Crooked Man

F O U R T E E N

What I see is a boy. A boy who looks as ordinary as a 5 year old can look. Baby blue eyes, cute freckles, little nose, blond hair.

What made me lose my breath and made me so terrified was the thing he was holding. He was holding a doll. My doll. RUBY

"Hey there! I uhmmm..."he starts saying with a high pitched voice.
"What?! Come on! Hurry! I have to go!"
"I umm.. found this outside so umm...thought maybe it belongs to you?"
I look at Ruby.
"No it's not mine." I say and push the kid away. I start walking but he follows me.

"Umm..so I was wondering maybe I could come with you'? You know, umm...wherever you're going." His British accent is so cute.
I stop. Only if he knew what I was going through. I smile.
"No. You cannot come with me. I'm sure your family doesn't want you out at this weather anyway."
The storm has already passed but it's very cold and it looks like it might rain again. I don't want a little kid to go through this awkward stuff. He would be a waste of time anyway.

"Okay then..."he says, to my surprise. I thought he would beg to come.
"What's your deal anyway. What are you doing out this late?" I ask.
"Umm...I thought I heard something move outside and looked out from my bedroom window. I saw a...ummm..."
"What did you see?" I ask impatiently.
"I saw a man. He was ummm... looking at your house's windows and then... ummm...I went away from the window and then he was gone when I came back."
"B-but why did y-you come out?" I stutter.
"I saw this doll fall out of one of those windows."
I just stare at him for some time.
"What's your name?"
"I'm...ummm...I'm Rick.What's yours?"
"I'm Monica... you...where are your parents anyway?"
"I...well...father is on a business trip...Greece I guess. We don't talk much. Mum's probably in the ummm...kitchen. Making us supper..."

Just then we hear a scream...