Along the River

I wake up in a panic from another dumb nightmare, and I look around while catching my breath. My breathing is nearly back to normal when it speeds back up at the thought of being late for work. I shoot up and check my phone for the time. 9:46. I make a mental note to myself to look for new jobs after I get fired today. My eyes catch sight of a string of texts from Cher. “Why aren’t you at work yet, Cho??’’“I’ll try and distract the boss but she’s kind of snappy so hurry.”Seven minutes later, I’m pulling on my socks and running out the door, gripping my reusable coffee cup, with my bag hitting my side.“Shoot, I left my door unlocked, didn’t I?’’I quickly decide that there’s no time to go back, so I continue running. Besides, it’s highly unlikely someone will go up knocking on a closed door to check if it’s unlocked.I’m still running while I look down at my shoes to make sure the untied shoelaces haven’t gotten too dirty, when suddenly a brute force hits me from the front and my coffee spills all over the both of us.I look up in annoyance. My eyes meet a tall figure wearing a dark hoodie with matching sweats. In the middle of summer. Suddenly, remembering that I caused the accident humbles me.I mutter an apology and try my best not to shoot off while she glances at the damage done to her hoodie. She doesn’t even look up once. I’m taken by surprise when she says, “You’re late, Cho.”My eyes widen.“Do I know you?”I’m about to start running when she tilts her head up, just enough for the light hitting her face to make her mouth visible when she says, “You will soon.” She ends with a creepy smile I’ve only ever seen before in movies. I pick up my coffee cup so I can start running, but I get brave and mutter, “Psycho.” I start running and don’t look back.I quietly walk in to work and slide into my chair at 10:05. “How did you even manage to be late again?” Cher whispers to me as I organise the clutter on my desk.“Why are we whispering?” I whisper back.She straightens up in her chair.“The boss isn’t in a good mood because we lost a big client. Little things are just setting her off.”I sigh and open my laptop. I’m in the middle of skimming the tasks I have to complete today when I hear the familiar thudding footsteps behind me.I turn my chair around and see my boss staring at me, as if daring me.“Do you need something?” I ask her, trying to sound as polite as I can.She just stares at me.I’m about to ask again when she tells me to pack my things and marches away.I roll my eyes and whisper to Cher.“Meet me at the cafe after you finish. I need to tell you something.”I walk across the street to the cafe where Cher and I grew up. We used to come here after school on Fridays and use our spare change to buy something sweet and share it.I pull open the door that says ‘push.’ The sweet smell of fresh jam-filled pastries makes me smile as I walk over to a table in the corner.I get a notification from Cher.“I’m getting off early today so see u in a bit”I put my phone down and watch the cafe buzz with people. I’m smiling to myself yet again when suddenly I get a notification from an unknown number.I open it curiously and am taken aback when I see the message.“Waiting for someone, Cho?”I get goosebumps as I frantically look around to see the creep who’s watching me, but I can’t see anyone on their phone in the cafe. I try to calm down and think of a reply when I get another message.“Don’t bother looking for me, you won’t find me.”I can’t help but feel smart when I reply with what I’ve always wanted to say.“Too bad for you I actually already did.’’I get a message back almost immediately.“Oh really, who am I?”I immediately regret sending the message and decide to just ignore this.I’m sipping on my iced espresso when Cher finally walks in.I wave to her. She sees me and takes a seat, and she asks if I’ve started looking for a new job yet.“Cher, do you really think it’s that easy to get a job? The only reason I got my last one was because you recommended me.”She mutters something, but I pretend I didn’t hear. She asks what I was going to tell her, and I tell her all about the weird encounter and then the messages.“No way. Show me.” I unlock my phone and hand it to Cher.“Do you think maybe it’s the same person you spilled coffee on earlier?”I shrug. “Probably some creep who heard my name when I ordered or something.”I lean back in my seat when suddenly the lights go out. I get up and try to reach for my phone for the flashlight. I hear a commotion, and I call out for Cher.“I’m right here,” she says. An employee’s voice interrupts us.“The lights have gone out, but stay calm and stay where you are. We’re trying our best to fix it.”I jump when someone grabs my hand and places in it a little square that feels like paper.“CHER, WAS THAT YOU?” I shout, not as loud as I wanted to, my voice shaking.I try to scramble away from whoever is in front of me.“Was what me, Cho? I’m still sitting down.”I try to make my way back to our seats, my heartbeat racing. Suddenly, just like in the movies, the lights turn on and Cher gets up and walks to me.“What’s in your hand?”I smooth it out from the crinkles and read it.“Want a hint about my identity? I have one name for you: Felicity.”I drop the note and grab my hand that is shaking like crazy. Cher picks up the note and grabs my hands.“Are you all right, Cho? Who’s Felicity?”I shake her hands off. “Probably just some psycho. I need some time… the creep is probably somewhere here; I should try to lose him,” I whisper to her.“No way. I’m going with you,” Cher says, letting go of one hand and gripping the other one tighter. “Cher, please – I need some time.”She surprises me when she says hesitantly, “Alright, but please call me when you get home.”I grab my stuff and wave to her while I walk out. As soon as I’m out of sight of the cafe, I let out a heavy, shaky breath.How did they find me? I look around to see if I’m being followed and go back to thinking.Did I make a mistake? Did they already find the body?I close my eyes and take a deep breath in and out. I look at my surroundings, the empty park. I still have time to escape. I’ll just book a flight for tonight and head home now to pack my things. Simple.I’m taking out my phone to book the flight when suddenly I see a black car zooming toward me.I shiver as my skin gets covered with goosebumps. The car stops a few metres ahead of me, and someone pushes the door open, making their way to me. I waver between either running or calling the cops and making up a lie.Before I can decide, the figure in the hoodie and sweats reaches me.“Remember me, my dear Cho?’’I freeze. “How did you find her? Felicity, I mean,” I ask, backing up steadily.“Of course, you mean Felicity. She’s all you can think about. She’s all you should be thinking about. That’s what made it so easy to get to you. You were distracted.”My knees suddenly feel weak.“You’re an amateur, Cho. You can’t just expect an inexperienced college girl to murder someone and get away with it when real criminals still get caught. You basically left us a trail to follow.”I suddenly grasp the intensity of the situation and the fact that my mind is screaming at me to run. Out of options, standing there confronted by someone holding a gun, I confess to her.“I never meant for her to die. I meant to teach her a lesson for being a bully. At the end of the day, if you kill me now, you’ll get caught – you’re not a professional either. You’ll go to jail and live a miserable life – do you really want that?” I say, stumbling over my words.The figure takes off the hood, and I gasp. It was Felicity’s sister the whole time. She grins. “Your reaction is making everything I went through to be here worth it.”“You’re going to shoot me? Seriously? After all that, such an underwhelming bullet takes my life?” I say, not even a bit confident of my words.“Oh, the gun? Stage prop. To scare you.”I relax a bit and even find the courage to ask, “So, how are you planning to kill me then?”She laughs.“I’m going to kill you exactly how you killed her.”