She had been walking for hours. Her feet were starting to bleed, but she couldn't stop walking. She wouldn't let him find her.
Daisy Jones led a normal life. She worked a desk job, a 9 to 5. She was single in her 20’s and had a small group of friends that were with her through everything. Her life was simple, her daily being to get up, go to work, come back home and repeat everything the next day.
One night, as she was about to go to bed. She saw him. A man dressed in all black staring at her through her bedroom window. She shook her head and he disappeared. Must just be my tired brain playing tricks on me, she thought. She shut the blinds, switched off the lights, closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
At work the next day, she saw him again. She was just writing a report when she glanced out of the window and the man appeared. She started violently. “You okay, Daisy?” her coworker Edgar asked. Daisy blinked, she could not see the man anymore. “Did you see him?” Daisy asked. “See who?” “The man.. Standing outside the window?” Edgar looked at her in concern “ There was no one there Daisy. Are you feeling alright? Should I inform our manager that you are ill and need to go home?” Daisy sighed “ No, I’m fine. It's probably just the two cups of coffee and no sleep messing with me..” Edgar nodded and went back to writing his own report.
Daisy let out a shaky breath, she needed to sleep more. These hallucinations were just some strange side effects of not sleeping, she reassured herself. Eventually it hit 5’ o'clock and she could finally go back home. She remembered that she had to make a stop at the grocery store on the way home as she was short on supply of… everything.
Walking around the store looking for her favourite flavour of ice cream was proving to be useless. It seemed the store was completely out. She walked towards the checkout counter and waited in line. The man appeared in her sight. She jumped back in shock. “Are you okay honey?”, a sweet looking grandma asked her. “ Yeah… yeah I'm fine, I think, thank you.” she replied. She shook her head, what was happening to her? Why was she seeing this dark figure everywhere she went?
She hurriedly walked home, nervously glancing behind her shoulder every few seconds. She opened her laptop as soon as she reached and started searching what to do if you are hallucinating. There had to be a way to get rid of this man that she kept seeing…The first result was to go seek medical treatment. She scoffed. If anyone heard of her hallucinations they wouldn't believe her. That option was out of the question. The other options were to engage in things that you know are real and partake in calming activities. She could do that. She put on her favourite movie, made some of her favourite noodles and sat down to relax. Tomorrow would be normal and she would never have to worry about the shady man again.
The first thing she saw the next day was the man. He was standing over her bed. A deafening terror-filled scream escaped from her lungs. He disappeared. This seemed to be routine with the man. She would see him, get scared, and he would disappear. Daisy blinked and for the first time, the man reappeared. She screamed even louder. She ran out of the house not even bothering to put shoes or socks on.
As she ran in terror, she looked behind her. The man was following her at the same pace. She scrambled to run even faster, she wouldn't let him get to her. Her feet hit gravel. It hurt to run now. She would not stop running. Not at any cost. The man was not going to get her. She finally lost him. When she looked behind he wasn't there anymore. She continued running. He wasn’t going to find her, not again. Her feet were bleeding but she didn't feel it. The adrenaline was keeping her numb. Her run slowed to a walk as she gasped for breath, but she didn't turn back. The only thing she would achieve by going back to the sanctity of her house was paranoia and more sightings of the man.
She did not want to live that way. She knew what she had to do to achieve serenity in her life once more. Her feet led her with no guidance. It was as if her whole body knew what had to happen to not live in a constant state of anxiety. She did not stop walking, fearing that if she turned behind the man would appear again.
At last, she arrived at the place where she would find solace again. A pond that she used to come to as a child where she would feel the most tranquillity. The place where she first found complete solace would also be her last. She walked into the pond, not flinching at the cold. The blood from her feet stained the water around her in pools. She was not uncertain of her next steps at all. She closed her eyes and submerged herself completely. All the paranoia and mistrust fullness floating away like leaves on a river. She was finally at peace.
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