A Plea of Forgiveness

The bells of the café clatter together as you open the door. You hear a lot of cheerful good mornings and a “welcome in”. The smell of roasted coffee fills your nose and you hear your stomach growl. The atmosphere of the coffee shop is quiet, but the continuous sound of typing, the grinding of coffee and milk being steamed engulfs the shop. People are listening to music and are too busy on their computers or phones, sipping on their Frappuccino’s or Americanos to mind any attention to you.

To your left, a little past the front doors, you notice a cork board full of services available. You see pamphlets for an opening show for a new band in town and a babysitting service. You lock eyes with another pair staring back at you, a cheerful smile on their face. Your face turns white and tears blur your vision. You put a hand on the picture.

“I’m going to find you.” You say to the portrait.

The picture shows the face of a young adult girl. With raven black hair and ocean blue eyes. With her favorite red, black and white checkered flannel and a black shirt underneath. She is wearing the necklace you gave her for her birthday the previous year, something you know is so precious to her that she would never take it off. The name that can be read is Camila Duncan and above the picture are the words, MISSING in bright red letters.

You hold back your tears and walk to the barista. You get your sweet coffee and a croissant to suppress the needs of your stomach. Once you’ve paid, you wait about five minutes for your things. You thank the baristas again and wish them a good day. As you walk past the board again, you look at the pictures and let out a sigh. You are determined right there and then that you will do anything to find your friend.

You get to the car while clinging the bag of food and hot coffee in one hand. You get in and set your well-deserved coffee in the cup holder without trying to spill a single drop. You let out a sigh at the thought of having to do MORE homework today. Your classes throughout the day drained your energy. You are glad that you will be graduating soon and moving out of your family home and moving on with your life.

You turn on the radio then sip your coffee. You pay attention to the traffic, throwing out bad words here and when other driver cuts you off. The news comes on and you hear them mention the disappearance a young girl and the discovery of the body of a woman that was said to have been murdered six years ago.

“The disappearance of young Camila Duncan is still under investigation under the police. Police reports indicate she had left the home of a friend the night of August 12th, heading to her apartment and never made it back. A necklace with a locket that has a picture of both the missing victim and her best friend has been found on the ground. Please if you know any information call the number 1-800-200-5432 or email your local police station to assist with the ongoing investigation. We’ll be right back after the weather.”

The anthem for the news play and you feel wet on your cheeks. You wipe your tears with your sleeve. A few minutes passed and the weather forecast has finished the news comes back on.

“Thank you, Tracy. In other news, the death of Sophia Ashton is also still under investigation. Her body was mutilated and left in Lincoln Park. The body was found when it was sniffed out by a dog on the side of one of the trails in the park. It is believed that it was meant to look like a suicide but there is more evidence, that cannot be disclosed at this time that says it may have been a murder. Law enforcement found a piece of fabric in her throat that suggests she was silenced by the killer. The piece of clothing was a Chinese blue color. There is also a photo that was taken from a convenience store, where the victim is being followed by a person. The outline of the body is said to be that of a woman, and the color of the shirt matches what was found on the victim. The detectives believe the disappearance of the young woman and the murder of Ms. Ashton are somehow connected but no evidence of such has been found. Law enforcement pleads to the public to not wander on theri own and again if you know any sorts of information, please contact the Police immediately. Next up Traffic!”

When the news of traffic is next you find yourself on a familiar street that leads you home. You make your way down the street and turn into the driveway of your house. You park your car grab your backpack, coffee, and croissant. You tread up the walkway to the house.

“Mom? Mom, are you home? MOM?” You yell out at the top of your lungs once you enter to only hear an echo of your voice shout back at you.

You set your bag on one of the chairs in the dining room. You pass by a door to the basement; you have been told multiple times by your mother not to go down there. You have resisted the urge to go down once more and focus on the sweet smell of coffee and the gurgling of your stomach.

You hear the lock as you turn it clockwise. In the back of your mind, you hear a voice screaming and nagging. It’s telling you to not go down the stairs into the basement - that it is too dangerous – that you need to get out before anyone comes back. You brush it off and slowly open the door. A loud creak came from the hinges of the door as if it was a toad warning an enemy to stay away.

A foul smell of rotting fills your nose and you grab your shirt and pull it up to cover it, although it doesn’t make the smell completely go away. As you make your way down the stairs, they one by one creak under your heavy footsteps, making you even more terrified. Once your foot lands on the cold pavement in the basement floor. You feel a slimy liquid squish under your foot.

You stumble around to find the light switch. You finally feel a string hit your forehead and you keep walking around as you pull it, light shines completely illuminating the room and you look on the floor to see red footprints trailing behind you.

You squeal in disgust as you try to find where the red liquid is coming from. As you go around the corner, you see a curtain of plastic blocking off the rest of the room. Your hands tremble.

You pull the curtain back enough for you to walk through the smell of rotten flesh is overwhelming and a thousand thoughts burst into your brain making it hurt.

You slowly walk closer to the table set in the middle of the room, where a light overhead is on. You see what looks like a person laying underneath a thick grey blanket. With your hands still shaking you slowly pull the sheet back enough to see the face of the person. Their hair reminds you of the rust that grew onto the old truck your dad would use to haul around blocks of wood for the chimney during the winter. You peel the blanket some more to reveal the rest of their pale white face and burst into tears.

“No, this can’t be happening. Why? Who did this to you?” You say to the corpse.

“You shouldn’t have come down, sweetie. I’ve warned you about what would happen to you if you didn’t listen.” A voice from behind you.

You turn around as fast as you can to see the face of the person you least expected to see.

“Mom, what are you doing here? I’m sorry. Please forgive me. I should have listened to you and stayed away from here.” You explain to her as you fall to your knees.

“I was trying to protect you from such an insolent child. She deserved what was coming to her. She was working with me all along.”

“That is not possible, she would never do that! Why would she do that? Who is she to both of you? I don’t understand the relationship.”

She approaches with an evil grin.

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6 years earlier

The ringing phone filled me with dread. I picked it and answered the call. I answered with a weak voice.

“H-hello?” I asked

“I am done with this shit you’re putting me through.” said the person on the other side of the line.

The voice seems to have been changed - but the way this person is speaking seems to be familiar.

“What are you talking about? Who is this?” I asked, panic filling my voice.

“I have been through sessions of therapy and been to the hospital because of what you put me through because you took the man I loved away from me and for what? Money? He doesn’t deserve such a rotten person.”

I blankly stared into space trying to think who would say such cruel things to someone?

“I am sure that you are wondering who this is, and you will soon find out. I will meet you in your art studio at 11:30 pm. See you then." The person hung up and the constant beep from the end of the call had rung in my ears until I hung up.

I blinked a couple of times and went to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. I looked above the door and realized that it was 10:30 pm. One hour, one hour until I meet the person this strange voice belongs to. Before going back to work I decided to look at the painting of my future husband and I hung on the wall in the art gallery since that is where we will be having our wedding, in two days. I look up at my painting and sigh.

“Am I doing the right thing? What will happen to me if I go through with this?”

I sigh and hear a noise behind me and then I hear footsteps coming towards me.

I look again at the time and realize it was 11 pm.

“You are early, I’ve been thinking about what you told me on the phone, I’ve decided to not go through with this marriage,” I said and turned around.

The footsteps got closer, and the person stopped right in front of me. The light from the window emitted enough moonlight for me to see the outlined person. I tried to make out who it was, and by the look of the figure, I assumed it was a woman. The person was wearing a mask, which was covering the bottom part of her face. She was wearing a black hoodie and all I could see was this person’s eyes. They were an ocean blue in color and shined brightly.

The woman approached me and gave me a smirk. She took out a knife from her jacket pocket. I tried to run away as soon as I saw the weapon but before I could reach the door, she grabbed my hand and pulled me back to where she was. She pulled me so hard that I started falling forward and then lost my balance and fell backwards and hit my head on the wall which then caused my painting to fall to floor. I rubbed my head and when I looked up the woman was smiling at me and tossing her knife up and down, as if she was juggling it. The last words I remember are: “Your time is up...”

All I recall after that is, with the little energy I had left in my body, lifting my hand and feeling something thick drip from my fingers. My vision grew weaker, after a few minutes my eyesight was blurry and then everything turned black.

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“Now that you’ve heard the story are you ready to die?”

“Wait, I am confused, why did she kill the other woman? Why would she listen to you? Did you blackmail her?”

“Before you became friends with her, I caught her trying to steal from our home. She broke into the house and tried to steal some of my jewelry. I made a deal with her that if she helped me get rid of that awful woman she wouldn’t go to jail. She kept her word, but a year later you brought her into the house as your new BFF.” She puts air quotes and says the last word sarcastically.

“But she acted like she didn’t know you. Why would she stay friends with me if she knew you?” You asked confused.

A sudden burst of laughter echoed throughout the basement. Your mother wiped a tear from her cheek.

“You are so dense, she liked you as more than a friend. She was going to spill the truth to you but I silenced her before she got a chance.”

Tears fill your eyes and blur your vision. You try to mutter something but nothing comes out.

“Shhh my dear, there is nothing to cry about. I am just trying to protect you.” She says as she comes closer to you and wipes your tears.

You flinch at her touch and push her hand off of your face.

“She was my best friend! She didn’t deserve such a harsh ending to her life.” I yell at her

“But you deliberately disobeyed me after I specifically told you MULTIPLE TIMES not to go into the basement. I am afraid of what you will do if I let you live.”

“I- I promise you that I will never come down here again. J-Just don’t hurt me.” You say while tears roll down your face like a waterfall.

“What did I do to deserve such a pathetic child?” She tells you. “You deliberately disobeyed me. This is the last straw!” She yells at the top of her lungs. You try to back away but bump into the table and freeze on the spot.

“MOM! STOP! PLEASE! I’M SORRY!” You yell at her as she comes sprinting towards you.

Something a bright light reflects off from the overhead light onto the blade that she was holding onto. It blinds you for a few seconds. You are so terrified; you never expected your life to end this way.

Why did you have to come down here? Why did you not just do as you were told? You regret doing every choice you made that led you to this moment. The last image you see is your mother's eyes glimmering not with tears but with lust. You tell her one more time that you are sorry. And everything fades to black.

“I forgive you, my child.”