This is a short story I wrote for my creative writing class and I thought I could share it with you. The objective of this was to have the same sentence at the start and the end of the story - but they would mean two different things. Tell me what you think.
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The siren was calling for me. I looked up from the bar I was standing at and saw her. Her green sphinx-looking eyes held me captive from where I stood across the room. The neon lights from the dance floor made it look like they were glowing. She was wearing a tightly fitted black dress and stiletto shoes, holding a small red purse. Her blonde hair held up in a neat bun with only a few tendrils of hair flowing down, she looked like a goddess. The club was dimly lit with a lot of people between us, yet I could see every detail of her clearly. It was like staring at an illusion that could disappear at any moment, that's how perfect she was. She smiled a wicked smile and motioned for me to come closer. Mesmerized as I was I could do nothing else but walk towards her. I waded right through the crowd of sweaty teenagers who bounced up and down on the dance floor. They yelled and stared angrily at me but I couldn't care less. I cared only about the distance between us that was getting smaller, and the urges to get closer that were getting bigger. She smiled as I got closer. I grabbed a hold of her outstretched hand and I felt a surge of adrenalin rush through my body. She leaned into my embrace and put her arms around my neck. I was reeling from her touch and instinctively put my hands around her. I could feel rather than see her smile against my neck. She leaned back a bit and tilted her head back slightly to look at me. Her lips were slightly parted and her eyes were shining brightly. One of her hands buried itself in my hair and she pushed so that our lips met and kissed the daylights out of me. I was barely conscious by the time she pulled back and I don't know if it was the alcohol or the kiss that made my legs go wobbly and weak. As I tried to catch my breath her lips skimmed my cheek as she leaned in closer to whisper into my ear.
"Come, I want to show you something."
She didn't even let me catch my breath as she pulled away from me and slipped through a door behind her that I hadn't noticed before. I only hesitated for a split second before going after her. I found myself standing at the bottom of a staircase. The distinct sound of shoes clattering from above told me that she was not far ahead of me. I smiled to myself as I climbed the stairs, almost two steps at a time. There was a sound of a door opening and I could just make out her dress as she disappeared yet again behind a door.
The wind hit me hard as I came through the door and onto the roof. The sun had already set and the only light was from the other buildings and the cars that passed beneath us. The neon light from a building nearby illuminated her and made it seem like she was glowing. She stood at the end of the roof and looked down at the traffic below. When she heard the door close behind me she turned around and smiled at me.
"Come here, look." She purred, luring me closer.
My feet started moving by themselves and I found myself nearing the edge of the roof where she was standing. The hair on my arms stood up and I got goose bumps even though the air was mild tonight. There was no railing on the roof and I could see people rushing by far below us. My stomach turned. I had never been one for heights. She seemed unaware of it all as she put her hand on my arm and turned towards me. I was still looking down but was distracted by her touch that seemed to take a hold of my body. I turned my head and looked into her eyes and found myself lost in an ocean of green.
"Mommy mommy, look at that man!" I heard a voice shout, and it broke me out from her intimidating stare and to the pavement below me. A child looked back up towards me, his chubby little finger pointing upwards as he jumped up and down. His mother was holding her hand over her mouth in pure horror as she looked up at me but I couldn't understand why. A sharp pain from my arm made me winch. I looked down and saw her nails digging firmly into my skin. Her smile remained gentle though, and just by looking at it made me forget the slight pain from my arm and the growing crowd below.
"Only look at me. Now, I want you to do something for me, okay?" She almost crooned.
"Hey, come down from there or we will call the police!" A voice shouted, but I couldn't break away from her eyes. Her eyes bore into me and I almost got lost in them. I was a lost cause.
"Well?" She smiled again and I realized she was waiting for an answer. I nodded eagerly, more than willing to comply; I would have done anything for her in that moment She seemed happy by my response and released her hold of my arm. "Just take a step forward."
I stepped forward and my feet were just at the edge of the roof now. The shouts from below intensified, growing desperate now.
"Only one more." She whispered, her voice silky and sweet like honey.
That's when I looked down. More than thirty people had gathered on the sidewalk, staring up at me. Some were shouting, others were pointing. Some of them even waved at me and shouted I was crazy. As I noticed them, I noticed how high up I was. The building I was standing on top of must have been at least seven stories high, much too high for me. My stomach turned again. I would die for sure if I jumped.
"What are you waiting for?" I could feel her hand on my arm again, she was getting impatient. "Just one tiny little step, that's all you need." Her voice had lost its sweetness and was replaced by an urgency I'd never heard before, and that made it easier for me to answer.
"No."
I didn't dare to look at her and I felt the grip on my arm tighten again. "What did you just say?"
"I said no! I won't do it, I want to live."
There was a silence as she didn't answer. A long silence that stretched out, but at the same time seemed to fill the air around me.
I was alone again, up there on the roof. My nails were still digging into my arm but the pain was a relief now. I could still hear the shouting in the distant, shouting I was crazy and should get down. Maybe I was crazy. Though I only smiled. She was gone now, she was finally gone. I saw a flashing blue light from a car driving closer and closer to the building, followed by a sound much louder than the desperate cries from the crowd. Though I only smiled. The siren was calling for me.
