Old/Teenage Writing from [2005] [Alone]

“Maddie, Maddie, can you push me on the swings?” My little sister Emma asked as she dragged me towards them.

I smiled at her, “Of course”, I said.  The sun shone down on me and I felt as if I was in a boiling hot oven as I shrugged off my jumper.  I pushed her for a while, the sweat dripping down my neck, then got out the picnic as Emma played with the dog.  I pulled out a cheese sandwich and bit into it.  Just at that moment a shiver rippled down my spine.  I looked up at the sky and saw grey clouds rolling over the bright sun.  I shivered again.  It was turning colder.  ‘Drip, drop, drip, drop’ – the murky rainwater fell in big droplets from the grey sheet spread out across the sky.

“Oh great, its raining” I groaned.  I stuffed all the food back in the picnic basket and turned to look for Emma.  It was in that one horrible, gut-wrenching moment that I realised, I couldn’t see her anywhere, or the dog, or anyone else for that matter.  I was completely alone.  I bit my lip.

“Emma” I called uncertainly.  There was no answer.  The rain got faster and heavier – ‘drip, drop, drip, drop, drip, drop’.  The wind picked up and rustled the leaves of the old oak trees.  I ran for the park exit, but couldn’t find it.  I heard a creaking behind me and whirled around.  The swings were moving of their own accord.  The roundabout began to turn.  The see-saw rocked.  I backed away into a tree which wrapped me in its thick branches.  I screamed, struggled free and fell over.  The rain beat down on me in torrents.  I couldn’t see.  The waterfall from the sky blinded me.  I heaved myself up and stumbled backwards onto the floor.

Then suddenly… the wind dropped.  The last few teardrops of rain leaked from the sky.  The adventure playground apparatus creaked to a standstill, and I was hit by absolute, over-whelming silence.  I looked around.  Rays of sunlight were squeezing through fast appearing gaps in the dull, grey sky.  Small puddles were the only remains of the torrential downpour I had just been trapped in.  The park itself looked almost perfectly normal except for the fact that I was still completely alone and the daunting silence was incredibly unnerving.  There wasn’t even the sound of a single bird singing!

But wait, I could hear something.  I stood quite still and listened with all my might.  Yet all I could hear was the sound of my own breathing.  I turned and heard it again, thumping softly through the grass.  I froze, completely rooted to the spot.  Footsteps.  They were getting nearer and nearer.  When I knew that the owner of the footsteps was right behind me, the footsteps stopped.  Something icy cold touched my shoulder.  The hairs on the back of my neck stood up.  I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and turned to face whatever it was that was behind me.  After I had turned around I opened my eyes.  My eyes widened as my mind registered the sight before me.  I was too terrified to even move.  My lips parted in a silent scream.  I was no longer alone.

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