SHE

Peggy gave Ms Wendy a stern look through her tears-filled eyes before she went to collect the now soaked wet books that were thrown out just a minute ago. Paroxysm of hate was displayed. She never turned back as she knew nothing was able to explain the things that were done screwed. She picked up the books and headed to her locker and she told herself not to shed a tear for that pathetic impingement. She intended to revenge for what had happened and a sinister smile was exhibited on her face.

As she was striding home that day, she decided to take a route that she had never been on, abandoned by most pedestrians as they reckoned it was haunted. Since Peggy did never believe in the existence of such myths and legends, she went on nonchalantly. She halted when what stood in front of her white Nike shoes was an old, dusty tawny-coloured diary. She interrogatively picked it up with both hands and began brushing away the dust. ‘SHE’ was the only alphabets visible. She thought for a minute, trying to decipher the meaning of the three alphabets. At last, she decided to bring it home.

She wiped the diary cover with a piece of dampened cloth and finally she could have a better view of the diary. She untied the beige-coloured ribbon that secured the diary and dived into it, hoping to find something interesting. She read through the first page of the diary and was stunned by what she saw. It brought Peggy all the way back into the year of 1964, in the month of June.

“Today was a rather horror-stricken day as my employer caught me reading a note, given by my best friend Sandra during working period. She tried to beat me with an iron but thankfully, I survived with only a few bruises on my neck, chest and another on my now cuts-filled face. I detest her beating me every time she felt like it. I hated her disgracing me in front of the entire store employee who pretty much did the same. Why didn’t she punished them all instead? Why is it so unfair for me to be the one suffering from all the torturing acts?”

Peggy went on reading through and she found one that kept her attention for quite a while.

“I finally fought back; I felt a sense of belonging when I killed my employer with the iron that she used to hit me with. I gave her a forcefulness hit on the head and amazingly, I enjoyed the feeling of that, to see her suffer and to see her die there right in front of my very eyes. I could not explain how thrill it was to kill despite being the timidest employee of all. They seemed to under estimate my ability, my cruelty and my patience. I think what I did was right and she deserved it, she deserved to die.”

Peggy gasped and she left that page untouched for a second. She thought back and started to have the same mentality as her. She was desperate to see what happened so she continued reading the pages coloured by muted shades of blue.

“My boss found out about it. I have to extricate myself from this place; I have to find my way out of here as soon as possible, perhaps now. I need to plan my fleet but I don’t think I have the time to plan for the pennies needed for my journey. I think I need to tell Jack about it, needn’t I? Or should I leave it all in my he...”

Peggy was shocked to see traces of blood that had now turned brown on that particular page. The lines were not completed, it stopped. Peggy was shocked to see a circle of blood on the page beside her. Could it be that she was killed while she was writing this diary? Could it be that her boss found out about her and she killed her boss while she was writing this diary that she was then afraid to continue?

Peggy was trying to think of all the possibilities that might have happened to her. She touched the circle of crimson blood...

Her name was Sheryl de Teresa, ‘She’ in short. She was an employee of the Minton Ironing Store Headquarters. She was killed by her employer’s husband, who she called boss. When she was killed, some of her blood was left there on her diary, which was later disposed by her boss at a nearby road. That road was where Peggy had found the dairy. Her soul went into the dairy as she was solely connected with the dairy when she was writing and was killed on the opened dairy. Her soul was trapped in the circle of crimson blood for 45 years and now she is finally free to plot revenge against people that had once gone against her. She was determined to let them suffer.

Peggy was overtaken by her, by that inhumane She. The newspaper headlines early that morning was enough to explain what had happened. “Peggy McCredie Burnt down Princeton High- 2678 killed, none survived” stunned the whole world.

Faces of 5 Sc 1'09

The Times We Had Been Together

I wish...

I wish he would give me a second chance. Another one for me to prove him wrong. As I was going through the tanned coloured album filled with our pictures, tears rolled down ceaselessly, damping the piece of tissue I had in my loosely held fist. Mike reckoned I was a spoilt brat. He said that I was no one if I was not in the bosom of my family. He said I would be helpless without him so he somewhat volunteered to help my family to assist me and fulfil my desires. I held out a derisory smile. “As if you had never loved me, Mike,” I said. Mike smiled back and hastily gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek too.

I had cherished the moments and memories I had with him. The memorable moments are still having a euphoric effect on me. I remember buying bouquet garni for him to cook a delicious bowl of bouille for the first time. As that was the first time I was instructed to do what I reckoned was a servant’s job. Didn’t I mention I was a millionaire’s daughter and that I lived an opulent lifestyle? Mike was the first person that had halted me from all the girlish and arrogant acts. He treated me as if I was normal in the sense that I was moderate in economic wise. The first time we met, I was not used to his demeanour so I thought he had treated me contemptuously.

We went out last spring, together. He brought me to places I had never been to. Experienced the hardship of some suburb citizens and also what he called art. We had been cycling side by side in the garden. The lush surroundings were colourised by flowers opened so wide that the floral scent was strong throughout. I fell in love with the cerise-coloured ones so Mike became the gardener as he planted dozens of them in my garden. For my 21st birthday, Mike brought me out of my house for dinner. He was indeed fastidious in everything he does. Although this was the first time I did not celebrate my birthday in a five-star hotel, I enjoyed it. Can you imagine the whole garden was decorated as what you loved so much? Mike had filled the sky with small decorative light bulbs so the sky that night will be starry, he lit pink and white coloured candles and made his best steak. It was truly amazing I tell you.

Life was never as what you had imagined all the time. When the rainbow once coloured the sky and the magical unicorns were vanished, they shall never return. Then all that was left was deshabelle land. Hard-to-bear situations will keep repeating until you choose to leave them yourself. What Mike said was quite true when a terrifying news struck me. “I hereby declare the death of Mr and Mrs Hudson,” the doctor said without a pause. It was on the 21st of June that I broke down in tears and could never climb back up to the harsh reality. “It was the end of the world!” I said to Mike as he tried to comfort me. From that day on, I locked myself in my room and had never came out of it. Not even sunshine was allowed into my once bright and lovely bedroom. It was dark and mundane. A week past, I was overtaken by the silent yet devastating devil in me. I hoped for nothing but to end my miserable and desperate life. I despised myself. So I drove to a nearby cliff and decided to make my one last jump but a phone call from Mike had stopped me, jolted me out from the situation. I drove as fast as I could right after I was informed that Mike was severely injured in a car accident. I rushed to room 240 and held my cold hands onto his. Just when I wanted to say my last words, Mile left me without giving me a chance to bid goodbye. The room was melancholic. The nurses were looking with a solemn facial expression. One of them passed me Mike’s diary. “He wants you to look at it, that’s what he said.” I flipped to the recent diary entrance and the paragraph awaken me from my unconsciousness. “ Tiara, I love you, but you will end like what I had once predicted. You could not stand alone without your family, could you?” I hate sarcastic words from Mike as it always challenges me. I wanted to say he was wrong, but I had no chance. “MIKE! WAKE UP! Give me another chance to show you that I can still live!” No matter how hard I cried and shouted at him, he did not reply. Deep down in me, I am aware that although he could not see me live mortally, he could still see me from heaven. Till now, Mike was wrong about me as I am still ALIVE!

The Unexpected Visitor

Tasha kept repeating the same thing since early this morning. She typed, then backspaced and on she went. Apparently, the proposal that was due the end of this week was only done halfway, though she had been doing it for days. Still not much improvement seen ever since the last day she stopped. She knew she had to gear up. However, her brain was not functioning as efficient as she had expected it to be, it was, sadly blocked. So she dragged her lethargic body out of the mundane workroom, out to get some fresh air and a short yet tense-relieving walk. As she had been walking down the same path for countless times, she was pretty much familiar with the surroundings, the neatly-designed detached houses and also the owners inside each of them. Before she returned home from the stroll each time, she would walk passed a beige-coloured simple-designed detached house. She stopped there for quite a minute.

Tasha was not left out by the tradition of her family, that is, to have inherited heart rhythmic disturbance. She was very unfortunate as she had to suffer from Long QT Syndrome, which its sudden attack and fatal effects are unpredictable. She might lose control of her motion as her heart would palpitate or she might even faint and never wake up again. These could happen anytime, anywhere or perhaps right now. Because of that, Tasha always lived her life to the max. She will always do her best in everything so that she would not regret for it her whole life. Her days at The Meredith were always hectic and she barely had the time to gasp for air when she began her daily routine. One day, she went to find few past files that were vital to aid her in the finishing of her proposal at the confined file archive, few stairs down her work cubicle. She began with her usual scanning and right after was to collect them and put them into her bag. She had managed to find most of them but as she tried to reach out to get the last file located right at the top of the rack, she suddenly felt her heart beating abnormally then it went all black.

Tasha was rather lucky as she had informed her colleague beforehand that she would be at the file archive. Hence, when Mr Winton was searching for her as she was handling the crucial documents for the 3 o’clock meeting later that afternoon, he found her there, lying on the carpeted floor. He immediately called the ambulance and it came about ten minutes later to send Tasha to the nearby Boston Hospital. Doctors at the emergency unit tried their very best to rectify the problem and they tried to jolt her out of the faint. They managed to bring her back, conscious. Tasha was sent to ICU straight away after she was treated. The person in-charged tried to call her parents which later they found out that her mom was no longer alive. It had been three days since she was here in this hospital, unpleasantly, no one came to see her, she did not receive any calls nor did she receive any parcels or letters. It seemed as though no one cared about her. But she knew she was a well trained lone ranger after all. The next morning when she was brought to her daily check-up, the doctor told her that her heart problem had worsen, the faint had actually appeared to be a sign of ... “You don’t have to tell me further, I knew it would be...” Tasha said, interrupted the doctor’s words. She knew this day would come, but she did not expect it to come round so early, she was only 21. She still has a bright future not done explored. But life was always so harsh. She could bear no more so she called the nurse to push her back to her room. The squeaky sound produced by the wheels of the wheelchair that she was sitting on had made Tasha even sadder as she remembered her last day with her mom. The day when her mom left her, Tasha heard the exact same sound produced by the wheelchair her mom was sitting on. She was sad as she has to undergo the problem her mom had once gone through.

Tasha was writing her hopes and wishes onto a piece of paper so that the doctors could help her pass it to her father although she knew he would never care for her ever since her parents divorced, when her mom was officially declared to have inherited the same heart defect from Tasha’s grandmother. Her tears rolled down her pale cheeks relentlessly as she wrote down her will. Then a familiar voice filled the empty yet solemn room. “You alright?” he said. Tasha nodded. Her tears just kept flowing and she could not control it. “Didn’t you always smile? Where’s the cheerful Tasha? Her dazzling smile?” Tasha cried even harder when he came closer. His hands held onto hers. “You must be strong, you hear me? Smile always and never forget me. Let me be in your heart. Take care, Tasha, take care...” He said as he patted her hands. He left a reassuring smile and left the room. He did not turn back despite being called by Tasha a few times. She still could not believe that she would die soon. She was haunted by her fears, her thoughts and her dreams that very night. Then early next morning, she was called to meet her cardiac surgeon. “Are you ready for a heart transplant? There’s a heart donor that had donated his heart. So do you think you are ready for it?” Tasha was delighted. She was filled with new hopes. “You mean I don’t have to die?” The doctor nodded and continued “No doubt.” “Yes! Sure...Thank god...” So Tasha prepared for her heart transplant surgery and everything went fine. The surgery was better than expected.

A week later, she was ready to get home. She checked-out of the hospital at noon. At the counter, the nurse gave Tasha a parcel together with a letter. “It’s for you, but it says here that ‘to be opened only after checking out’. That is why I gave it to you now.” Tasha replied with a smile. Then she held the parcel tightly in her arms and went to her car. She read the letter first.

Dear Tasha,
Happy Birthday! I hope this would be your best birthday ever although I could not see you smile right now, I can sense it. Don’t find me there at my house, I’ll not be there, it’ll soon be a geriatric home for the elderly. If you ever need me, I’ll be with you always, in your heart. I have no one to care for me till you passed by my house with a smile two years ago. It meant everything to me. Thank you for all of it. Enjoy your life, OK? Smile always, Tasha. I love you.
I’ll be in your heart,
Uncle Smith.

Tasha could not hold in her tears, it fell off again. She did not know who this heart belonged to, if she did, she would not have taken it. She felt happy, sad and exited all at the same time. She was confused but she went on opening the parcel. In the parcel, there was nothing much but it all meant too much to Tasha. It contained a bunch of keys, pictures, and a wish list. She grabbed both the parcel and the letter as tight as possible and that was all. She believed that she had Uncle Smith in her forever and that she was the unexpected visitor that came by when she was helpless. He was her guardian angel. So she was determined to fulfil his wishes.

Tasha smiled as she looked at the beige-coloured simple-designed detached house tactfully. She smiled, held her hand near her chest and uttered thank you.

The One Way Path

"Lynn had changed a lot, hadn't she?" said Carda as she rubbed her sleepy eyes. She was in an open-air coffee shop drinking hot latte with her friend Kathy. The soporific effect of the sun had made her wanting to go home, but she could not do so as she had a plane to catch later that evening. "She did change a lot since that incident. Have you gone to pay a visit lately?" said Kathy. Carda nodded and went on "Course I have. She's my best friend but it's so sad to see her in such state right now. She seemed as though she's not herself anymore, more like a body with no soul." Both of them paused. Kathy continued with great amount of sympathy "I guess I'll better go see her tomorrow morning, see if she's alright." They both had their last sip of their beverages and they hit home their own way.

Lynn had many valuable friends and when I said valuable, it meant they were all precious friends to her. But I can assure you that nobody would ever forget what had happened. The only aspect that differed beneath the hearts of all Lynn's friends was Lynn's role. When Lynn went to the university, she was the smartest, the prettiest and the wisest person of all. She was predicted by all of her friends that someday she would be rich, happy and successful. This had made Lynn felt contented and she had held onto the prediction even until she managed to get a job as a fashion designer at The Barbaras. Lynn was always onto the dernier cri, she was good and talented in her career and was often envied by lots of her colleague and some other people. It was because of that, she was cheated to become what she is right now, soulless.

It was that Monday that Lynn went to a fashion meeting with her employer, Diza Stuart at the White Palace company. They went there by car, Lynn's to be specific. They went there fully prepared and well-equipped. They were sure that they would stand a chance to sign the contract with The White Palace. So they went to the meeting confidently and presented meticulously and all of that was impeccable. But when the time came where the board of directors of The White Palace voted for either The Barbaras or Mithanial Co. should sign the contract, things went wrong. Wrong in this context meant not as planned, very much unexpected. It was decided that Mithanial Co. should be their collaborative partner although The Barbaras had a clear win in the vote. The decision was apparently unfair but the rights always lay on the hands of the director of The White Palace, Miss Paily Tompson. It was a twenty five billion dollar contract that made all the things, made Lynn and The Barbaras to the state of no return. Lynn was mad and so was Diza but both of them strongly agreed silently in their minds with the career annihilative verb, 'bribe'. No doubt, The Mithanial Co. had bribed The White Palace.

Anger and deep hatred were in them mostly in Diza, who had a rather strong desire of winning but because both of them were in the same car, the level of wrath became intense. However, things became worst when Miss Paily crossed the road which is a stone's throw away in front of them. As all that Diza had in her mind was hate, anger and mad, she instructed Lynn to close her eyes and step the petrol peddle. Lynn was very reluctant to do so but because Diza had promised her on her future career in The Barbaras, she did it without hesitation. The unbearable scream followed by the noise of the car going through the body could be heard on and on in Lynn's ears, despite the fact that it was five minutes past the incident. It was indeed an inhumane act. It was too late for Lynn to be scared and to be regret for what she had done as there's no way for her to turn back ever again.

That night when Lynn went home, she had nightmares. Then early next morning, the police were already on her doorstep ready to bring her to the police station for further investigation on the case. She had nothing to say and had no strength to run, neither did she had the strength to fight back. Lynn was then brought to court two days later as Diza had claimed that she was innocent and it was Lynn who did it in her own will. The court went on and at last the jury gave the verdict, "I hereby declare that Lynn Mcseen is guilty for first degree murder of Miss Paily Tompson and will be sentenced to death a month later." Lynn was emotionless, she was weak and was unable to do anything, not even to move but she went on right before she collapsed "But...I was only carrying out orders..".