The Traumatic Night

 It was 11 pm. Dad was still at work. Our traditional corded telephone rang. "Hello?" I said. a raspy giggle came from the other side. No one was there. I hung up. All the lights went out... I was in the living room. No lights. I shuddered as darkness surrounded me. I pulled out the phone which dad had given for any emergency. Dead. Great, time to explore the darkness. I started through the living room by trying to feel the furniture. I planned to go out through the front door and go check the generator. Feeling the furniture I got to the front door. I went for the doorknob and-BANG! I staggered back in surprise. What was that!? BANG! BANG! Someone was banging so hard on the door that I knew the door won’t last forever to protect me. “WHO IS IT!?” I asked. The banging stopped. No reply came. The banging started again. “ANSWER ME! W-WHO ARE YOU!? OR ELSE I’M CALLING THE P-P-POLICE!!” The banging didn’t stop, but only grew louder. I stumbled in the darkness, trying to find the telephone stand. I felt the stand. Wait… where is the telephone? It was here a second ago! What in the world!? I stumbled on the stairs, towards my bedroom. After trying to feel the furniture, I touched the window’s pane. I slid open it slightly open for ventilation. And moonlight poured in. In the faint moonlight, I saw a photo of me and my mom. We were in the park that day and dad was joking about snakes and I and my mom were so busy laughing that we didn’t even notice that dad had taken our picture. I picked up the framed photo. “I miss you so much mom…why did you leave me so early… only if you were here.” I thought and took the photo with me, just to feel safe and comfortable, thinking about her. I tried to feel my walk-in closet when I heard the busting of a door. BANG! Silence fell over the house. I was scared out of my life. “Mom if you’re there, please help me!! I beg you!” I don’t know why I thought this but I hurriedly tried to feel the closet. Yes! I found the handle and rushed in as silently as possible, and almost tripped over something. I moved my hands in silence and hit something. OH MY GOD!! It was the telephone!! There wasn’t much moonlight, but I could see the numbers. I put the photo in a safe corner and hurriedly typed in the number. Please pick up, please pick up, ple- “Hello, 911, what is your emergency?” “H- Hello? My n-name is Ishita, and I am t-ten years old a-and d-dad has still not returned from work” I whispered, trying to get my words together. “Please h-help me. S-s-someone just broke in our house and there are no lights. P- Please h- help me.” “Yes, miss. Stay calm. Give us your address and we shall come to help. Just stay calm and don’t make a sound.” I tried to level my breathing. “Yes sir,” I whispered, giving them my address. “Ok miss. Stay calm. Help is on the way. Please try to stay calm. And- “Beep”. The telephone went silent. I heard the sound of boots from a distance. I think in the living room. “Where are you, sweetie pie!? Don’t be afraid… I won’t hurt you. Oh! I get it! Do you want to play hide and seek!? I loved that game when I was little!!! Yay! Playtime!!” Suddenly, something started in the living room. “Hello everyone. This is your anchor, Manish and I will be giving you the top news today. A patient named Vijay Patel has escaped the mental hospital.

He is a severe case and can kill anybody who comes in his way. So please stay inside your house and don’t go outside-“ BANG. A loud sound of shattering glass. Wow. Our TV was thrown out the window, and we didn’t have enough to buy one more. “Ugh!!! Dumb TV reporters!!! Shut up!!” the killer yelled. “Sorry!! NOT SORRY!!” I thought, “You are going to pay for my TV, you maniac.” It then hit me. It was Vijay, my uncle who was arrested for attempting murder…and I was his victim!! My dad never mentioned him because he was sent to the mental hospital when I was 4, because he tried to cut my vein with a knife. Oh god. I didn’t know why. But when were those officers going to arrive!? “Oh, I get it! You must be in your bedroom!” Oh no. I could hear his boots on my stairs. And then the bedroom door burst open. “I know yours hear my dear Ishita” he cooed. “Are you hidden under the bed?” “Aw. You’re not here. But I am not losing tonight!!” The sound of his boot was coming near. The closet door flew open. I hoped that he would not spot me. “Where are you? Come out and we’ll play”, he said. Wow. He thinks I will go out and say,” Hello my psychotic uncle who just escaped from the mental hospital!! Let’s play a deadly game of hide and seek so that you can kill me!! He started searching somewhere near my stand. I could now see him a bit clearer for the first time. He had shaggy brown hair, a gun in hand, and a pair of crazy black eyes with a murderous smile. If I run out I’ll get shot. He now came over to my stand and stood just above me, glanced around, and went to check behind. His back facing me, he started checking behind. This was my chance. I crept out slowly. Moving as slowly as I could, I started toward the bedroom door. Suddenly, icy cold fingers grabbed my arm and turned me around. “Where do you think you are going, my dear?” Vijay said. OH NO! I’m so dead. “W-why are you doing this? I asked. “Oh, you want to know why I am doing this. It’s Because, your mother was going to be, MY wife!! AKASH STOLE HER FROM ME!! He didn’t even take care of her!! He let her die!! He let my Amrita DIE!!!” He took a deep breath and said, “Because he let Amrita die, I will also kill his only loved one!!!” The murderer screamed in my ear. I wanted to scream that it wasn’t anyone’s fault, but my voice was stuck in my throat because of fear. Suddenly, I recollected something and managed to get my voice out of my throat to ask, “Vijay, how d-did you m-manage to shift the telephone from t-the stand and i-into my hiding spot?” “You ask too many questions, but, no I didn’t do that. Because I am a human, not some psychic, DeAr NieCe”, he mocked me. I didn’t have time to think because just then, I heard the sound of footsteps hurrying up the stairs. And to my amazement, a group of officers, led by a female officer entered my bedroom. Her name tag said, “Falak Sharma”. I knew that her name meant brave and fearless because my mom told me when she was alive before she died because of lung cancer… “Leave the girl and hand yourself to us Vijay and you’ll not die.” Falak said in a firm voice. “Do you think I will listen to you FaLaK?” He mocked, but Falak stood still and calm and did not get intimidated. “If you don’t drop your weapons, I’ll shoot her.” I thought he will say something like this, but instead, He lifted me up by my head and leveled it, so that only his forehead would be visible. He could move my head anywhere if officer Falak tried to shoot, and I will get shot instead. I prayed to God to save me and forgive me for any of my mistakes. Oh no! Why did I leave my veggies on my plate!? I shouldn’t have done that! “Last time, I shot the wrong person when you played the same dirty trick. But I was prepared for this.” Before Vijay could say anything, a gunshot’s voice rang in my ears. I let out a gasp and lost consciousness. I opened my eyes. Everything was blurry. Was I dead? Is this what Heaven looks like? Then I heard my dad’s voice, “Sweetie!!! Are you okay!? Oh, my dear girl!!!! I am never leaving you alone in the house again!! I now fully opened my eyes and everything seemed clear now and saw my dad hugging me. I hugged him back weakly. I also noticed that I had a shawl over me and I was shivering. “W-what happened dad?” I asked. “Honey, officer Falak shot that murderer in the leg, and when he was arrested after his gun was snatched and he crumpled to the floor. And I a-am so sorry, I-I never mentioned your uncle.” His eyes teared up. I had never seen him that scared. “It’s okay dad. It wasn’t your fault.” Just then Officer Falak walked up to us and said, “You’re pretty brave for a 10-year-old. I will request our chief to give you a medal for your bravery.” She smiled. I smiled back weakly and said, “Thank you very much Officer Falak. If it weren’t for you…” “It’s okay Ishita. If you wouldn’t have called, we wouldn’t have been able to catch the criminal. There were police cars everywhere and crowds too. I was just relieved that my dad was with me. Everything was now clear and solved. Why my dad never mentioned my uncle but I remembered him, why he tried to murder me and stuff. But, hold on. If Vijay never moved the telephone… then who did? It then hit me. But what if it’s not true? I still looked up at my bedroom window and saw a woman was gently smiling down at me. I waved at her and mouthed “Thank you, mom, I love you and I miss you.” She waved back smiling and mouthed, which I somehow managed to connect,” I love you too my child. I miss you too.” So the next day, I was praised by everyone at school and I was also given a gold medal for my bravery and the chief officer said, “This little girl is very brave and smart for a ten-year-old. I think everyone who is here right now will surely agree.” I was happy. Everything was normal. And I would often talk to my mom, thank her and tell her how much I missed her. Who said mom was dead. She was still alive. In my heart.