Loneliness H.S

Chapter One

2016

You know when you have to make a decision, like a really big one. You think about why you want to do it, why you don't want to do it, and last but not least you think about the outcome. In every decision you make there is something you gain, and there's something you lose.

I want to get out of this town, but someone once told me that back in 1653 there was this demon that lived here in Ashbourne. The demon apparently went on a killing spree and killed half the town. The mayor, Desmond Styles finally caught him that same year and made a witch put a spell on the town so that once you cross the border you can't go back. Later that day they say the mayor and his wife Anne took the demon into the woods and pushed him over the border exactly here where I'm currently sitting, staring over at the trees on the other side of the so-called border.

Ashbourne is surrounded by trees, but there is only a little part of the forest that stretches over to our side of the border and makes its own little forest. It's my favorite place to be. Just looking over to the other side and wondering what is out there, and draw. It isn't much to draw besides trees and grass, but it amazes me how every drawing is different even though they're practically the same.

Other people don't dare to walk in here after three teenage guys were going to prove that the story was fake, and the demon was a made-up myth to make sure no one leaves. The three boys went in this little forest just inside the border in the middle of the night, but not even a minute later they came running out, screaming that they had seen him on the other side. I don't know if the story is true or not, but I have to admit that when I lay on the bench here I get the feeling of someone being here sometimes, watching me. I don't do anything about it though because, to be honest for some strange reason I like it. I don't feel scared, or uncomfortable, it's just a little strange. Mostly I don't even notice it that much, because when I read I tend to get caught up in the story or when I draw I am too concentrated to even notice what is happening all around me.

Some days ago, I found this necklace lying on the ground beside the bench I usually sit on. It has a silver chain, and a big blue heart-shaped diamond hanging from it. I don't know if the diamond is real or not because I'm not an expert on that kind of stuff. However, the weird thing about it is what's on the back of the diamond. There are some words engraved on the back of it 'For your eyes only'. I don't completely understand it, but on some level, I do, however, I don't know if the necklace is for my eyes only or if it will bring me something that is. It had been laying there a while before I took it of course. It looked really expensive so if someone lost it they would probably come back and get it, but no one ever came so it would be a shame to just let something so beautiful go to waste, right? So, I took it. That's probably really wrong but I did, and I have never taken it off since. When I'm not here I hide it under my shirt, I want it to be my secret, that makes it more special. I just wish that someday it will bring me something that truly is for my eyes only, and I believe that I won't have that unless I leave this place.

It's not that I don't believe that the demon doesn't exist and that he is something unexplainable. It's just that something seems off about the story, like the reason he got thrown out in the first place if he killed half the town, where are the bodies? I'm not stupid I know it was a long time ago, but shouldn't it be a ton of graves with that date on the tombstones or a big place where they got burned? And people always talked about how strong he was so how did the mayor and his wife single-handedly throw him over the border. It just doesn't make sense.

The reason as to why I want to get out of here is I have been a curious person all my life, and I never liked the words 'maybe' or 'what if', never knowing what could have happened, so if I stay I will never know what would have happened if I left. I will grow old and wonder for the rest of my life. If I leave however I will either get killed by this demon or I will get to see what is outside of these walls. I will also find out if he is real or not. It won't be that hard to leave seeing as I don't have any friends. I have always kind of kept to myself, because when I was thirteen I told people about my theory that something seemed off about the whole demon story, and they would call me a freak and say I was sticking up for him, and when my parents found out they cut all contact towards me what so ever. They felt ashamed of me, so they just stopped talking to me and didn't want to be seen with me outside of the house. They were nice enough not to throw me out though, so I still have a place to sleep. What if I do get a better life on the other side. What if I get a job, meet a guy, what if I finally in some way get to feel something other than loneliness, what if.