She sat there, blood dripping off her fingers, the blood-drenched knife tightly gripped in her hand. The thunder added an even more dramatic setting, followed by the soft water droplets. She looked down at the outcome of her actions: a boy lying in front of her, a clear stab mark on his chest. She was staring at her crime when everything suddenly went black. She fainted.
A month later…
That day, Jennifer woke up to the unusual sounds of thunder and rain. She lived in an area where rain was rare, so the pitter-patter of the raindrops was not frequently heard. She checked her phone for a message from her mother. “Anna will come as usual to cook and clean. She might be a bit late.” She put the phone back in its place when she heard the doorbell ring. She got out of her covers and went to see who it could be, possibly Anna. But when she opened the door, she found a young girl, a few years older than her, standing there. The girl had short blonde hair with brown highlights. A jacket was wrapped around her shoulders, covering part of her sleeves. She was wearing a black shirt and blue jeans, but everything was wet. She had a distinct pair of eyes: one blue and one green. The rain had clearly been unmerciful to her.
The girl asked with a shivering voice, “Are you Jennifer?” Jennifer responded with a nod, “Yes, I am. I’m sorry, but I don’t recognize you.” The girl tried to smile while shivering, “Anna sent me here as she won’t be able to navigate through the rain. I think she sent you a message about this. I’ll be doing the same tasks as she does—cooking and cleaning.” She ended with a small sneeze.
Jennifer looked at the girl’s helpless situation. She noticed the red patch on her nose that had formed due to the cold. She asked doubtfully, “Will you be able to manage?” The girl responded immediately with an enthusiastic “Yes.” Hesitantly, Jennifer let the girl in. The visitor closed the door behind her and started to sneeze again. Jennifer hurried inside and got her a change of clothes. The girl thanked her for the gesture and went into a room to change. She emerged from the room a few minutes later to find Jennifer sitting on a chair next to the kitchen counter, reading a book. The girl entered the kitchen and started cooking. While the eggs were cooking and the juicer was crushing the oranges, there was a ‘click’ sound. In the blink of an eye, the AC and fan stopped, the lights went out, and the gas was no longer burning. It didn’t take a detective to figure out that the electricity had been cut off.
The girl looked at the uncooked eggs and the almost-ready juice. She turned towards Jennifer, who just shrugged her shoulders and asked the girl to sit down, hoping the electricity would come back on soon. The girl sat on the ground, with nothing to do, just staring at Jennifer. Fifteen minutes passed, and Jennifer started to feel uncomfortable with the unbreakable stare from the girl. Unable to ignore those distinct eyes observing her every movement, she asked the girl to sit on the chair next to her. The girl, a bit hesitant at first, slowly walked over and sat where she was directed. Jennifer decided to break the ice and suggested they play a game.
“Sure. What game shall we play?” the girl asked, the shiver now permanently stuck in her throat. After thinking for a few more minutes, Jennifer actively suggested, “Let’s play ‘Truth or Dare.’”
Jennifer was surprised by the sudden suggestion but decided to go with the flow and agreed. She went to the cabinets and found the perfect bottle. She seated herself and spun it. It landed on the girl, and Jennifer asked, “Truth or dare?”
“Dare,” the girl responded.
Amazed by her confidence, Jennifer tried to think of a good one.
“Recite an on-the-spot poem,” she dared.
The girl smirked and commented, “Don’t go easy on me. But since it’s our first time, we can start with the easy ones.” She cleared her throat and started to recite a poem she effortlessly composed in a few minutes. It was as if she had already come prepared with her lines.
“In the lives of many people
I have made heaven
But those who have harmed me
Have lost their expression
I can make your life a living hell
It’s a sure fact I can tell
If you have harmed me or my loved ones
I can make you leave your shell.”
She ended the poem with an eerie grin.
“Wow, that’s one heck of a poem. It gave me goosebumps. You sure do love your family,” Jennifer replied hesitantly, trying to appreciate the poem. “Now it’s your turn,” Jennifer instructed, trying to shake off the odd feeling the poem gave her. The girl spun the bottle. This time, it landed on Jennifer.
The girl asked, “Jennifer, truth or dare?”
“Truth,” Jennifer replied.
The girl shook her head a bit and smiled.
“What’s the cruelest thing you have ever done?” she asked, ending the question with a cold stare in her eyes.
“The cruelest?” Jennifer mirrored. Instantly, thoughts of her crime flooded her mind—how she had swung the dagger into his chest, how she had seen him collapse to the ground, with the gush of blood spreading on the floor. But it was only an act of self-defense. She never intended to kill him. It was all a big mistake. A very big mistake.
“Isn’t ‘cruel’ a harsh word? I could say ‘unfortunate,’” Jennifer tried to answer. But the girl cut her off. “The cruelest thing you’ve done, Jennifer,” she repeated angrily.
“I might have killed a cockroach like 2 miles away from me,” Jennifer tried to sound modest.
“Lie,” the girl said firmly. The tension in her voice was growing. “It’s all a lie. The cruelest thing you’ve done is to separate a mother from her child, a sister from her brother.” The girl stood up. “Tell me why you did it. Why did you make everyone suffer? Why did you harm those who never did any wrong to you?” The girl held Jennifer’s shoulders tightly. She shook her harshly, demanding an answer. “How could you?” The girl kept raising her voice.
“I didn’t do anything wrong. Just leave me alone. Please, leave me alone.” Jennifer had started to cry at this point. “He was trying to harm me. It was not intentional. He came closer and closer with a mask on his face. That man broke in and tried to harm me.” Tears were gushing down her fear-stricken face. But the girl just kept growing angrier.
“You killed an innocent man who was in love. You ruined his life. You ruined his family’s life. How could you?” The moment the girl finished her question, Jennifer pushed her away hard.
“It was all an act of defense. That night was the same. The winds were howling, the rain was clashing with the ground. I was home alone, and there was a thud. I came to check outside, and I saw a man with a mask covering his mouth. But his eyes were distinct. Just like yours. He grabbed a knife and started to walk towards me. He kept on repeating that he loved me, but I never knew him. I didn’t want to kill him. It just happened,” Jennifer shouted.
With the sudden turn of events, she looked around. It was the same pitter-patter of the rain. The same thunder. But the setting was different. The characters were different. Her head started to echo with screams. The adrenaline rushed through her body. Her head began to ache. And suddenly, everything went black. The flow of events rushed through her head, and Jennifer fainted.
Two hours later, she woke up abruptly as Anna, her helper, sprinkled water on her. “Thank God you are okay,” Anna sighed in relief. “She’s okay, miss. Just a tiny bruise on her head. Must’ve fallen and hurt her head.” Her mom had just gotten off the phone with the ambulance, apologizing for the unnecessary call for help. Jennifer put her head on her mom’s shoulder. She looked up at Anna. “If you could’ve come here, why didn’t you? Why did you send that girl in your place?” Jennifer targeted Anna. Both looked at their confused helper. Anna suddenly replied, “But Jennifer, I sent you a message regarding the situation, that I wouldn’t be able to come and might be a bit late. As for sending somebody else, I never did.”
“But you did. She said so. She caused this,” Jennifer ended, pointing to her bruise. Her mom pulled her in for a hug and helped her stand up. “Let’s get you to rest first. Then we’ll talk about ‘her,’” her mom said dismissively.
The next day was a blur. Jennifer couldn’t stand staying alone in the house anymore. A few days later, Jennifer’s mother called for her.
“Darling, your cousin Ally is here.”
Jennifer got up from her sulky atmosphere and walked towards her cousin who was sitting in the living room.
“A very close friend of mine, whom you don’t know, has unfortunately passed away. Her brother too had passed away a week prior. It’s unfortunate for their parents. Would it be alright if you could accompany me over there?”
“Both of them?” Jennifer enquired.
“Yes. My friend passed away a few weeks ago. Her car skid on the slippery road on a rainy day.”
“And her brother?”
“He passed away under mysterious circumstances. Her family became numb and just didn’t like to talk about his incident.”
“I never asked either,” Ally explained.
Jennifer thought about it and slowly accepted the offer.
That evening, both dressed in their respective attire for the funeral and reached the venue. Jennifer stepped into the house and was greeted by her mom’s close friend. As they passed on their condolences, Jennifer managed to look at the children’s photos.
However, the next few minutes were not the best. She walked towards the pictures to get a better look. There she saw it. She gasped and remained in shock as she tried to process the images that lay in front of her.
One of them had a distinct feature. One that she could never forget. The unique pair of eyes: one blue, one green. A girl who had blonde hair and an innocent smile implanted on her face. It was the same girl who had visited Jennifer that day. And next to her was the photo of a young man with the same pair of eyes. It was indeed the photo of the man she had killed. Below their images lay the most perplexing message: ‘In loving memory of Noah and Cynthia.’ She looked at the images in shock.
“It’s them,” she said to herself.
“But if she’s dead, how did she meet me?”
Jennifer looked at their mom with a fearful stare only to find her staring at her with the same pair of distinct eyes: one blue, one green; coldly.
It was like she knew. She knew what had happened. And her expressionless yet warm face gave it away.
Author: Suchika Panjwani, 15 years old