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Clock
How something that is broken can work? Lucky, coincidence or destiny.
Some people say: “even a broken clock is right twice a day”, so why can I not have had a second chance to get in a mistake and learn about it? Probably because I am dead.
3 months before…
Sunday afternoon in the park, the sun rises it is almost the last rays before twilight. So, there you are, standing in the middle of the field, charming and quiet. I do not know what this feeling is. At my age, I need to focus on starting my bachelor’s degree, no time for Valentine’s. So I continue reading my novel hoping that the final chapter ends with a “happily ever after”, before the day gets to dark.
Finally, summer vacation, I just finished reading my third book and started doing the university application for my major, just a few steps and two months to get in college. The park starts to look full, painting classes, yoga, children everywhere, picnics, runners, bicycles, reading clubs and you.
You have not a clue of what comes after college but, you have set yourself a path and you intend to follow it, no room for distractions, just… that one mysterious distraction…
He comes to me that morning with a perfect smile, I was reading “Romeo and Juliet” for the third time, and he says: Do they live happily ever after this time? You know it does not happen like that in real life, right? Hello, how are you doing? And he asked me on a date.
I was about to start the rest of my life in August but before that, as they say, you only live once, or you can died trying…
We spent together most of our afternoons at the park, reading and doing some picnics there, it became less crowded and more peaceful in the peak of the summer, which was odd but enjoyable.
In one of our dates he arrived late and very agitated. He told me that he was in a rush escaping from these two guys that were following him. Are you ok? Are you hurt? I asked him. He answered no. But I noticed some deep scratches in his neck, even when his white shirt was buttoned to the top. It should have been quite a struggle between them.
After that mess, we went to a party on Friday night, two weeks later. Everything was going well, the lights, an amazing DJ, dancing at the backyard of a big nice house. I went into the kitchen to grab some drinks and when I came back I saw him whispering at some pretty girl’s ear. I did not want to jump to conclusions, the music was very loud. But, who was she? And what were they talking about? He looked up, stared at me and quickly dismissed her. We did not talk about that for the rest of the night, but after that, he was very nervous.
Monday afternoon, in the park, we spent our time riding bicycles. Then we saw a crowd by the park’s abandoned chapel. The people was whispering that the police found ten women’s bodies naked and with ripped hearts, a gruesome scene. Now, everything makes sense. All the missing girls in the news and this emptying park. And then, I saw her through the crowd, the girl from the party, lying lifeless on that ditch with a broken heart.
I start to investigate the cases of missing girls and coincidently the reports matched with the dates I was not with him.
On Wednesday morning, I decide to go into his house and look for something that cleared my mind of those horrible thoughts.
He should be at work, the dog was barking loudly at the basement, so I started my search there. What I found was a bunch of little papers, handwritten with many phone numbers. I called the one on the top, five rings later, the voice mail answered me: This is Kate Morrison please leave a message. One of the girl’s phone number that the police found in the park. I dialed six more, and all of them belonged to those girls. At eleven o’clock, my cellphone start ringing. Then… blackout.
MA 2016.
