The Unknown Series

ISSUE 3: KNOWING HIM. PART 4.

#THE_UNKNOWN (A series of short horrifying stories)
   
Author: Sam Freddy
   
Issue 3 [Knowing Him]
   
Part 4
   
    Dafe’s statement sent chills running down my spine. I shuddered and gasped.
   
    In the twinkling of an eye, I decorated his cute face with several slaps, enraged and bittered. I pushed him and spat on his face, attempting to slap him again, but he held my hands very tightly.
   
    “Anita, stop this madness!”
   
    “Are you nuts?” I screamed at the top of my voice, struggling to break free from his grasp. “How can you say such a thing? I can joke about any other thing in this world but not my mother! How dare you!”
   
    “Anita, relax.” Dafe pleaded, retaining his firm grip on my hands. “I’m sorry about what I just said, but it’s the truth. Your mother will die if you don’t listen to me. You need to calm down!”
   
    “I’ll kill you if you repeat that statement. I swear!”
   
    “Relax!”
   
    I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, blew it out, and opened my eyes back. “Please, leave me alone.”
   
    “Will you do anything stupid?”
   
    “No.” I said calmly. “No, I won’t.”
   
    With that, Dafe released my hands and touched my cheek, looking remorseful. “I’m sorry, Anita. Forgive me.”
   
    I sighed. “It’s okay. I understand you’re just being honest, and I can’t blame you for that, so I forgive you.”
   
    “Thank you.” He said, caressing my right cheek tenderly. “But you’ve made a huge mistake. You shouldn’t have thrown the book in the lake.”
   
    “Why?”
   
    “I’ve done it before, and as I told you earlier, it doesn’t always end well.”
   
    “Please, explain better.”
   
    “I mean, I’ve tried to get rid of the book before, but it never worked out for me. It’s a mystic book that can’t be destroyed easily. It takes a ritual and some incantations to do away with it. It’s not something that should be toyed with, Anita!”
   
    “Did you try burning it?”
   
    “Yes, several times, in fact.”
   
    “And it didn’t burn?”
   
    “It burnt to ashes in my presence, but when I slept and woke up the next day, I found it back in my wardrobe like it was brand new, without a scratch!”
   
    “This is insane!”
   
    “And it doesn’t even end there.” Dafe added. “I realized that with every action I took to get rid of the book, there were always consequences in store for me.”
   
    “Consequences like what?”
   
    “A life.”
   
    “What?”
   
    “You heard me clearly.” He nodded. “Every time you try to get rid of the book, someone else’s life goes away. It costs a life, and it starts from someone very close to you.”
   
    “How do you know all this?”
   
    “I already told you I lost my parents, didn’t I?” Dafe frowned, clenching his fists in a desperate act to suppress his anger. “That’s why I said your mother is next in line, then your father will die after her if you do anything stupid again.”
   
    “Hold on, Dafe.” I said, looking into his eyes. “The book is right there in that lake, as we speak, right?”
   
    “No.”
   
    “What do you mean by no? You were right here when I threw it into the water!”
   
    “Yes, I was right here indeed, but it doesn’t mean the book is gone. It’s probably in my wardrobe right now. Do not be deceived.”
   
    “Oh, my God.” I gave a gasp of astonishment. “Please, let’s go back to your house immediately!”
   
    “Are you ready to do the rituals?” Dafe asked, staring at my eyes. “We are wasting time, and it’s getting dark.”
   
    “I don’t know, Dafe. I honestly don’t know!” I said, pulling his left hand with all the strength I could muster. “Come on, let’s go!”
   
    With that, we both turned around and started walking back to Dafe’s house. There was hardly any soul passing along the streets. The estate itself was too quiet and secluded, so I couldn’t expect more. We just continued walking without saying a word to each other along the way.
   
    We got there at exactly 07:34 PM. Everywhere around the compound was dark, and the moon was the only source of light we had at that point in time. Dafe unlocked the door and pushed it open, gesturing with his free hand for me to follow him.
   
    “It’s too dark in there. I can’t come in.” I was afraid for a reasonable cause. “I mean, how am I supposed to go into a dark house with carved idols and weird paintings on the walls?”
   
    “You have a torchlight on your smartphone, don’t you?”
   
    “Yes, but it’s not enough!” I complained. “Who knows what’s in there right now, waiting for us!”
   
    “Relax your nerves, Anita. I’m here for you.” Dafe reassured me, forcing a smile to suppress my fear. For the first time in forever, Dafe actually smiled! Even though it was forced, I could’ve sworn I felt my heart flutter as the butterflies in my stomach flew cheerfully and danced out of sheer excitement. His smile meant the world to me, strangely.
   
    “You should smile more often, Dafe.” I complimented him, smiling too. “You look better when you smile.”
   
    He didn’t say anything despite the compliment I made. He just kept looking at me like a statue, and I felt stupid. I felt bad. But, notwithstanding, I shrugged it off, took my smartphone out of my mini handbag and switched on the torch.
   
    “Can we just go inside?” I said as calmly as I could, and went into the house, leaving him behind. I wondered why I was feeling bad about the whole issue. ‘Maybe I’m not attractive enough for him?’ I thought, pouting. ‘Or maybe I’m too fair for his taste? What if he doesn’t even like me, to begin with? Was I too straightforward? Was I too–’
   
    “Anita.” Dafe’s voice interrupted my thoughts. I turned around and saw him behind me already. I could barely see his face, due to the pitch-black state of the living room, so I just pointed the phone’s flashlight at his face.
   
    “Yeah?” I answered, raising a brow for emphasis.
   
    “I want to tell you something.” He said.
   
    “Okay.” My heart started racing in anticipation. “I’m all ears. Go ahead.”
   
    As Dafe opened his mouth to speak, we both heard a slight creak at all the doors. My heart literally jumped out of my ribs when I heard a cat meowing from nowhere.
   
    “Sweet Jesus!” I screamed out loud, pointing the torch all around the living room. “Did you hear that?”
   
    Dafe nodded fast, looking quite shocked himself. “I heard it, too!”
   
    “That’s a cat’s voice!” I was practically trembling at this point, still pointing the torch all around. “How on earth did a cat get into your house?”
   
    “How am I supposed to know?” Dafe was as scared as I was. I could tell by the tone of his voice and the terrified look on his face. “It’s the book! It’s back!”
   
    We heard the cat meowing again. Subsequently, a fierce wind came from the windows and blew across the room, rustling some papers on the table. At this point, my smartphone fell from my right hand to the tiled floor, and I heard a cracking sound the moment it did.
   
    “I’m going out!” I screamed, rushing toward the entrance. As I pulled the doorknob, I realized it was locked.
   
    “Who locked the door?” I screamed again, still twisting and pulling the doorknob hard. Dafe joined me and tried to open the door as well, but it was as stiff as a solid rock.
   
    The cat meowed again for the umpteenth time, its sound showing that it was getting closer to us. We couldn’t see it, but we could feel its presence around us.
   
    I stopped pulling the doorknob and held Dafe’s hands, and I started to cry instead.
   
    “Anita, calm down. Don’t cry.”
   
    Even though I couldn’t see his face, I could picture how he was feeling right now. He was scared too, but he was trying his best to stay strong for us.
   
    “Dafe, I don’t want to die!”
   
    “Neither do I!” He confessed, tightening his firm grip on our hands. “But we won’t! Trust me, we won’t die!”
   
    “How can you be so sure?”
   
    “Because–”
   
    “Because?”
   
    “Because–” he trailed off again.
   
    “Because of what?” I urged him to go on, losing my patience already. “Just talk!”
   
    “Because–” Dafe summoned courage at last. “Because I like you, Anita.”
   
    Those words reverberated through my ears and sent waves of chills running down my spine. “What did you just say?”
   
    “I said I like you, Anita.” He repeated, rubbing my palms with his fingers in a rather nervous manner. “I’ve always liked you ever since you moved into this town. I’ve stalked your Facebook account since, like, forever, always admired your Snapchat selfies and watched every single video clip on your timeline.”
   
    “You are lying.”
   
    “I’m not lying. Believe me.”
   
    “What’s my Facebook username?”
   
    “Nita Perry.”
   
    “Favorite color?”
   
    “Blue.”
   
    “Well, I’m basically wearing a blue gown right now, so I don’t expect you to fail that one.” I rolled my eyes, and quickly added: “My favorite snack?”
   
    “Doughnuts.”
   
    “Best quote?”
   
    “‘Life is not a bed of roses. We don’t always get what we want.’”
   
    “That’s not all. You’re missing something.”
   
    “I know.” Dafe responded calmly, still rubbing my palms soft and slow. “Plus, the one I love most, ‘We all carry our crosses alone.’”
   
    “Wow. I’m impressed!” I confessed, smiling sheepishly, even though he couldn’t see my face. “How long have you been stalking me, Dafe?”
   
    “Does it matter?” I’d never heard him speak so sweetly like this since we got talking. In just one day, I realized how much of a sweet and lovable person he was. I was basically blushing at this point.
   
    “Dafe, you know I’m just sixteen, right?”
   
    “It doesn’t matter!” He chipped in, getting closer to me. “I don’t care about the age difference. All that matters is that I like you, and that settles it.”
   
    All of a sudden, we heard the cat’s horrible voice, and then the doors started creaking again. Waves of fear surged through our bodies, making us tremble at once. We were engulfed with extreme fear than ever before.
   
    “This might probably be our last chance alive, so I might as well use it to make memories before we die.” I spat the words out, hugging Dafe very tightly.
   
    “What do you mean?” Dafe hugged me back, breathing against my neck.
   
    “Kiss me, Dafe!”
   
    “What?”
   
    “Please.”
   
    “No, I won’t.” He refused to do it, pulling away from our warm embrace. “I like you for real, but that doesn’t mean it’s appropriate for us to go down that path. You are still too young for that.”
   
    “Dafe, do you want to die?”
   
    Before he could even give any other unnecessary excuse, I leaned in, tipped on my toes and registered my lips on his. I had expected him to push me away immediately, but no, he didn’t. Instead, he just hugged me too and we kissed each other like two professional telenovela actors.
   
    With that, the persistent creaking stopped at once, and the fierce wind also ceased. The power got restored at that same moment, and the darkness faded out. At last, there was light, and hope!
   
    Together, we walked hand-in-hand into Dafe’s room, and just as we expected, we found the mysterious book right there on his bed. We both picked it up together, removed the carved idols hanging on the ropes, took up a bottle of kerosene and a lighter, then we took everything outside the compound.
   
    We set them all on fire, laughing and rejoicing, knowing that the curse was broken for good. The evil book was gone forever. We watched everything burn to ashes, feeling happy and proud of each other’s courage.
   
    Dafe kissed me one more time, and it felt like the very first time to me. The curse was gone! Finally, we were free!

    Out of excitement, I attempted to kiss Dafe again, but the sound of my ringtone pulled me back. It came from the house, so we both hurried inside.
   
    “Hello?” I flashed a smile on receiving my mom’s call, a little bothered that she might’ve returned home and that I was probably in trouble.
   
    “Hello, is this Anita?” a stranger’s voice demanded, to my ultimate surprise.
   
    “Yes,” I said, noting Dafe’s serious look. “Who’s speaking? Where’s my mom?”
   
    “Calm down,” said the man. “I’m going to need you to calm down and sit, Anita. Do you think you can do that?”
   
    How could I possibly relax while speaking to a stranger who called with my mother’s phone?
   
    “Okay, okay,” I said after a pause. “I’m calm. Just tell me where she is.”
   
    “Are you seated?”
   
    “Yes,” I lied.
   
    “Alright,” he said. “Well, I’m Doctor James, Anita, calling from Winner Hospital, and it saddens me to announce that your mom was involved in a fatal accident tonight and she’s in a really bad shape as we speak.”
   
    “Jesus!” I screamed, and the phone dropped from my hand and scattered on the floor.
   
    “What?” Dafe asked, alarmed. “What happened?”
   
    Yes, what happened exactly?
   
    There was only one way to find out.
   
    “Dafe, the book…” I mumbled with quivering lips. “Are you sure the book was…”
   
    I couldn’t even complete my speech before storming straight into Dafe’s room with him on my tail, just to find the same fetish book there AGAIN, on his bed!
   
    And we thought we’d won.
   
    We really thought we did.
   
    But we only made things worse.
   
    Where did we go wrong? Was our love not true enough to break the curse, or was the whole love theory just wrong in the first place?

    I guess we’ll never know. Some things are just meant to be unknown.
   
    —
    —
    —
       
    The End.