~Nashalie~
In seventh grade, I went into a writing stage that I since have not been allured out of. I wrote a copious number of short stories when this ‘stage’ first started. This is one I wrote at the end of seventh grade and was recoverable. Please excuse the grammar and spelling mistakes, which I have left to keep it in its original form.
Dear Susian and Paul,
As good friends of mine, there is something you must know. There is something I have kept a secret for many years even before I moved to Canyon Rivers. I have kept this secret in fear that if it became public, I would be murdered. To understand my secret, there is a story you must hear.
While I still lived in Toraylo I knew a lovely couple; two kind hearted, sweet people, Annabella and Fredrick Shelle. They were an elderly couple with the health and spunk of two children! Both were retired school teachers who served well in and enjoyed there working years. I would often take them out to a nice restaurant for dinner; more or less for company for myself. They had three children. There was Gregory, who died as a young child of pneumonia. There was also Kayla and Nashalie, who were born as identical twins. Kayla married and had two children of her own, and Nashalie moved far out into the direct city to become a single business woman.
The lives of Annabella and Fredrick were quite quiet and uneventful. They occasionally went to visit their two daughters or remaining relatives. They had a full and generally happy life. One day their quiet life was disrupted. Annabella and Fredrick were visiting Nashalie, when an argument broke out. Nashalie's parents felt she should find a husband to spend her life with. They felt that she made working her life when so much else was offered to her. Nashalie's horrible temper arose, and she stormed out of the house. She returned and went to bed in the wee morning hours. Her parents left the next morning.
For three months after that Nashalie and her parents did not communicate. Nashalie did not send her weekly calls or monthly letters. After a month, Annabella's and Fredrick's attitudes changed. They solemnly spoke, and were no longer eager to go out to dinner when I invited them. Two months later I got an excited call from Annabella. She told me that Nashalie apologized for her uncalled for behavior, and that she'd be down to visit in a week! Then Annabella told me something most peculiar. Nashalie made reservations for four people; Annabella, Fredrick, herself, and me. Nashalie and I were never very fond of each other, so I did not understand why she was inviting me to dinner. Nevertheless, I joined the three at dinner that night.
The night of that dinner Nashalie was acting rather spacey and harsh. She continually snapped at the waiters, and she seemed to be trying to be nice to her parents. I noticed Annabella and Fredrick sensed it too when they exchanged a questioning look to each other. Twice during the night Nashalie appeared to trip over the back leg of my chair. Both times she apologized for her clumsiness.
After a filling dinner, we went back to Annabella's and Fredrick's house for tea and coffee. After about an hour of light conversation, Nashalie got up and said, "Everybody wait here. I have a surprise!" A couple minutes later she came back with three long pieces of rope and three handkerchiefs. She then explained, "I'm going to show all of you something you'll never see again! It is a magic trick that I learned in my years of business." She began by tying me up with one of the ropes; first my arms, then my legs. Then she took a handkerchief, and put it in my mouth like a gag. She calmly repeated this with Annabella and Fredrick. Then she stood in front of us nodding her head in satisfaction of her work with a wide grin. She then said very casually, "Ooops! I almost forgot something!" She then ran into the kitchen and came out with a newly sharpened knife that looked as if it could cut easily through cement. Annabella and Fredrick exchanged worried glances and started mumbling something to Nashalie, whose face became filled with rage. She began screaming at her parents about turning her life around and how it was her life. After ten minutes of screaming, Nashalie took a few seconds to catch her breath. Then she finally said, in a quiet voice of hatred and pain, "It's my turn to turn your lives around."
When Nashalie got to me she did what I was least expecting. She removed the gag from my mouth and said, "I'm letting you go. If you open your mouth, I will repeat my disappearing act on you." She untied me, and I stood up. I took one more look at my dear friends laying there on the couch, with their frozen faces of terror, then I ran. I don't know where, or how far I ran, or even how I got where I was, but the next morning I found myself laying on my bed still wearing the clothes I wore the night before.
I jumped out of bed, thinking what I remembered so clearly was just a dream. I ran to the telephone, and dialed Annabella's and Fredrick's number. On the second ring I heard someone pick up the receiver, but they did not say anything. "Hello? Is someone there? Hello?" I said. Finally someone said, "If you open your mouth, I will repeat my disappearing act on you." I quickly realized who it was and immediately hung up the telephone.
The days that followed were torture. Every day Nashalie somehow left her message "If you open your mouth, I will repeat my disappearing act on you". Usually it was an early phone call, but occasionally it was a taped note on my front door or window. After a few months of this, I could no longer stand her daily threats, and that's why I moved to Canyon Rivers. She does not leave hear message so often, maybe once a month, but only in a phone call.
Only days after the murder I began to wonder why Nashalie had killed her parents over a small disagreement, and why she even involved me in the first place. To this day I have never came up with an answer. I have not ever reported this case to the police; well, that I was involved, but I'm beginning to wonder if Nashalie even poses a threat. I do not know if I should tell the police what I know or keep it a secret. I would like to see Nashalie pay for her crime, but I am afraid of being killed myself.
So, that is my secret. I trust you both to keep my secret until I have made my decision. Telling anyone could risk all of our lives. I would like your input, though. Should I tell the police or not? I cannot bring back Annabella or Fredrick, but I can put Nashalie to justice . . . and threaten to get myself killed.
Sincerely,
Ashlynn Rivanna