It was strange, the way she looked at me. I never quite understood
what it meant. I only ever got to know that it had a deeper meaning
than I could ever come to understand. Her name was Laura. She was
blond-haired and unattractive. She was the one girl that no guy ever
noticed. All the girls noticed her though. They constantly talked
about how creepy she was. Maybe it was for good reason.
They say some people are controlled by their dreams; I think she was
one of them. It seemed like everything she did resolved around
something that she saw in one of her 'visions'. It was madness. I
heard that she would follow a guy around just because she saw them in
a dream of hers. If nothing interesting happened, she would forget
about the dream and move on. Too bad it wasn't that simple when the
dream recurred.
She became obsessed, driven mad by the images in her head. I wish
someone could have freed her, but there seemed to be no cure for her
curse besides death. In case you haven't figured it out by now, I was
the guy she became most obsessed with. My name is Isaac and this is
the story of a misunderstood stalker.
It all started the night of the first new moon of the year. At least,
that's when she told me it started. The first dream about me gave
itself to her and even now I remember how she described it. “It's
creepy, I know, but this insanity has become something I'm almost
used to.” She told me shortly after I noticed that she was
following me. Apparently, I was the first to notice. I bet I was just
the first to say something.
We both shrugged it off and I didn't think that it would last very
long. She even told me that she tended to only follow a guy for one
day. Maybe she jinxed it because that night she dreamt of me again.
This time, she followed from a safer distance, but I noticed her
anyways. She didn't bother to lie to me and just told me the truth.
“The insanity is worsening.” I shrugged it off and asked her why
she would dream about me. She walked off without giving me an answer.
It was the night of the second day that I had a dream myself of her.
It was terrifying, absolutely terrifying. There was darkness all
around me and I could feel the brushing of something against my back.
It was sharp, yet dull. The taste of rotting meat filled my mouth and
the smell of death overwhelmed me. Something was seriously wrong. I
knew it. In the darkness, feet shuffled towards me at a rapid pace.
Laura's face came into view and out of shock, I started to run away.
All of a sudden, she was ahead of me. A scream pierced my ears and
crimson blood covered my hands and flowed from my chest. I tried to
stop it, but I couldn't; I had become a crimson river. Soon, I found
myself looking towards where I had just stood. Laura's twisted smile
was all I could see. I looked down. I was pierced with swords that
were dripping with an oozing blood. Then I woke up. I kept the dream
a secret from her, afraid of what it might have meant. I think now I
understand. It was weird though; she never showed up for school that
day. It worried me.
Laura came to school the next day and asked me how I slept. I lied
and said “great!” The truth is that I didn't sleep at all since I
had that dream. I guess that's understandable though. “Are you
still dreaming about me?”
She nodded her head and winked at me. “How could I stop? You're
just so perfect,” her tone began to change into something twisted,
“so delicious...” I took a cautious step back. I was worried
about my own safety. After all, she did describe it as an insanity.
Her eyes were filled with what looked like twisted thoughts and
haunting ideas. I slowly crept back, but she followed me and started
speaking again. “I even wrote you a poem!”
“Uhh... Cool?” I replied with a bad poker face. “I, uhh, have
to get to class. Uhh, my prof is going to kill me if I'm late again.
Maybe I can hear it later?” I lied through my teeth and turned to
run away. That girl terrified me. I nearly tripped over my own feet
when her obsessed voice followed me down the hall.
“Oh, you will hear it later.” She told me as I escaped to class.
I entered the room and sat down in my seat. The bland rectangular
room never seemed so welcoming. Even the teacher, who always seemed
to be angry and tired, actually seemed to be in a good mood. I was
five minutes early for class and she gave me a surprised look when she
noticed me waiting for it to begin. She made small talk. I mostly
wasn't paying attention. I was too focused on that stalker girl.
Maybe if she was more attractive, I might have given her a chance.
But I couldn't be seen dating a girl like that. No one would ever
take me seriously. It didn't help that she was renowned for being a
creep. She seemed nice enough at first, but I began to think that it
was how she drew guys into her little trap. Maybe I wasn't actually
the first one.
The bell rang and class was dismissed. I rolled my shoulders and
stretched as I stood up. When I looked back down, I saw Laura
standing in front of me with a twisted smile on her face. I nearly
had a heart attack at seventeen. She held up a piece of paper and
started reading it. “Tick tock, goes the clock. When the sun goes
down, you'll be mine. Tick tock, here's a shock. You're so perfect,
we should preserve you. Tick tock, I have a lock. You won't be
escaping, so enjoy your stay.” She looked back up me and waited for
approval.
I tried to hide my disgusted and scared expression behind a fake
smile. “That's pretty good.” I lied. “But it could use some
more rhymes in there. I felt like it was missing some here and
there.” I counterfeited a critique. I honestly hoped that she would
have left that poem alone.
She shook her head somewhat jokingly. I was ready to run. I thought
she was about to snap any second. I had heard about stalkers and what
happened when they finally snapped. “No, silly! I like it better
this way. I feel that it's more truthful this way.” I went to step
back, but tripped over my chair. I hit my head on the desk behind
mine as I fell. The force of the blow caused a concussion and knocked
me out, I think. I don't remember what happened after that.
When I woke up, I immediately thought that Laura had been planning it
all along. Of course, it was nothing like that. I was in a hospital
bed. I told that I had been rushed there because I was unresponsive
after hitting my head. Laura was sitting next to my bed and was
reading a book. I quickly read the title. It read 'Controlling the
Darkness Within'. I gulped loudly, accidentally drawing her
attention. She put down the book and ran to my side.
“Isaac! Are you alright?” She exclaimed in a worried tone. I was
assured that it was faked. I was convinced that she was after me. She
grabbed my hand, but I shook it free.
“I'm fine.” I told her as I sat up. I made sure to use my hands
as I did so. “Why are you here?” I questioned her. I tried not to
sound suspicious, but I think she might have seen through my fake
smile because she sighed heavily and sat back down.
“Just making sure that you're okay. I kind of feel like it's my
fault you hit your head so hard.” She said apologetically. Once
again, I was suspicious of her authenticity. I thought back to my
dream about her and took it as a prediction of the future. My fear
overtook me.
“Get away from me!” I yelled at her before trying to get up. I
stumbled out of bed. She rushed to my side but I pushed her away. I
looked her right in the eyes. “If it wasn't for your fucked up poem
about me, we wouldn't be here right now. If you weren't such a freak,
you would have friends!” My voice was cold and harsh. Tears filled
her eyes. I didn't feel pity, just rage. She shook her head at me
disbelievingly.
“I never even showed you the poem I wrote! I don't know what you're
talking about!” Laura cried out before she ran out of the room with
tears going down her cheeks. I sighed and sat back down on my bed. I
noticed her book from across the room. I picked it up and saw that it
was just a novel, not a self-help book like I had thought. I flipped
it open and noticed a note scribbled in on the back of the cover.
I slowly read the note out loud. “You are the sun in the sky, the
strength in the earth, the fire's beautiful eye, and the water of
birth. Isaac, oh Isaac, I wish I never met you.” A realization
slowly crept over me. That was the poem that she wrote about me. But
if that was the poem, what was the other one?
“What are you doing?” Laura's miserable and misunderstood voice
asked me from the doorway. I spun around and faced her, still holding
the open book. She quickly rushed over and snatched it out of my
hands. “You weren't supposed to read that!” She went to run back
out of the room, but I grabbed her by the arm.
“Why do you wish you never met me?” I questioned her about the
last line of the poem. She looked away as if she was ashamed. She
tried to shake free and I let her. I thought she was going to run but
instead she took a deep breath.
“Because I've burdened you with me.” She said quietly and then it
was done.
-Zero
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