Reddest Apple

Keys jangling and scary songs playing, I arrive back at my humble home, ready to finally relax for the evening. I had just been scoping the local farmers market for anything that sparked my curiosity. Luckily, I found a nice journaling book.

The book may have been in a suspicious area apart from the other vendors, but sometimes you just need some excitement in your life. Especially this time of year.

After a long needed shower, with extra cozy smells, I might add, my hand gradually reaches for the remote. It is finally time for my spooky, movie marathon!

The fluffy blanket currently covering my eyes slips just slightly, revealing a startling man on the screen.

I had to do a double take and even rewind the movie a couple of seconds. He looks familiar. And it’s even scarier that I recognize his horrifying face.

“Wait a minute… he kind of looks like the man from my nightmare last night.” I voice aloud, eager to make sense of my thoughts.

He did have differences, of course. The one from my dream wasn’t as detailed. I wasn’t nearly as scared as I would be if I saw the guy on the screen. But it had ignited a familiar dread that I had desperately tried to conceal last night.

I decided that I wanted to sketch out the horrifying man in my new journal that I bought at the farmers market. Maybe clear my mind a bit and see if I’m just overreacting.

I drew long, black hair that fell to bony shoulders. His face is blank, save for the long curved smile that especially haunted me last night. No teeth could be seen, just a bone-chilling smile. He wore dark clothes to conceal himself better in the darkness.

Each flick of my pencil sent chills down my spine. But, it was also kind of soothing. It really was working! I knew I liked to draw but this was different. I felt relieved to reveal my emotions on paper.

It led me to drawing more items. Like things from my house. But, do you know what was strange? I decided to draw a nice red apple, the reddest apple I had ever seen. And that deep, red apple appeared in front of my very eyes.

I let out a laugh of disbelief. Was I seeing things? Maybe the movie was starting to get to my head. An object, that was clearly not there before, appeared right in front of me.

After staring at the apple for a couple of minutes, I decided to test it out one more time.

My next drawing is a pen with two points and not one. Because then it wouldn’t be a coincidence. Because how could a pen with two points ever appear. Also, I would never buy one in the first place, so there’s none in my house.

I fell off of my chair at the sight of a two, point pen sitting in front of me. This can’t be real!

The rest of my night was spent drawing items that would never exist in real life, and just like the apple, they all appeared. Sometimes they would be hiding in a drawer, sometimes my bedroom, one was even in my fridge!

While I laid in my bed, I started to think about how any of this could be possible. Did I really pick up a magic book from the farmers market? The man who sold it to me did give me some strange vibes. It almost seemed like he was trying to warn me, but he was speaking in another language so I couldn’t understand him.

All my drawings started to replay in my head. From the very start to the end. Then a thought occurred to me. Not everything that I drew appeared.

I sat straight up in my bed. A shiver shot through my spine. The room was quiet, and dark. You could hear a pin drop save for the occasional deep breath to calm my anxiety.

No.

No, this won’t happen right?

It’s impossible.

But the apple. The apple could appear, so why wouldn’t my very first drawing?

The man in my nightmare.

I hear a thump come from somewhere around me. I don’t know where though, it is too dark.

A blood curdling screech engulfs my ears and I can’t tell if it’s my own screaming or.. something else.

With my hands pressed to my ears, I look around my dark room to see if I can spot anything.

Suddenly, the screech stops.

Quiet.

My hands are shaking so bad.

I don’t know what to do. Tears well in my eyes because I simply don’t know what to do.

Movement in my peripheral. It looks like…hair?

Oh my.

It’s moving toward me. A floating smile moves toward me. No, it’s not floating. It’s attached to something. A blank white face.

And it’s coming towards me.

He is coming towards me.

In an attempt to run, my feet get caught in my covers, and I fall to the floor. My brain immediately told me to crawl under my bed.

So, that’s exactly what I did.

I didn’t even try to conceal my cries.

Everything went silent again, but through that silence I could hear faint crying. It was almost as if he was.. mimicking me.

The cries got louder and louder.

Something grabbed my foot, and I am getting dragged from under my bed. My fingers crawl at my carpet in an attempt to stay hidden.

I just want to hide. I never want to see him again.

But that was no use. My body flips around to face someone who is faceless. Isn’t that ironic?

All I hear is my screaming.

And suddenly, he starts screaming too. Is he trying to be like me?

I go quiet, making him turn deathly silent. I watch as an eye ball starts to form on his face. Strangely, it looks identical to mine.

He is morphing into me!

Another eye forms as well as a nose. And the creepy smile that I once feared has turned into a look-a-like to mine.

After a couple of minutes he has completely changed into a perfect copy of me. Nothing makes sense anymore, and all I can do is lay there dumbfounded at the sight of him.

All in one motion, he pulls out a knife and stabs me in the side. My breath is stolen from me as searing pain engulfs my senses.

And in the last moments of consciousness, I watch as he composes himself. A carbon copy of me.

And he is still smiling.