I AM WATCHING YOU

CHAPTER : 3

I came home after yet another tiring day. Surprisingly enough, my mother was home. She was going through some envelopes. I stopped by to greet her before going to my room.

"Hey mom! What are you doing here so early?"

She looked up at me and smiled. "Oh hello dear. Someone else took over for me and i was asked to take the day off."

"Here", she said handing me few envelopes and a big package.

"Who's it from?"

"The letters are from your relatives but that package didn't have any sender's address." She frowned.

"Oh alright. I'll just open it in my room" I said walking away. No sender's address? I wonder who that might be.

I sat on the side of my bed and after reading the letters, I picked up the package. I don't know why but I had a very bad feeling about this. No one will randomly send me something big without putting their name on it . Pushing aside my thoughts, I opened the package and found a book. It looked old with dust all over it. I picked up a clean cloth from my bedside table and cleaned it. I opened the book and found something written in a messy handwriting. It looked like the person was in a hurry while writing it.

Hi! So this is the first time I'm writing a journal and I have no idea how to do it. Being the creative person I am, I decided to do it a little differently. How would you like that, Sophia?

Wait. Is it addressed to me? I quickly turned the page looking for the words 'It was a prank'. But what I read next made my heart stop beating. My hands were shaking. Trembling with fear. My whole body felt numb. I couldn't speak. I couldn't scream.

'I AM WATCHING YOU'

The four words which were haunting me in my sleep. It was just a nightmare. It's just the paranoia, I kept telling this to myself. Maybe I am seeing things. But all I knew was I need to get rid of this immediately.

I picked the journal up and ran towards the front door. I heard my mother calling me, but I couldn't stop. I couldn't bring myself to tell her. I was terrified. I had been so lost in my thoughts that I didn't realize I reached the dumpster. I threw the book in the midst of the mountain of trash.

I started walking back to my house and stopped when I came across a park. I didn't know there was a park. I sat on one of the benches. I needed to relax after what just happened. I couldn't go back yet. There were a few kids, around 4-5 years old playing together. I saw a little boy standing alone in a corner watching the kids play. He had long, messy hair. He was wearing clothes twice his size. For some reason he reminded me of Madison when we were younger. She was always the outcast watching other kids enjoy.

I got up and went to the boy. He looked scared to talk to me.

"Hey there. What's your name?"

"D-da-daniel"

"Are your parents around?" I asked smiling, hoping i wasn't make him uncomfortable.

"No, i came alone".

"Do you wanna play with me for sometime?" I asked pointing to the playground.

He nodded, smiling and jumping up and down.

We played for half an hour. We tried every swings and slides. It felt good to see him smiling and laughing. And it felt more good knowing it was because of me.

We were now laying on the grass looking at  the sky. It was almost evening. I should get going now.

"You know what my mumma used to say?"
He said suddenly .

"What?" I said looking at him. He was deep in thought.

"That sometimes people you love are the ones who stab you in the back. I don't really know what any of it means. She asked me to remember this for the rest of my life. Then she died."

I stared at him in shock. He was only five and yet so mature. I couldn't even imagine what he had to go through, watching his mother die in front of him.

"Oh you poor thing. She'll be so proud of you right now."

He smiled at me and told me he had to go home. I waved at his retreating figure. Who knew a little boy would bring me so much peace.

I went inside the house to find my parents sitting on the couch having a, what seemed like a, serious conversation. After spotting me, my mother came running to me .

"Where were you? We were so worried. You should've told us before going outside."

"I'm sorry mom. I wasn't thinking."

"What's wrong, Soph? Is there a reason why you left the house without telling your mother about it" Dad finally spoke up.

"Not exactly. I'm sorry."

"To make sure you're not going to repeat it again, you'll be grounded for a week."

"A week?"

"Yes, you heard me. And no talking back. If you don't have any valid reason for your behavior, you'll be punished."

Should I tell them? But i already threw the book. If i tell them about my dream too, they'll think I'm crazy. It's just 7 days. I think I can get through this.

"I get it. I'm sorry"

"Good. Now go back to your room"

I went back to my room and jumped on my bed and buried my head in the pillow. It was a really weird day. My dream in real life? Why couldn't I have dreamt of being rich or going on a vacation. I hate this.

I felt something hard under my pillow. I moved it and found the same journal which i had thrown in the dumpster. It had a new bookmark. I opened the page.

You thought you could get rid of me so easily? You'll suffer.

I flipped the page back and saw the words ' I AM WATCHING YOU' had gotten darker than the last time. I didn't realize I was crying until a tear fell on my hand. I thought i had gotten rid of it but my worst nightmare came crawling back to me.