Daniel crept along the bridge, keeping his head low. Wisps of fog curled around him and masked the stars. He shivered, wrapping his bare arms around his cold body. There had been no time to grab his jacket. The phone call he had received earlier that day had been so urgent that he had left the house without a second glance.
The person on the line had whispered in an eerie voice, "Your mother's house is about to be set on fire. If you want to see her alive again, go down there right now."
So he had hurtled through the city streets, oblivious to the beeping cars and cursing pedestrians he passed. After two hours of running, he had arrived at this ominous bridge. The fog surrounding him thickened while his pulse quickened.
He could just see the thatched roof of his mother's cottage on the other side of the stream. Slowly, he approached the property, keeping himself hidden in the mist, to avoid being seen by the arsonists.
Nervously, he turned the icy golden lock and entered the small but wry house. However, all he saw was his elderly mother sitting lazily on her couch, drinking jasmine tea.
"Mum!" he panted breathlessly. "We've got to get out! Someone's about to set your house on fire!"
She turned her head and smiled at him. "Oh, hello dear. How nice to see you. But what on earth are you talking about?"
However, the news reporter on the TV interrupted her. They both turned to look at the screen.
" A house in the Eastern suburbs of Sydney has been set on fire. Police have found no bodies. Actually, they found no evidence of life."
As the burnt house on TV came into view, Daniel noticed that it looked strangely familiar. In fact, he felt as though he had just been in it.
Then, as the realisation began to dawn upon him, he noticed that the head of his mother was turning towards him. He felt a jolt of sheer terror as a mad grin formed on her face.
The burning house on the news was his very own home. The penny dropped, just as a maniacal cackling laugh exploded from the mouth of the woman on the couch, and engulfed the entire room.
