Run to Me

My Girl

The basement was pitch black, the only light coming from the open door, even that only reaching halfway down the stairs. You used the wall to guide you down the rest of the way, nearly missing the last step. You gasped, covering your mouth and looking up at the open doorway. You probably should have shut it, but you were still weak and using what little energy you had to climb the stairs seemed like a waste of time. 

It took a moment for your eyes to adjust to the darkness, but after a moment you could see the outline of objects in the room, and in the far corner there was a strange lump laying on the floor. 

"Mandy?" you hissed, trying to keep your voice down but also loud enough to get her attention.

She didn't respond, and if the lump was her, it didn't move. Your heart sunk. Was she... dead?

You walked closer, trying not to take out anything with you.

"Mandy!" You whispered louder, more desperate. You waited a moment, your heart thudding so violently you felt light headed.

Then a groan, barely louder than a mouse, came from the pile that was in fact Mandy. She was alive! Now, just to get her out of here. 

You looked around, trying to locate a shape that could possibly be a source of light. You reached towards a tall slender object and low and behold, it was a lamp. You fumbled a moment to find the switch and flipped it on. It lit up the space fairly well and removed the dark curtain that had hid the room. You took in everything around you and immediately had wished you had just stayed in the dark.

Before you was a large wooden desk, messy with things scattered among it. You tried to look through everything quickly, but your eyes caught on a picture, and it seemed like time froze. You reached out with shaky hands and picked up a polaroid of you and Mandy from many years ago. You couldn't have been older than five and it was old and worn, but the newly drawn heart around your little face stuck out like a sore thumb. Mandy hadn't done this....

You found more pictures of yourself exploring the desk, all of them from your childhood, ones you knew had belonged to Mandy. In each picture though, you seemed to be circled or something written near your face. The most disturbing thing though, was that in some, Mandy had been scribbled or even cut out. You put the pictures on the desk, refusing to process it all right now.  You needed to keep looking.

The desk had receipts and junk scattered among it, but it also hid more clues. A bus schedule for your trip, notes written that seemed to detail things she had over heard Mandy saying about you, and a stack of letters, addressed to you.  You took the stack in your hand, flipping through the envelopes. They  were dated as far as a year back, the most recent one at the top. She had written it this morning according to the date. 

You wanted to read them, to see what messed up musings Diane had scribbled in them to see if they held any type of clue to what was happening. How could she have possibly written some of these a year ago? She didn't know you then. She knew Mandy, but that was it. Had Mandy told her about you?

Then a memory awakened in the back of your mind, allowing the puzzle pieces to fit together. About a year ago, on what seemed to be a normal video call with Mandy, she mentioned a woman who Mandy had told your story to and how she wanted to meet you. Mandy had said she thought it was weird and that she didn't think it was a good idea, but that basically the she and the woman had become friends after running into one another in a coffee shop. Mandy being Mandy, of course told her about you and she said that's when she felt strange about her. She always wanted to hear about the baby sister, all on her own, who needed someone to guide her. Mandy even said she had constantly encouraged her plans to bring you here, even giving her the idea of a cross country bus trip. That's when it dawned on you.