Do you know Jack? The Ripper? Saucy Jack? Leather Apron?
The most infamous serial killer in history has long been fodder for the imagination of authors and artists alike, but his true identity remains an enigma to this day. Take a fresh look at the...
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"Daddy, can we play on the swing?" Lisa asked.
I adopted her when she was five and even now, it warmed my heart to hear her call me dad. "Sure, pumpkin. First one there wins!" I called out.
The two of us ran to the swings. Of course, I let her wing. After giving her a few pushes, she told me that she'd swing the rest. Man, eight-years-old all already. I remembered the first time her mother had given me the papers to fill out. Lisa had been four at the time, missing her birth father and trying her best to avoid me. I had been a stranger to her for months, but one day she just let me in.
I stepped in front of my daughter and took a few pictures of her with my phone. She was so beautiful and just the joy of my heart. After a few more minutes, the cold October wind began crashing against my face. Being anaemic and all, I wasn't having it.
We got back home around seven and Lisa went to bed at 8:30. I decided to stay up and get some work done for the office. It took me about two hours to finish my assignments. Two long hours of legal documents to read over for work.
"Dad?" Lisa mumbled while rubbing her eyes. She began walking towards me.
"What's wrong, pumpkin?"I asked her.
"I thought I saw someone in my room, daddy. I'm afraid." She said.
This worried me a bit. In the four years she's lived with me not much had she mentioned anything like that. Lisa was never afraid of monsters, the dark and other things normal kids feared. I stood up then headed for her room, telling her I'd check around.
Everything was fine. I walked back into my room to inform Lisa that everything was okay. "Come back to bed pumpkin; there's nothing wrong."
She was already fast asleep.
...
The next day, Lisa and I decided to head to the park after school. As she played on the slide with a few other kids, I reclined on one of the benches while reading my favorite book: Freak the Mighty.
Suddenly, a man wearing blue shorts and a green T-shirt sat next to me. Other than the old fashion black hat that struck me as old, he had a nice trimmed beard and mustache. His nose was large, sprinkled with freckles. His eyes were dark brown, and he had thick eyebrows. Everything about him -in my opinion- was grim. He reminded me of one of those people you didn't want to find at the park. What can I say? The man gave me a bad vibe. I was ready to pick up Lisa and leave, that is, until the man looked at me and spoke.
"My, my, what a beautiful afternoon." He said.
I moved my book into one hand, closing it on a page I wouldn't remember later. I faced the slide and smiled as my little girl went down the slide. "Sure is."
He sighed. "I never thought I'd see her this happy again. You're doing a great job."
My heart stopped. How the hell did this guy know Lisa? I tried to calm down. He could have been talking about another kid. Maybe he had a child named Lisa too. I thought.
