Somebody’s watching me
The supermarket was big and seemed like a maze, and Arisa was having trouble finding everything on her list. Lost in thought, she accidentally bumped into someone.
“I’m sorry!” she blurted out, “I...”
“Don’t apologise.”
Arisa looked up to a familiar face. But she couldn’t remember where she saw him last.
The boy pointed at the basket she was carrying. “Do you need help?”
“No thank you,” she responded. “I just need to find some vegetables.”
“Do you need me to accompany you?” he asked with a smile.
“What? No...”
His smile quickly faded. Just then, she remembered why he looked familiar. He was the creepy boy who stood in her path on
her way home.
“I-I m-m-mean,” Arisa stuttered. “It’s fine, I can do it myself.”
She scurried away with her basket. She wasn’t sure why but seeing the boy unsettled her. She quickly finished her shopping
and ran.
The two shopping bags were heavy, but she was determined to create as much space as possible between her and the boy. She
glanced back to check if he was following her. Just as she turned back, she saw him standing right in front of her. Smiling.
“Hello again,” he said. “Going home?”
“Yes …”
He took a step towards her, menacingly.
“Excuse me, but I need to go home,” she squeaked. He blocked her. “Do you know me?” he asked.
“What?”
“I said, do you know me?” Arisa ignored him. “I’m sorry, I need to go.”
Without another word, she ran. She picked up her pace as she ran, sweat trickling down her forehead, her heart pounding. She finally stopped to catch her breath when her house came into view.
Her mum was in the garden watering the plants. She saw Arisa panting as she stopped right in front of the gate.
“What’s wrong? You okay?” she asked, putting down the water hose.
“Yea, I’m fine,” Arisa replied. “I’m just tired.” Arisa brushed past her as she headed into the house.
That night, she lay in bed, thinking about what had happened.
“What was that? Why did he act that way? Was he following me?”
Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt from ‘Somebody’s Watching Me’ by Najwa Humaira Mushil. It is part of a series of short stories – ‘The Eye: A Young Writer’s Anthology’. Priced at RM31.90, the book is available at BookXcess. All royalties go to Yayasan Chow Kit, a non-profit organisation serving the needs of children and teens in the Chow Kit area of Kuala Lumpur.
To give the younger generation an avenue to express themselves, Twentytwo13 has a dedicated space called Young Voices. If you are a young writer (aged 17 and below) and would like to have your article published on our news website, send your contribution to editor@twentytwo13.my.
The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer and do not necessarily represent that of Twentytwo13.
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