She fell to the glass covered floor inside. Dull, yellow lights lit up the large hall of the asylum. The hallway with access to the first aid room was to her right. She forced herself to get up, digging shards of glass into her hands and feet in the process. Kirra left a trail of blood behind her as she walked. She cried out in pain with every step but continued to push forward. She was determined to reach the first aid room at the end of the abandoned hallway. The flickering lights hung low above her head, swinging with the breeze from the broken window. Shivers rippled down her spine as the cold night air stroked her skin.

Kirra scrambled inside the room, locking the door behind her. She fiddled around in the medicine cupboard to find something to get the glass out; tweezers. She moved the small bin from the corner of the room and painfully slid down the wall, taking its place. She was safe, protected by the end of the bed and the walls. Kirra sat in the darkness for a few minutes. Her eyelids were heavy, threatening to close at any moment. She was in too much pain to turn on the light, so instead strained her eyes trying to remove the glass from her hands. She had only taken half of the pieces out before her eyes were too heavy and sleep took over.

***

She awoke, startled as the door was kicked in. She didn’t move a muscle. A tiny dot of amber light appeared in the darkness as he lit a cigarette. Tendrils of silky grey smoke floated through the room.

“I know you’re here,” he spoke, his voice an icy rasp.

She watched as his boots moved closer to her, stopping only a few feet away from where she was sitting. He knelt down to her level.

“Princess, you are just as gullible as the other three girls. They were all just as willing to meet me when they thought I was only 19. And with a deceiving picture to help, there was no trouble.” He paused, whispering the last sentence, “Even if you are smarter than the others, your fate will still be the same.”

Adrian grasped her ankle and heaved her body towards him. She opened her mouth to scream but no noise escaped her lips. She felt the cold steel pierce the skin of her stomach and tear through her flesh. Pain exploded through her body. He tugged the knife up towards her chest before removing it. Sooner than expected, her unwanted company was gone. She pulled her knees tight to her chest and lay on the cold, tiled floor. Kirra had no idea of the time, she just laid and waited, hoping to die.

***

It took a few minutes for Kirra’s eyes to adjust, the whiteness temporarily blinding her. She observed the room. A young woman was seated next to her, welcoming her back. Her eyes travelled from the woman to the bloodstained sheets covering her body.

“You’re in the hospital, honey. The nurse from the asylum brought you here,” the woman explained while handing her some water. “What happened last night?”

Kirra told the woman everything that had happened. She explained about how she had met Adrian and what he did to her. By the time she was finished, warm, salty tears streamed down her face and into her mouth. The woman jotted notes in her book as she spoke. Getting up and leaned close to her, she stroked Kirra’s hair back. Her hot breath gave a sense of warmth and security.

“Who do you think Adrian was working for?” the woman whispered in her ear. She stood upright, smiling innocently at Kirra. “Don’t try to contact your father, he won’t be coming home.” she added before exiting the room.