Knock Knock
A graveyard. A girl. A dead twin. Perfect.
I was wandering around in the cemetery. I live near the edge of Maple Hill xtCemetery, it’s the only one in town. I like to go and observe the gravestones. For me, it was just one other day. I walked up to the stones of the Thompsons. They were my favorite, I always go and place some blue eucalyptuses on their graves. As I was walking, I somehow started to feel jittery. ‘It must be because I am in a cemetery.’ I thought and brushed off the feeling. After a while, the feeling came again, although this time not only I was feeling uncomfortable but also as if someone was watching me. I couldn’t help myself but walk faster. There was no sound for a while so I slowed down and started picking some ripe blueberries from the bushes that grew in the center of the graveyard. I had planted the bush a couple of years ago. They were delicious! As soon as I was full, I started to head home. Oh boy! Was I tired!
Snap! A twig broke! And it wasn’t because of me. ‘It must be a squirrel…’ Again, I heard some rustling behind me. ‘It must be another squirrel’ Thup… Thup… I was alarmed. It’s not like I was scared bu- Thup… Thup… ‘Now that’s definitely a person I turned around abruptly, no one was there. I continued to walk but faster. Snap! Another twig broke from behi- Thup. Thup. Thup. Thup.
Whoever was following me had picked up speed too. I broke into a run. I did not dare to look behind. Whatever was behind me was still following me.
‘ Maybe it’s just someone I know and they are just pranking me.’ I gathered up some courage to look behind while still running. I slowly turned my head… Aaaaaahhhhh!!!!!!!!! I screamed inside me. My voice had frozen. I couldn’t believe what I saw! A double! A double of me! The same honey blonde hair, those blue eyes, the-the same fair body, the nose, the- everything! Even the same cadet blue sweatshirt! I ran for my life! THUD! I had slipped on the wet grass. Tears were streaming from my eyes, the fall had hurt but I got up in a hurry and continued to run. As soon as I reached home, I opened the front door with a copy of the home keys that I carried for emergencies. I shut the door hard and locked it. BAM! ‘Mom!’ I said as I searched everywhere looking for her. No one was at home. Mom should have been here. That’s when I realized she must have gone grocery shopping! Oh no!
Knock Knock… I jumped! Knock knock… ‘There is no way, I am going to open the door.’ Knock Knock! It was louder this time. I gulped and thought of replying. ‘Maybe I should reply, what if it’s mom or dad?’ KNOCK! KNOCK! ‘Who’s there?’ I asked, shaking with fear. No reply. KNOCK!! KNOCK!! ‘Who’s there?’ I asked again. ‘It’s me! Isabelle!’ Said the person outside. I froze. A cold chill went up to my spine. Isabelle was my twin sister who had died a year ago in a car accident. ‘Mom! Dad! Annabelle! Open the door!’ She shouted from the other side of the door while still knocking. I checked today’s date… It was the 18th of September! The date of the day before her death day! ‘Annabelle wake up’
I heard a faint voice that sounded like my mother. I stood up straight! I was in my bed, covered in sweat! My mom and dad were beside me, who was trying to calm me down. ‘What happened Annabelle? You were screaming in your sleep and mumbling Isabelle’s name. Are
you all alright?’ She said worryingly. ‘Mom-Mom, what’s the date today? Are you going on a trip? Mom-Mom-Dad, don’t leave me alone. You won’t, will you?’ I was still trembling because I was so shaken by the dream. ‘Anna, Calm Down. Today is the 19th of September, we are not going on a trip and why would we leave you alone?’ Dad replied sweetly as he patted my back. ‘What happened? Did you have a bad dream?’ Mom asked. ‘Yeah, a really bad one. But I guess after a stomach full of delicious waffles, I will be fine!’ I said with a chuckle. After breakfast, we had gone to the cemetery to visit Isabelle as it had been 1 year since she died. There, we all had a good cry. Later on, we had lunch, that’s when mom figured we had run out of groceries. ‘Is it okay if we go get the groceries while you are at home? Mrs. Martinez is going to come to give the notice board. Will you collect it?’ I agreed.
Knock! Knock! ‘I must be Mrs. Martinez’. It was her, so I collected the board and she left.
Knock! Knock! ‘Who is here now?’ I thought. I went to check the CCTV to see who was there but I couldn’t see anyone. ‘That’s strange’. So I went to the front door and squinted my eyes to check in the peephole. I gasped. My body went suddenly cold. I rushed to see the CCTV again and no one was there. ‘OH… MY… GOD…’ I started panicking. I ran back to check the peephole. I slowly peered in the peephole. I let out another gasp, but louder than before. The person outside was Isabelle. But she wasn’t visible on the camera. At first, I thought I was hallucinating. But then I was sure when Isabelle said- ‘Mom! Dad! Annabelle! Open the door! It’s me, Isabelle.’
~Arya Bhingradia,
A baker, a student, a dancer, a writer, an artist, a daughter, a best friend. Ready to kill someone if they hurt someone I love. In need of a pet.
