This is me, an insecure teenage girl, who finds solace where ever someone accepts me looking through my flaws.

Just like any regular juvenile, I had low self-esteem, trust issues, body problems, stress and maybe close to depression but those were my inconsistencies before, I came across the purple site of, Interweave, an app that nearly changed my life. It provided the fuel to boost up the non-existing confidence that ever since the arrival of peer pressure in my life, had kissed me goodbye.

Every other day, I lucked the bliss ensued in the form of, mawkish "sweet" comments on my profile.
Wasn't it too sickly sweet to all of a sudden be showered with such heartening feedbacks from the people who know nothing about me, rather just had an image of me to pass the judgements?
It certainly was, but me being penurious and ravenous for "acceptance" was willing to run to any place that offered it.

It being a "universal norm" for a "digitally" good looking girl to have more, male species on her followers list was indeed applied to me as well.

Trivial, "Hi"s and other such greetings carried by minor flings over text were an everyday story.

Things switched, from the day I met him. He was different from the others, just a single text from him would be sufficient enough to yield me towards him. I have no clue how he always had the perfect thing to put forward at the perfect time? Just a compliment from him, be it for my smile, or hair, or even my usage of contractions over text, would soak all my worries.

Any one could discern, what we had was not just mere friendship, we shared something special and unique.
It being the reason, things got accelerated and we started to consider meeting in person.

"Let's catch up somewhere?"

Euphoria embraced me the moment my eyes scanned that message. Just the thought of finally being able to meet the person, who impacts my life so much, gave me tingles, shivers accompanying them.

That day lives raw and fresh in my head, 25th Oct 2021 the date got stuck in my life with BOLD letters, gruelling my recovery.

Not altering the standard set for any other "First date" we met in a crowded restaurant that was supposedly termed as "safe" by the society for I was a "dumbhead" indubitably in their rigidly framed mindset.

He graced me with his refulgent presence, not allowing me to have second thoughts for him being before time. Subdued, atmosphere prevailed between us following the few exchange of words. His voice was not at all foreign, he sounded exactly the way he would over our prolonged phone calls.

Things were pacing quite well, he was simultaneously earning blue ticks from my side owing to the perfect composure adopted by him. After filling our stomachs with the delicacies, he proposed,

"Why not stop by my house for some time? What say?"

That persuaded me to gaze at him, taken aback by his untimely request.

Wasn't that too forward?

How should I respond?

Prioritising my rationale self and logically analysing the circumstance, my answer would be,

"No! I am not willing to share a confined space with a stranger."

Yes a stranger because I too was a stranger for him, I had refrained myself from exposing my darker side in front of him. What if he had some "guarded" side too?

Unfortunately, as the mind needs the heart's assist to provide the blood needed for its effective functioning, the same way my heart's opinion mattered and it asked me to accompany him. Maybe I would be risking it all if I disagreed, perhaps he would never want to talk to me again!?

No!
I could not afford it. I won't be able to withstand the stroke of heavy wind of "rejection" striking me all over again.
He was the place of solidity for me! He would bless me with the "peace of mind" I was always deprived of!

"Sure" I answered, veiling my reluctance.

My reply invited a sparkling smile adding to his already adorable countenance.

The drive to his residence was filled with deafening silence, providing me with enough room to drown in perturbance.

On entering his matchstick-size flat, I was welcomed with some distant spooky sound.
"Let me have a look." He stated before moving past me to check on it.

That eerie sound was giving me chills, challenging the dripples of sweat to stay enact. When a black shadow was perceived passing by in the speed of light, through my peripheral view.

"W...wh...who...i...is that?" My pitchy voice came out quivering almost inaudible, giving enough space for the fear to be persistent.

Gathering up some courage, I moved towards that thing but was left petrified by a dirty black cat, eyes blood red, jumping on me. Although I succeeded to shove it off, it indeed left me shaken and petrified.

The abrupt rise of anxiousness within me was decelerated by the thudding of his footsteps...

"Ah, nothing as such...It was my cat."

"Cat?" His answer did not satisfy me.

"The cat was here, why would he be lying?" The thought submerged within me.

"Anyways...would you like anything to drink?" This was his clear attempt to avoid that conversation, I figured.

"Water."

He gave me a smile in return, but that was not his "sparkling" smile rather a malicious grin, that agitated me.

I was alarmed. Hence began to investigate the surrounding in his absence. When my consciousness got seized by the paintings crowding the clear walls and further contributing in making the place appear smaller.

A beautiful face of a little boy painted on the hanging canvas captured my eyeballs. A deep frown spread over my forehead trying to decipher what was odd about it, when my heart left a palpitated breath on the account of my rationale formed that the boy was not smiling rather his face held an uncanny grin. Further inspecting the, art piece, I was terrorized witnessing many hands coming from the background.

In whole it appeared as if that boy was standing in front of a glass window, with people burning on the inside. I could feel my cheeks fume and my body shudder the moment I realised, his eyes held some sort of guilt, as if he locked the helpless people to burn to death.

Intuitively my legs began to decline towards the back, involuntarily, my back hitting the wall caused me to look behind. That instant my glance fell upon an eccentric portrait of a blonde girl with fresh rose of piercing bright red colour.

I could feel my uneven breath by that time, however my next encounter made it even worse when I saw a crystal teardrop under her left eye, she looked helpless. She appeared to be encapsulated under some evil spell, looking closely a hand seem to come from distance, covering her mouth to cease her scream.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhh......pleeeeaaasssse..."

Sudden, spectral screams filled my eardrums as if she was screaming for help!

She was seeking for help from me!

Unwarned distant sound of sobbing knocked on my awareness.

"Pleasee....help...me..."

"No...no....no...this is not possible. I'm just being delusional....there isn't....there can't be...."

By that time, I was gasping for breath with hands trembling, my blurry vision didn't help me comprehend my moves.

I just wanted to be out of that place...

When out of nowhere he appeared in front of my eyes, standing in an unnaturally upright posture, his chin up and body terribly stiff, I doubt if he was still breathing.
He stood there holding a glass in his hand.

"Here, your glass of water." The calmness in his voice, shuddered my figure.

"These paintings...?" I put forward the unplanned question without my brain could even process it.

"Yeah, I made them."

I had no reply but to nod at him. Holding the steel glass with my trembling hands I moistened my dried mouth, escaping a breath.

"So...?" Not giving enough time to interpret his question, he began taking larger steps towards me.

"Hey what....."

"Shhh...." He started playing music on the gramophone, kept on the wooden table beside us.

There is no pain you are receding
A distant ship smoke on the horizon
You are only coming through in waves
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying
When I was a child I had a fever
My hands felt just like two balloons
Now I've got that feeling once again
I can't explain you would not understand
This is not how I am
I have become comfortably numb

I have become comfortably numb

My retinas found him, dangerously close to me with a sinister smile he wore on top his once, "innocent" eyes looked evil. His body seemed as if possessed by satan. His touch burned my skin rapturing my inner flesh. His tinges over my collar bone and all around my jaw felt disgusting.

But my body was drained, I was tired by the previous psychic brush. I felt weak and vulnerable like a fresh rose with drops of water crumpled under his rough sinister, dark palms.

"Rose"?

The realisation made me eye at the painting of that " helpless" girl.
The moment my glance fell on that portrait a sudden energy fueled my soul with "hope". All of a sudden, I became very aware of the situation I was in and most importantly that I did not want to stay in the same.

Her eyes held grief and susceptibility. They didn't feel to be just two strokes of paint but they felt very real, the pain in them was real, the shine in them was real, and the hope in them the instant I looked there was very real...

Applying all the energy within me in that one push, I was free from his brutal hold. But he was well versed and balanced himself well and didn't take a second before coming for me. Terror-stricken, I was finding it hard to control my ragged breathing.

He was ascending towards me and making my heart tear with every step he would take further. There was nothing I could do to escape that situation. Tears started to break free and added to my petrified state. Once he was close enough to me, I could feel his fast breathing, his jaw was clenched and chest-puffing out, with gritted teeth he spoke, horrendously,
"I won't leave y....."

Before he could complete his threat silence prevailed in...

I caught a fleeting glimpse
Out of the corner of my e..........
............The child is grown
The dream is gone....

The song was stuck in between and was never completed...

When I fluttered open my pinched eyes, in front of me was a large body of a man lying on the floor with blood oozing out mixed with sweat from his head.

Thud

The gramophone came in contact with the tiles below as my grip was altered.
Tottering, I brought my palms in front of my eyes, they were red, stained with the blood of the satanic devil.

I didn't wait a second before going towards the picture of the girl, trying to probe in.
Cautionously I placed my ear over the canvas trying to get the slightest of the hint but figuring that it was all vain. I detached the painting from the place and was made to aquisite a small window behind it.

Kneeling down my prime motive was to get a hint if someone was in there but all I was able to perceive was darkness.

"Is anyone in there?" I inquired,

My heart nearly skipped a beat, at the aural faculty of someone snivelling.

"Hey, are you in there? Come on I won't hurt you..."

"Please help me!", called out the feeble voice, I could picture her weak state just by hearing her voice.

"Wait, I got you. I'm calling the police now."

The call to the authorities brought my peace and I was finally able to let out a breath of relief.

This place was evil, I just wanted to get out of it!

Amidst the bright rays of illuminating hope, my vision was blurred and the peace mingling in my ear drums got intermixed with a high pitched sound.
My head got heavy and the last thing I engraved in my heart was the inquitous face of him with that "sadistic" smile that had forever erased the memory of the once "sparkling" smile that I adored.

I fell on his feet, the gramophone was now in his hand....
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Headlines
26th Oct 2021

"The "Psychopath" Necrophilic who kidnapped young teenager girls was found to keep them in a box before planning the murder"

"He had been kidnapping young girls then would kill them after days of torturing. Jeannette Davies, who was under his captivity for two weeks had been rescued and is under medical care now. However the other girl was found dead on the crime scene due to the excessive loss of blood." Says Police Commissioner Alexander Heathcoat.
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AN

Don't trust every person over social media, just don't trust them....