Secrets - Chapter 1

By Lamia Fahim

   It was chilly outside. I watched from the windows of my upper-storey bedroom, curtains withdrawn slightly, listening to the dismal howling of stray dogs in the distance. A blizzard was coming... I could tell. I strained my eyes to make out the blurry shapes but it was pitch black; I could not even see our front porch. On a sudden impulse, I threw open the windows, only to stagger back as the wind knocked the breath out of me with its excessive force. My expression grim, I cautiously proceeded towards the window, as if I were afraid that there might be something waiting for me on the opposite side. I leaned over the rusted railings, the window creaking abysmally in protest as I placed my weight on it and leaned out into the night, determined to do what I wanted, to have and to hold what I was waiting for...

  "You won't stop me," I whispered fiercely, my eyes narrowing as I glared out into the night, "Just wait and watch, I will hunt you down."
                                                                                   

                                                                                        ***

  I crept behind the trees bordering her garden. I did not know why I was being this stealthy, I was unnaturally gifted, after all; it was not like she would ever be able to locate me. I was watching her far long before she had even an inkling of an idea of the fact that I was alive, that I existed, and that I was after her.
  I smirked to myself as I studied her pale face, knowing that she was blind right now, that she would not be able to see a soul, and I took advantage of this weakness; her hair was midnight black, and her body graceful, even as it stood stationary. She was frightened, I could tell from the way she cowered, her brows puckered in a slight frown, her mouth a thin, straight line.
She made a sudden movement and pulled her window open.
  When I heard her speak, I was slightly surprised, which changed to grim amusement as I realized that she knew there was something, or to be more precise, someone.
She was not as stupid as I had thought.
  "No problem, beautiful," I sang softly as I started gliding through the trees, making my way towards her house, "Game on..."

                                                                                         ***

  I slammed my windows shut with a bang, making them quake as I released my frustration out onto them. I was shivering; it was too cold tonight. I heard my door slowly squeak open, I went stone-still as a cold breath tickled my neck. The room had imperceptibly become saturated with a stench so foul, it was overpowering.
There was someone else in my room.
The last seven months flashed like a badly-recorded film before my eyes. All this hiding, all this planning... All had gone to a waste.
The window was right there.... But no, I knew that escape was futile. The room that was my haven had become unwelcome and forbidding....
  There was a cruel, mirthless laugh.
  My senses screamed at me in protest, but I took in a deep, shaky breath and turned around to face what was now my destiny, my fate.
  And smiled for what was to come.