At the same time, I wish I never made that stupid lousy mistake. Rita was right: beware of what you wish for. Now there was only one way out and that was very frightening to imagine. I was completely doomed for ever.
There was a knock at the door. I wondered who it could be at this time. I took a quick glimpse at the clock. It was 11 pm! Didn’t people have places to be or something? Can’t a girl get some sleep around here?! No use getting furious about this; easy to get it over with.
I headed towards the stairs. It creaked, as my weight shifted on top of each step I took. The sound of the stairs creaking terrified me and I rushed down swiftly like a cheetah.
I looked at the window to see who it was, knocking on the door like a maniac. Oh phew! It was James.
James was my best friend. Ever since primary school, he’s always been in the same class as me and now in our first year at secondary school, it was no different.
He had the same features as me. The same silky, soft and naturally straight hair. The same attractive piercing light green eyes. People, sometimes, mistook us for brother and sister and I have to admit, I would have done the same, except I didn’t mention that to him of course. He always turned red in the face and always became mad.
“Earth to Laura. Hello! Are you out of your fantasy world yet?” James grinned, waving his hand across my face.
“Oh, sorry! Hey James. How are you? Good to see you. I’ve been meaning to call you and ask about something,” I said, as I pulled the door wide open, allowing him to come in. I led him to my bedroom.
“Will you come to the graveyard with me tomorrow? Please?” I pleaded. “It’s just that I haven’t visited it in a long time and I just wish my was there and that I was with her.
“Yeah sure. You don’t have to ask. I mean that’s what friends are for. Whilst we’re there, I’d like to introduce you to my friend. Her name is Rita,” James replied, with a strange eerie smile.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed a pair of icy blue eyes, staring right through me.
It was a windy day. Everything just seemed ice-cold. I pulled my coat tighter around me. My hair was being blown across my face. I spotted James. He was with this girl. She must be Rita, I thought. Them two seemed to be in deep conversation. I approached them, hoping not to interrupt anything. As I got closer, I could feel the hairs on my back rising. When I reached them, all conversation stopped.
“Hi!” I greeted her, uneasily and just to be more polite, I stuck out my gloved hand. “I’m Laura. James must have told you about me.” I glanced at James and I noticed something different about him. He was acting strange. Not his usual self. There was something sinister about him.
“Err. Hi. I’m Rita. Yes, James has told me so much about you!” she beamed, shaking my hand. “Nice to meet you!”
I studied her closely. She had cropped ginger hair and icy blue eyes. She was very pretty, but she looked like she had a dark side to her. Even if I was offered a million pounds, I would know well enough not to trust her. She just didn’t look trustworthy and I wanted to get far away from her as possible. There was also something familiar about her; I just couldn’t bring myself to remember what it was. I regarded her suspiciously.
I noticed that Rita and James were stealing glances at each other. Something fishy was going on.
An icy chill hung in the air. I shivered. I glanced at James again. It was obvious that he was trying very hard to avoid my gaze. He was very shifty and edgy. It was just peculiar and a very different side to him.
I was deep in my thoughts and I hardly realised what was going on around me. The scraping of the land brought me back to my full senses.
Suddenly, we came to a halt. I looked around. This place looked very familiar to me. From the corner of my eye, I saw my mother’s grave in the far corner. I started walking my way towards it, aware of staring eyes, when Rita stopped me. She looked into my eyes. She had the same eerie smile that James had the previous night.
“Before you go there, can you answer a question for us?” Before I could answer, Rita continued. “Are you afraid to die?”
Wow, I thought. I didn’t expect that coming. I glimpsed nervously at James and he was still unwilling to meet my gazed.
Just before I could give my answer, she continued speaking. “Remember; be careful what you wish for”, she snarled. With that, she laughed her head off.
All that time, I never realised what was happening in the background. I never noticed the deathly-looking, box-shaped, tiny room. I wasn’t even aware I was being led there, until it was too late.
Just in the last minute, I looked at James and I noticed tears sprinkling down his face, and this time he was looking straight at me.
Right at that moment, I was shoved into the room, prepared to be doomed for ever.
