4 Years Gone

You're enjoying a few drinks with friends during 4th of July festivites when suddenly you notice a large man walking towards you. It's not just any man, but a convicted criminal.

You know this, because you're the one that put him behind bars. You raise you hand instinctively and brush the side of your head. You lightly trace the small indention, where hair refuses to grow anymore. The entry wound is still tender and twinges a bit when it rains. It's the mark that HE left you with to forever remember how you barely survived the ordeal. You still haven't been able to shake the recurring nightmares that make you bolt upright in the dark and leave you drenched in sweat, sleepless and alone.

This has to be your imagination, this can't really be happening.

The man continues walking in your direction, moving ever closer. His eyes focused on you.

Your limbs have become useless except for your hand that has started twitching uncontrollably, spilling the remainder of your gin and tonic on the bar floor. You cannot even manage to blink, as if your eyes were cameras that must record every detail in this final chapter.

The man stands before you now and takes his hand out of his pocket.

You let out a small gasp, barely audible as all the air seems to have left your lungs. He's here to finish a job he botched the first time. It will all be over soon.

He reaches out and puts his hand in yours, lightly shaking it. You cringe, unable to mask your horror and quickly recoil. He apologizes for the grief he's put you through and says he would change it if he could do it all over.

You can only muster a feeble nod of acknowledgement and he silently turns and walks away. You feel dizzy and your stomach is churning, while your muscles ache from the tension. It will still be a few moments before you can whisper "help," then topple out of your chair and collapse, unconscious on the floor.

The embellishment is fiction, but the story is true. Read it here.