The Abandoned Road

Abandoned Road

On the way home from school everyday, I had to walk this abandoned road. I actually chose to because it was an easier way home. I was the only one who walked on that road, well, that’s what I thought anyways. There was a few times that I heard something as I walked that godforsaken road. I stopped going that way and I’m guessing you want to know why.

     One day, I heard my mom’s voice, her voice sounded dark and downbeat. She whispered something like, “Turn back now, Amanda.” The odd thing is, she died two years ago. I freaked out so I started to walk hastily, not turning around. I heard this sound, it was a ringing sound. I could hear my heart beating faster and faster as that ringing sound got louder. Everything around me looked blurry and my legs were starting to weaken.

  I slowly stopped, that blurriness went away and my legs were strengthening. I sighed in relief and looked around consciously. The ringing noise was still there and it got louder. I started jogging and then I ran. I felt shaky, I stopped because I started to feel tense. I absolutely had to stop, I didn’t have a choice. I instantly fell on the road and my eyes started to close. I tried to keep them open, but I couldn’t. What is happening? What is that ringing sound? Why is this happening?

    After awhile, I heard my mom’s voice once again. She whispered, “I told you to turn back, you never listened to your mother.” I was frightened and I felt numb. I began sobbing and I curled up in a ball. That ringing noise was just deafening. I had forgotten that I dropped my bag but I didn’t care about it now, I couldn’t think straight.

    I forced myself to look up and I saw this man. He looked like he hasn’t showered in about a week and his clothes were dirty. He looked like he was in his thirties. He just looked down at me and smiled so innocently. That ringing sound was louder than it was earlier. His lips were moving slowly. Is he talking? What is he saying? Can’t he see that I’m in pain? 

    I couldn’t see straightly but I could see figures. Then I saw it, the knife. The knife was in his left hand and he was holding onto it tightly. Even though I  couldn’t see anything because it was too blurry, I slowly tried to get up but he pushed me back down, hard. I hit my head on the ground and I cried out in pain. I touched the back of my head to check if there was blood. I quickly looked at my hand and there was blood. I could see straightly now and I looked up at the man. I screamed and quickly got up. I didn’t feel tense anymore so I skipped jogging and I ran the other way. I looked back to see if the man was still there but he wasn’t. I then looked forward and he was there, smiling innocently and still holding that knife. I was running so fast that I couldn’t stop. I knew I was going to run into that man. I was getting closer to him and I tried to stop running but I couldn’t. 

     All of a sudden, I woke up screaming in my bed. I was sweating terribly and my dad ran to into my room. “What’s wrong, sweetie? Why are you sweating so much? Did you have that same nightmare again?”, He asked me worriedly. He looked tired and worn-out. I started sobbing and rocking back and forth. 

      When I started to calm down, my dad asked what was wrong again. I told him about that abandoned road. “What abandoned road, Amanda?” He asked impatiently. “You know, that road I walk on because it’s the shortest way home?” I replied, confused. “Amanda, there is no abandoned road. You must have been dreaming about it.” He said with a sigh. He got up and kissed my forehead. “We’ll talk about more in the morning but now, both you and me need to get some sleep.” He said kind of cheerfully. He looked down at me worried. “Are you okay now, sweetheart?” He asked sadly. There was silence for awhile but then I looked up at him and said quietly, “Yes.” I smiled weakly and he nodded his head. He slowly walked out of the door and closed it.

     I woke up the next morning and I felt so tired. I didn’t want to get up but I wanted to see if there really was an abandoned road or if I was just dreaming about it. I ran as fast as I could to where the road was and there was nothing, nothing at all. I stopped to catch my breath. It was all a dream... all of it was.