It’s October 30th, 2020.
I have been looking forward to this day. Not just because it’s Halloween, but also because it would be the first time in a long time that I would be going on a date. I met this guy online, and we have been speaking for three months. I used to be someone who didn’t believe in love and hated the idea of it. I always thought I would never fall in love with anyone, but he just seemed perfect. It was so shocking. He liked all the things I liked and hated all the things I hate. I loved crime and mystery movies, he loved them too. I am allergic to nuts, he was allergic to them too. I hate mushrooms and potatoes, he hates them too. He was perfect. Too perfect.
We decided to meet in order to clear up my doubts that he wasn’t real and was just a cat-fish. He suggested that we meet at a party on Halloween, and I obliged.
Now I am all dressed up, and very nervous. “What if he isn’t real? What if he is a serial killer?”
I brushed off all negative thoughts away and comforted myself with the fact that I would be at a party with a lot of people, so I can easily call for help if something goes wrong.
Finally at the party, he walks up to me. He introduces himself – he looks exactly like his pictures. He was real! He had the same voice I spoke to on the phone, the same accent, the same laugh, the same everything. He was very confident, and funny. He told the most amazing jokes. He was very careful, and caring – He cared about whether or not I liked the drink he ordered, or the party itself.
Knowing he was real, I decided to trust him and agreed to go on a walk with him through the city’s park, so I got in his car.
While in his car my phone started ringing. It was the same number. His number.
I turned to look at him beside me, but he wasn’t holding his phone. He had his hands on the steering wheel, and turned to smile at me – a devilish grin was split widely across his face. I wondered who was calling.
I picked up the phone and on the other side, I could hear HIS voice.
I wasn’t sure what was going on. He was right beside me. This was impossible.
My palms were sweaty. I felt a bitter taste in my mouth. I could feel my heart thudding against my chest out of anxiety and nervousness.
“Hello,” I said to the man on the other side of the phone who sounded exactly like my date. And the only reply I got back from him was one word.
“RUN!”
I tried to, but the door wouldn’t open.