The Chilling tale of My Sweet 16: Part 2

As I sat up in bed, the realization of the nightmare's grim reality weighed heavily on my mind, grappling with a mix of fear and curiosity. How could something so hauntingly vivid surpass the realm of dreams and manifest itself in this waking reality? This question wildly swirled around in my brain, pushing me to the verge of losing my mind

.

My mind frantically searched for a justification or a possibility that could explain this abnormal occurrence but the exercise went futile… I had a plethora of questions but all the just answers seemed elusive.

Just then the alarm clock beeped besides me, dragging me out of this trance.

“Today is a special day; please don’t ruin it” I reminded myself as I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and rose unsteadily onto my feet. The room felt different now, charged with an eerie energy that made my skin prickle with unease.

By the time I had freshened up and put-on the baggiest pullover I owned to hide my bruised-up wrist, a marvelous odor filled the air; it was probably the cake that my mother was baking for the occasion. Despite the lingering unease from the night's events, I couldn't bear to dampen her spirit. So, I mustered up the most vivid smile I could possibly manage and hurried downstairs. All that was left to do was to wear it for the rest of the day...

 

***

 That Evening

I nervously tapped my feet against the wooden floor of the basement. The guests, all of whom were my friends and acquaintances, were obviously running late probably taking wrong turns while finding this restaurant which, to be fair, wasn’t exactly their fault… the place hadn’t been making much owing to its location and the new highway that cut through the mountain, bypassing our little town that lay comfortably in the plains of the valley. And from what I heard for uncle Ben, it was on the verge of closure, and hence de-listed from most places which also made it impossible to be found unless by any person who were to know it’s exact whereabouts.

Just then the door opened and there emerged Stacy and Veronica, the twin sisters and the school heartthrobs… but much like their faces, their personalities completely at odds with each other. And while Stacy wore her usual composure which she coupled with a sympathetic smile on her cherry lips, judgment lingered in veronica’s astute eyes, her face bereft of any smidgen of glee.

“Happy birthday Jake!” they said in unison, Stacy’s cheeriness overlapping Veronica’s dejection.

“thank you madame!” I replied… a silly pun on Stacy’s role of a melancholic heroine in the school theatrics. She didn’t mind it, of-course, instead gave way to a smile. Veronica rolled her eyes… something told me the sisters weren’t getting well enough together.

“Well the arrangement’s downstairs if you may, I will join you in a moment” I showed them the way and soon they disappeared out of sight.

Soon enough people started flowing in… or rather flooding in. The basement was huge enough to accommodate all of them but for me the presence of just a handful of them, enough to be counted on the tips of my right hand, mattered. One of them was Jake, my buddy from the next door… destiny had always found its way to keep us together; from same class to same interests we got along just fine.

But this crowd was beginning to take it’s toll on me and my anxiety started to kick-in. All eyes were upon me and mine stole glances towards her- standing in her red overcoat much like her lips and hazel brown eyes… but something seemed weird for out of all the eyes upon me, one gaze pierced through me. It was someone behind me, sending a shudder down my spine… I whipped around to find a daunting figurine of a blood-curdling clown.

I had probably overlooked it among st the plethora of decoration that uncle ben and father had put up. Despite its intimidating appearance, I was filled with admiration for this real to life figure afterall it seemed too real to be false… its malevolent smile, aquiline nose got along well with it’s eyes which seemed too real and familiar that they sent a shudder down my spine. They were, I dare say, full of life and terrible foreboding.

“Don’t say your heart fell for it’s eyes too, jackass” Jake’s voice broke me out of my trance “C’mon lets set you up”

Saying this he dragged me out of the place towards the adjacent dark woods. I shuddered as a gust of dry cold wind came as a stark contrast to the heated basement.

I listened intently as sounds that had been merely unsettling during the day took on a more menacing tone at night. The occasional snap of a twig or the distant howl of a solitary wolf echoed through the inky blackness, heightening the sense of isolation and vulnerability. The air grew colder and more oppressive, making every breath feel like a laborious effort.

The moon, now hidden behind heavy clouds, cast sporadic, feeble rays of light that seemed to play hide and seek among the gnarled branches. The forest became a realm of deep, impenetrable darkness.

Jake, who had lit a cigarette by now, took in a big puff then took out, to my surprise, a metal flask..

“This ought to set you up alright” He remarked as I took a big gulp, setting my esophagus on fire…

“Whiskey? Good stuff...” I remarked as I took down several gulps then met the gaze of Jake who was taken aback seeing it but then just gave way to a smile.

“Maybe this will give you courage” He remarked.

“What?” I tried to sound oblivious even though fully aware of the intent of his words…

“Come on man… you have been in love with Stacy since she first entered our class, don’t you think you should give it a go. Just get it over with, you have nothing to lose anyway…” He shrugged.

I didn’t say anything… found myself at the loss for words. It was the truth but I couldn’t face it, maybe it was fear of rejection or the risk of losing her perhaps both. I stood gulping down the whiskey as it’s bitterness made way for a lingering aftertaste, it’s burning sensation in stark contrast to the chilly winter.

I looked around as fog fell upon the forest, giving it a sinister look and honestly it gave me terrible foreboding but something told me it was something else, maybe the dream but what about it?

I pondered as I looked at my wrist and almost instantly brushed that thought aside. I was not gonna let this day slide by and just when I was starting to gather myself together, I heard it… the horrendous shriek of girl. My heart sunk at it’s recognition. I looked at Jake who returned a dreadful look, his face reflecting his bafflement.

Without uttering another word, we both sprinted towards restaurant engulfed in utter chaos. The mere sight of the place sent jitters down my spine… blood flowed freely and seeped through the cracks between the tile. I pushed aside the curios horde of people, who were too shocked to meddle into anything that was happening. But the deed was done and there stood Stacy, drenched in blood beside the corpse of veronica whose chest was dug out. Stacy carried her blood red smile and trotted towards me. I found myself unable to move, much like everyone in the room, it was as if some invisible force held us all down barring Stacy.

Less than few inches from me, she revealed a human heart, still enigmatically beating from vitality… she closed in, her body pressing against mine as she whispered into my ear.

“Happy birthday little one…”

-The end...