PARANOID

Evil doesn't die, it never dies. It just takes on a new face, a new name. Just because we've been touched by it once, doesn't mean we're immune to ever being hurt again. Lightening can strike twice. No matter how careful we are, evil knows how to find us. It knows where we live.
How often are we faced by fear of the unexpected, fear of the past, fear of the unknown...
Awele thought to herself as she prepared herself for bed that night.
It's been almost three years since it happened..
Since she was forced into womanhood, without her consent.
Without her approval.
Living for her now, was a routine.
One filled with hate, fear, nightmares...
At night, even after all locks and blinds were in place,
Even after she was within the four walls of her flat,
She was still uneasy, scared, paranoid.
The night was cold, and try as she could, sleep somehow managed to evade her.
She got out of bed and paced round her room. Her mind blank, unable to register anything, filled with incomprehensible thoughts.
Suddenly she stopped, she thought she heard a noise. She rushed to the window and peered outside,
Staring into the dark.
Seeing nothing.
Stepping away from the window after a short while, she let out a nervous laugh. Admonishing herself for being so fearful.
Thinking to herself that it's just her mind playing tricks on her.
A short while later, she heard the sound again. Noises of people trying not to be heard.
They're here finally.... She thought to herself.
How'd they get in? She asked herself.
Even though she was sure that everywhere was secure..
Suddenly she felt a deep suffocation at her own security.
She felt trapped. Her heart began to pound so fast that she could feel it against her breast.
Thinking of her pistol, her only friend and companion that she frequently slept with.
She rushed to her bed,
Picking up the shiny metal.
She released the safety with shaky hands, and jumped as it clicked.
Enveloped in fear and breathing heavily,
Her unsteady hands, unable to hold the gun straight.
She began to creep towards the sound she had heard.
'Im not going down this time, not without a fight' she thought to her self.
The silence was eerie, and in the dark she could barely find her way.
She refused to turn on the light, for fear that it would make it easier for the intruder to locate her.
This was her house, she knew every angle, nook and cranny of it. And she was going to take advantage of that..
She heard the sound again, a different one this time. And she screamed and did not stop screaming as she felt something brush past her.....