The Fourteenth

Ding1

Dong2

Surprised, she looked up from her reading, and walked to the door all the while wondering who it could be for she wasn't’t expecting company. Opening the door quietly, slowly, she saw no one. She gazed in every which direction someone could have fled thinking possibly some of the neighborhood children were enjoying a game of "ding-dong-ditch" but yet no one was there. Still curious, she stepped outside for a few moments hoping to see her pursuer driving away in his car but no one was there. Turning toward the door to finish her reading, she saw what appeared to be a letter taped to the door. Carefully, she reached for it but quickly halted. What if the letter was coated with a poison or soaked in a drugged inhalant? She had read about these things in her world of stories and novels for that was the world that she was accustomed to rely on. She reluctantly dismissed the dreadful thought of poisoning a letter from her mind, after all, no one would ever think of doing a thing like that in this neighborhood. She peeled the tape off of the door and took the letter inside. She sat down in her favorite recliner and set the letter down on the coffee table, staring. Who would want to send a letter to me? The only mail I get are bills and magazines. My own mother doesn’t even send me cards anymore; she has more of a life than I have. Despite of her own let downs, she swiped the letter from the table and ripped open the envelope. Her hands shaking with curiosity, she unfolded the precious paper that the message was written on. Inscribed on the middle of the paper, was one letter, "I". Confused and disappointed, she let the letter fall from her hand and again picked up her book and began to enter the world that she preferred to live in.3

*************************************************************************4

Click-Click-Click-Click-Click5

Cars were passing by rapidly. She had a hard time paying attention to the road for she was wondering about that letter she received earlier. The click of the turning signal of her car was a mesmerizing sound. Smooth and steady and calm. A loud honking noise awoke her. She took a right hand turn and continued down the wet road. It had been raining, she noticed. She didn’t hear it but every thing was wet and gloomy; evidence enough. She turned once more and pulled into a parking space in front of the market. She got out of her car and headed for the door, making a rough list of what she needed for the week. She entered the store and picked up a basket. She carefully made her way down each aisle, looking for bargains and asking herself if she really needed that object. Thirty minutes past and she had finally made her way to the check out, but her thoughts were anywhere else but there, especially on the letter. 6

"Elizabeth, darling, wake up! I don’t think I've seen you so dazed," the cashier, Debra, remarked. For all of Elizabeth's adult years, she always went to this market and Debra was always the cashier she went to.7

She didn’t respond for she was too much involved with her own thoughts. Debra cast her a worried look and handed her the bag as she walked out the door. Staring at the sky, she walked toward her car, got her keys from her pocket and unlocked the door. Then screamed. Another letter was taped to her window. She dropped her sack of groceries, plucked the letter from the window, and ripped it open. This time a jumble of letters was written in spontaneous places of the paper- "V", "L", "E", and "O". It just didn’t make any sense to her. Confused once more she stuffed the letter into her jacket pocket, picked up her groceries from the ground, and opened the car door and started heading back home.8

*************************************************************************9

She opened the refrigerator and placed her groceries onto the racks carefully. She got out the milk to pour herself a drink. After she refreshed herself, she sat down again and began to read. Elizabeth loved to read. She was abused and ignored as a child and never had many friends. The only true friends she had were novels. Reading was her true passion and could do it in her sleep. She quickly absorbed herself in the markings on the pages of the book. She was so involved, she didn’t hear the noises of something maybe someone on the roof. The house got cold and she decided to build a fire. She set the book down and went to turn up the gas on the pilot light for the fire. She gasped. Yet another letter. She quickly grabbed it for it was about to ignite into flames. She opened the letter and there were two pages to it this time. The first one was, once more a jumble of letter- "U", "Y", and "O". The second page actually said something. 10

Dear Elizabeth,11

Meet me at the Golden Rose tonight at 8. And before you worry, my darling, I am no stalker, just a heartfelt admirer. I mean no harm for I have feelings for you that I have never felt before.12

Sincerely,13

Anonymous14

*************************************************************************15

She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her soaked body. What if he really is a stalker? What if he is a serial killer and this is what he does for a living? Sends letters to innocent young women, lures them to the fanciest restaurant in the state, and just slaughters them. What a man that would be. Well, I have nothing else to do with my life, so whether this be the end or not, I will attend this...this date, as you might like to call it. She had been talking to herself all afternoon while getting ready for her date. She was very unstable and couldn’t help but referencing back to all the horror novels she had read. Nevertheless, she was going. Scared or not. She blow dried her hair and put it up in curlers. She applied make up and slipped on a red velvet dress. 16

*************************************************************************17

"Err- Uhhh- I am here because this...this secret admirer told me to meet him here at 8," she stammered.18

“Oh! Yes right this way," the waitress said.19

She was seated in front of a strikingly handsome man holding a dozen roses for her. She couldn’t help but think that he looked quite familiar. The market? The library? Then it hit her...20

"Elizabeth, darling, you have grown more beautiful since I have seen you since college. You promised to keep in touch but you didn’t. I could not help myself but to think of you every single day. I haven’t had a date since!" he stated.21

“Antonio!! I am so very sorry. I forgot all about you...err..." she felt very bad indeed.22

“It’s quite alright, my dear. I remembered you. Your voice, your soft skin, your green blue eyes, your hair. O! How I have missed you so. Elizabeth, after our graduation, I was going to ask your hand in marriage but I never saw you again. Where did you go my sweet?" 23

“I bought myself a home far away from the college we attended and I became a librarian," she was very ashamed, for he looked well dressed enough to be a lawyer.24

“Still into your books, I see," he smiled, scooted his chair back, and bent down on one knee. As he had planned a few years earlier, he asked her to marry him. And since Elizabeth gets sucked into her world of fantasy so very often, she believes there is no need to know what day it is. And that day was February the fourteenth. After the date he took her to the stream behind her house. Together they burned each rose as a symbol of different things. Life, Love, Happiness, Togetherness, Smiles, Dreams, Wishes, Kisses, Hugs, Luck, God, and most of all, Each Other. There is no longer a moment that they are apart.25

*************************************************************************26