The Woman Under Water

Will the person ever be caught? Will the endless confusion ever end?

         My room was especially welcoming on that rainy night. That night I grabbed my journal and began my entry: "Dear diary, I have some information that could change the rest of my life. I can finally begin my path down photography. I was told about an art fair and I believe I will sell some of my top photos. I've known about this for about a week, I'm just worried people won't like my photos. I wonder who else will be selling their work.". Then I heard a knock at my door. I thought to myself that night on why anybody would come on such a rainy night. I opened the door to see a figure at my doorstep. I was speechless.


Chapter 1:
         
         The day I found out about the new art fair was a regular, boring day, just like any other. A few hours into work, one of my new coworkers brought the fair to my attention. I was of course overjoyed by the information and my friend was too. She told me more about what happens at the fair, but I couldn't hear that well because of my own thoughts washing his words out. She left me to think about it after work- At least I had a friend who believed my work was worth showing to the public.


         When I got home I sat on the edge of my bed petting my cat, to turn on the TV. Of course there was some more unfortunate news that made everyone depressed. It was a girl who went missing 5 days ago and no one can find her. I hope the best for her and her family. While I was finally getting invested in what could have happened to her, all of a sudden the power went out. There were no power issues before or any storms passing through our area. It was only off for 5 seconds, then came back on. I wondered what could have caused the power to go out for just a short amount of time, I guessed that I would have never known.


         I got ready for bed and let my thoughts about my day run through my head. I thought over and over about that fair. Would my fears get in the way of my dreams? Would I have my dreams come true by selling my art and people actually liking it? After these thoughts rushed through my head I looked out my window to see the great night skies of California. I eventually fell asleep when my thoughts became leisurely.


Chapter 2:


         A few days later I came to the conclusion that I should sell my photographs. I called my friend and he said he was very proud of my bravery. He also said that he would come along to help set up my stand. I could not have been more thrilled than at this moment. I knew I needed to put myself out there in order for people to have an opinion on my art.


         Fifthteen minutes after our call I got a knock at my door. I answered it to see my best friend standing there. I smiled to let her in. She came to help me choose what photos to sell. She came to stop at one specific photo of a girl underneath water, trying to get to the surface. She just stood there for a minute and tilted her head. I asked her if she was okay and she just said she was fine.


         She left after seeing that photo explaining that she had some errands to run. I sat down as the door closed wondering what I did wrong. I got up to look at the photo to see it again. There was nothing disturbing about it, I was deeply confused about what had happened. All it was, was a photo.


         An hour had passed since her leaving and she gave me a call. She said she was sorry for freaking out, she said the photo just reminded her of an old friend she had. I told her not to worry and that she was fine. She thanked me for being so understanding and hung up. I wondered what happened to her old friend. She seemed very standoffish about the topic- She stumbled over every last word, gave very vague descriptions, and never explained what happened to that old friend of hers. I can only guess what happened to her.


Chapter 3:


         Today at work she seemed in a better mood. She pretended the weird event Sunday afternoon didn't exist. She just started talking at a rapid speed about some random coworker that was on her nerves. I had never seen her more flustered than at that moment.At least she wasn't depressed like yesterday. I hope she's okay, maybe it was just the coffee, caffeine buzz doing it's "magic".


         After the long hours of working with that coworker my friend was talking about, I finally understood. He was annoying. I wish he could just disappear. I stretched and yawned as I came into my room. I threw my oversized bag onto my bed to watch TV. I turned it on to get more information on the missing girl. They said they found her. They found her. However, not in the best conditions. She was dead. They found her tied at the bottom of a lake not too far from where I live. I was petrified. Why would anyone do that? Anybody in their right mind wouldn't do such a thing. For some odd reason that girl looked familiar. I just don't remember where I originally saw her.


         That cold night I not a clue what would happen in the near future. Oh, not a clue- not a clue. My demise was right around the corner and I was completely blind- Oh, completely blind- completely blind...


Chapter 4:


         A few days after hearing about the news of the dead girl I went to work as usual. Traveling over to work I turned on the radio for some noise. A silver alert comes on the radio. It described a man missing, I listened closely to the description of the man missing. It described the man as short, blonde, and around the age of 35. They are describing the annoying man at work. If this wasn't enough evidence that this was the man at work, it said he worked at Mintz Corporation, the place where we both work. Oh no, I wished he would disappear and he did. I had to tell my friend about this new information.


         I eventually got to work and didn't see her there. It was strange, she didn't come to work, she always does. She had the highest record attendance, why would she mess that up? She could have gotten a promotion. Maybe she was sick. Maybe she needed to take care of family. I didn't know, but I just took a guess.


Chapter 5:


After work that day I tried to call her, but she didn't answer. She always answers. I was beginning to get concerned. Not going to work and not answering calls? Something was off that day. That time was the first time she fully missed work. The reason I say fully is because a few days ago when she came to work later in the day. I just hoped she wasn't in a bad situation.


         That night I felt goosebumps travel through my whole body and I had a strange feeling in my gut, I couldn't identify the source. I just stood in the middle of the kitchen, thinking of the poor man who had gone missing. Not only was I sad about him, but the poor dead girl. Her whole family loved her and- That was when I realized my best friend had betrayed me...

Chapter 6:


         It finally all made sense. My friend- my best friend, had set me into the trap of her so-called loyalty. All the dates add up, the day she got half off was the day that girl was found dead, the day she took off that night was because she ended that poor man's life, and if that wasn't enough she was scared of the photograph because it reminded her of the death she caused. She caused it all.
"She thought she really could get away with all of the lies? Maybe It's just in my head..." I mumbled to myself.


         After all these racing thoughts I headed to my room to journal. My room was especially welcoming on that rainy night. That night I grabbed my journal and began my entry: "Dear diary, I have some information that could change the rest of my life. I can finally begin my path down photography. I was told about an art fair and I believe I will sell some of my top photos. I've known about this for about a week, I'm just worried people won't like my photos. I wonder who else will be selling their work.". Then I heard a knock at my door. I thought to myself that night on why anybody would come on such a rainy night. I opened the door to see a figure at my doorstep. I was speechless. I knew who that figure in the shadows was, I was no longer blind to the obvious.