The drive over to Maria’s was short and in silence. Emily was tired of watching TV the whole day. Edith pulled up in front of Maria’s house and turned off the ignition. She was about to wake up Emily sitting in the passenger seat next to her when she saw something startling. Though the curtains of the living room were drawn shut, Edith could see that there was a light on in the living room. Maria was blind and therefore never switched on the lights.
“Something’s wrong.” Edith said to herself.
She shook Emily to wake her. Emily moaned and rubbed her eyes.
“Are we there yet?” Emily asked.
Edith reached into her bag and handed her mobile phone to Emily.
“If I’m not back in five minutes, call 911.” Edith said.
“What?” Emily asked.
“Do as I say and stay in the car.” Edith persevered.
Edith got out of the car and quietly closed the door. She cautiously made her way to the front door. As she stepped onto the porch, she noticed the front door stood halfway open as if forced. She cautiously pushed open the door and it scraped against the wooden floor a bit as she peeked into the dark hallway. The light from the living room beamed into the hallway.
“Mom?” Edith whispered.
A second later the light from the living room disappeared – someone had switched it off. Edith stared back at the car and Emily sitting in it. She thought of her daughter, but also thought of her mother that could be in there. Her mother could be injured. She knew she had to go in and make sure her mother was alright – to hell with the stupid letter.
She turned and motioned for Emily to call 911, and then entered the house. The hallway was drenched in darkness except for some light entering through the front door. She tiptoed down the hallway towards the living room. Though she moved as quietly as possible, some floorboards lightly creaked beneath her.
She stood up against the wall and vigilantly peeked around the corner to make sure the living room was clear. Though there were a lot of shadows the room seemed clear. She carefully stepped into the living room.
“Mom?” Edith whispered.
There was no answer. She reached for the light switch and turned on the light. The living room was empty. She turned back to the hallway and as she did she found herself face to face with a strange man. Before she could scream he had his hands around her throat. Her entire body froze and started trembling as she struggled to free herself from his grip. She gagged for breath, but he was overpowering her. He leaned in and his beard scuffed her face as he sniffed her. Edith was slowly losing her battle against the big man and could feel the room fading away. She gathered her last bit of strength and kicked him in the groin. He moaned, but didn’t flinch much and then threw her across the room. She crashed into the fireplace mantelpiece, knocking over ornaments and an old clock. The clock came crashing to the floor along with Edith and stopped at 8:23.
Edith gasped for air and tried not to vomit. She saw the man walking over to her. She knew that staying put would be the end of her. She started crawling towards the kitchen. The man grabbed her by the ankles and flipped her over onto her back.
Edith tried screaming for help, but her scream was barely audible as her vocal chords were not recovered from the pressure. She glanced up at the man towering over her. He flashed an evil grin of yellow teeth at her like the man in her dream.
“I’m going to make you wish you were dead.” The man said.
His voice was like thunder and there wasn’t an ounce of humanity in him.
“Please.” Edith whimpered, “I have a daughter.”
”I’ll have my way with her when I’m done with you.” The man said.
He grabbed her by the hair and threw her onto the couch. She screamed as he started tearing away her clothes. Her kicking and clawing didn’t seem to slow him down. The man smiled his foul smile at her as she screamed in terror.
There was a loud bang and the man stopped what he was doing. He stared down at Edith and she could see the life fade out of his eyes. A bit of blood oozed out of his mouth and dripped onto her cheek before he rolled off her and fell to the ground. She gasped for air and jumped up from the couch.
She saw a man standing in the doorway still pointing his gun. His hand was trembling as he slowly lowered the gun. The sounds of approaching sirens were getting louder. The man looked at Edith, both shocked and relieved.
“Edith?” The man asked uncertain.
“Yes.” Edith replied with a tremor in her voice.
“It’s me.” He said, “Mike.”
Edith seemed confused.
“Mike?” Edith asked flabbergasted.
“Your mom is in the kitchen.” Mike said.
He glanced over his shoulder at the sound of the police pulling up outside.
“She’s unconscious, but should be alright.” Mike said.
“Mike?” Edith was still confused, “I haven’t seen you in over twenty years.”
“I told you; you could count on me.” Mike said.
1977
Mike popped the lollipop into his mouth.
“Promise me we’ll always be friends?” Edith asked.
“I promise.” Mike said with the lollipop bulging against his cheek.
“Promise you’ll always be there when I need you?” Edith asked.
“Yeah.” Mike said and twirled the lollipop.
“Promise? Edith insisted.
“I promise.” Mike replied.
“Promise you will ask me to the prom when we are older?” Edith asked.
Mike giggled and said, “I promise.”
They stared at each other with smiles on their faces. A moment later, the smile on Edith’s face disappeared as she had a pressing matter to discuss with her best friend.
“I need to believe me on this.” Edith said.
Edith reached into her backpack and gave Mike an envelope.
“What is this?” Mike asked.
“Something to show you that I’m telling the truth.” Edith said, “I saw my own death. My grandma said that if you see your own death you will forget about it within a day – something about letting nature run its course. I’ve organized a plan to prevent it, but I will need your help.”
Mike opened the envelope. It had an address and the date of 3rd August 2013 and the time 8:23PM written on it.
“I don’t understand.” Mike said.
“Promise me that no matter what,” Edith insisted, “Even if we are no longer friends by then that you will come to my rescue?”
Mike looked down at the paper with confusion and then looked back at Edith.
“Promise!” Edith insisted with a trembling voice.
“Okay,” Mike said, “I promise. You can count on me.”
THE END
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