Submission

CHAPTER : 28

Life becomes very hard when you don't have anyone to share your feelings with. You feel like you are caged in a claustrophobic room with no doors and windows. It's strange how there are so many people living in this world, yet there are only a few people whom we call our friends. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if everyone on this planet knew each other and were mutual friends. Would it have decreased the number of suicides or the number of people in depression? Would it have made all of us happy or too self-conscious?

It's not possible to mentally connect with everyone and be friends with them at the same time. You can not keep everyone happy because either way someone somehow always gets hurt. So I would rather have a  best friend and share everything with her than be friends with everyone while being lonely inside the whole time.

I would rather have Liza by my side than a bunch of popular girls who don't even care if you die.

The snow-crusted gravel thrashed under the tires as I parked the car in the driveway. It felt quite lonely to drive without Liza sitting beside me. I don't know how I will be able to hold up without her.

A heavy sigh escaped from my lips as I rubbed my face and removed the wool muffler wound around my neck. The cold chill greeted me like sharp needles as I left the warmth of my car and slammed the door shut. I closed my eyes and tried to take a deep breath of courage but failed miserably. A harsh cough resonated in the empty air as the cold got to me. Without wasting a single moment, I made a beeline towards the front door.

The hidden key under the pot of plant has always been my saviour as I have a very bad memory for remembering things. I entered our home which felt too lonely and abandoned without Liza. I didn't know that Liza's absence would hit me so hard. I reluctantly went up to my room and crashed face-first into the pillows on my bed. The clock on the bedside table said that it was three pm and that the day was Wednesday.

I have been avoiding school for two days and I understood why I did so. Facing Mr. Dimitri is not something I am too eager about. Unfortunately, I have to go tomorrow because the competition is on Friday. I huffed as I tried to convince my already delirious mind.

The ticking of the clock was the only audible sound I heard in the still air. It was quite eerie to be all alone with no one with me and to be very honest I am very scared after what happened last night. I sat up and stared at the dresser which held the envelope from the previous night. After what happened at night, I was not at all in the state to read the letter and face another threat from my stalker.

I don't know whoever this person is and the fact that he entered this house had shaken me to the core. The fact that he can easily harm me is clear in front of my eyes and the fact that he won't stop at anything is a scary reminder. Thankfully Liza is not home, and it's better this way because she will be safe.

My mind still couldn't decide what to do as I found myself standing in front of the dresser. Curiosity possessed me as my quivering hand inched forward to pull the drawer open and reveal my dreaded nightmares.

The creamy envelope felt so innocent in my hands and I wondered, how could something so pure as white held such threatening words?

As soon as I opened the envelope the base of it somehow gave away and the blood-red rose petals fell to my feet. My eyes, on the other hand, were stuck on the midnight black piece of paper laying amidst them. I dropped to my feet and so did a tear down my cheeks. There on the black paper was written some words in white cursive ink that horrified me to the core.

Time is just a barrier
Love is just a name
What I feel is inexpressible
What I want to do to you is the same.

Don't you worry love
I'll come soon
To take you away
My bewitching moon

Soon the petals will wither away
So will the time till you see me again
Wait for me to come for you
I hope you won't try something new.

The blank void in my mind and the strong ring in my ears is all I felt as the words came to an end. My soul was screaming and shouting while my body was frozen as if death had just grazed its cold hand over my head.

The last thing I felt was a panic attack that wrecked my body into a breathless strangle before I drifted away into the darkness.

*****

The loneliness was gnawing at me as I sat down to eat my dinner. The fork in my hand danced around on the plate with pasta on the tow. Yes, I was still scared, but I was cautious too. I double-checked the windows and the doors and made sure to lock them shut so that nothing like yesterday could happen but still, the nervous feeling running all over my body kept me on my toes.

I don't understand how can someone be so adamant about snatching away the peace and the happiness away from my life. When I left my father's house I was sure that I was leaving the misery out of my life, never to return again. Still, somehow it all caught up to me to haunt the living hell out of my life. I can't deny that somewhere in the corner of my heart I still long for the loving family I always wanted, but all your dreams can never be fulfilled. That's just life.

I wish things were different, I wish I could make a million changes in my past, but maybe this is what was supposed to happen. This is my destiny. This is my fortune. This is my fate.

The sudden knock on the front door was so loud that I fell off the stool and landed on the floor with a big thud. Goosebumps raided my whole body as the possibility of the arrival of the stalker came to my head, but I was confused since the envelope said that he will come in front of me when the rose petals will start withering. Not to mention that he threatened to steal me.

Shakily I got up when another knock rambled on the front door. I picked up the kitchen knife and took cautious steps towards the entrance and tried to peep out the peephole but as usual, the darkness surrounding the whole house didn't work for my benefit. The chain latched on the door was my last hope of security as I slowly unlocked the door. The relief I felt was indescribable as Ivan's goofy face emerged from the darkness.

I opened the door and let him in while he quizzically stared at the knife in my hand.

"Woah! Are you a cannibal? Who was going to receive that warm welcome?" Ivan wriggled his eyebrows as he removed his jacket and hanged it in the closet. The edgy smile on my face was all that I could offer to the simple question he asked me.

While in the back of my mind I couldn't understand how he knew where the closet was.