THE VOICE IN THE WIND

 

The pale orange sky of the evening sun greeted Leela as she walked out of the office building. The world seemed to float by her as she made her way back home. A nice cool breeze brushed past her as it lifted some of her hair and tossed it across her face. Letting out a soft sigh, she wiped the strand of hair from her face when she heard the most peculiar sound.

A voice.

A soft, gentle voice that almost seemed to brush past her ears whispered something that made her blood run cold.

Don't go.

Leela spun around, her heart pounding in her ears. The busy street was crawling with people, yet none of them seemed to notice her. Even more alarming, none of them were near enough to whisper in her ear. Taking a moment to steady herself, Leela told herself it was just her imagination and continued on her way. The feeling of being watched lingered in her peripherals the whole way home.

The moment Leela was inside her apartment, her phone rung. It was Sakeel. At first the conversation started off rather harmless, until the topic of her "secret" somehow came up and the flood gates opened. In mere minutes Sakeel was justifiably angry at what he found out. Leela knew she had made a terrible mistake by cheating on him with his boss, but the weight of what she had done was crushing upon her. The argument quickly escalated and before either of them knew it the conversation ended with heartbroken sobs echoing in the air.

A few minutes later Leela's phone rung again. This time it was a video call. When she hesitantly opened the call, her breath caught in her throat. Sakeel was standing across the street from her building. Without thinking Leela ran to the balcony to see what he wanted. He was looking directly at her, and then he began walking towards her.

A loud screech echoed throughout the street as a speeding car veered towards him. Leela screamed and covered her eyes as the car came barreling towards Sakeel. The impact sent him flying across the street and onto the road. Leela gasped as she watched Sakeel's body lay motionless on the asphalt with a dark red stain growing steadily on his chest.

Three days later, after the long, agonizing funeral, Leela found herself drifting back to her job. Every step of the way was tainted with thoughts of Sakeel. As the front doors slid open, Leela almost walked into the office of her ex-lover Sam. As if the sight of him wasn't enough, the memory of what she had done in the past few months was almost more than she could bare. Throughout the day Leela hardly even remembered the meetings she had forgotten. As evening rolled around, Sam walked her back to her apartment.

Neither one of them wanted to talk about what had happened the other day, so they sat in the living room and talked about meaningless things, just to pass the time.

That's when it happened again.

Leela gasped as a sudden gust of cold air rushed past her, sending her curtains billowing in the air. A sudden feeling of dread filled her as she looked around the room, her eyes locking onto a particular spot. Then she heard it.

You cheated on me.

The voice seemed to echo in the air, but no matter how hard Leela strained, she couldn't see anyone in the room. Sam didn't seem to notice anything was wrong as he continued talking to her. Leela forced herself to ignore the voice in the air, but as the night wore on the stronger the voice got. Eventually, as the night deepened into a menacing black, Leela's apartment was plunged into darkness. Even with every light in the apartment turned on, there wasn't a single light to be seen.

Leela fumbled around until she found her phone, then turned on the flashlight. That's when she heard the sound. A rhythmic chopping noise echoed throughout the apartment

Her heart pounded in her chest as she strained to see what could be making such a noise. Her flashlight trembled in her hands as she made her way towards the kitchen. As she got closer the sound grew louder until she was right outside the doorway.

Then it stopped.

Leela hesitantly crept inside the kitchen to find nothing out of place. The frustration that welled up inside of her was almost too much to bear as she turned around, only to see the same chopping noise coming from the other room. This continued for several minutes until she was back in her bedroom. Leela clenched her fists as she tried to understand what was going on. As she turned around, her eyes landed on her bed, where the most frightening sight of all met her gaze.

A man was standing in the center of the room with his back towards her. Slowly, he turned to face her. Leela gasped and stumbled backwards as she recognized the man in the middle of her room. Sakeel's face was contorted in an unneccesarily cruel smile, his eyes as black as the deepest ocean. A wave of cold air escaped from him as he took a step towards her, the walls around her darkening until everything was in complete darkness.

The traffic noises that surrounded her earlier seeped away until she could hear the faint buzzing of bugs in the distance. Then the sounds slowly died down until all that was left was the most horrifying sound of all.

The thudding of a heart.

The light from her flashlight revealed that the heart belonged to none other than Sakeel, who was slowly making his way towards her. The closer he got, the more he seemed to pulse with life, his skin almost glowing in the dim light. Her mind screamed at her to run, but her legs refused to obey. Finally, Sakeel was right next to her. Her heart was beating faster than it ever had before, and it wasn't because of him. As he got closer, the air around her grew colder, and colder, until she could see her breath.

That's when it hit her.

Her dream.

Leela awoke with a start, her heart racing. Sweat trickled down her back as she panted, trying to catch her breath. For a few moments, she tried to convince herself that it was all a dream... until she heard it.

Chop.

Leela's breath caught in her throat as another sound reached her ears. Slowly, she turned towards the source of the disturbing noise

It was coming from the kitchen.

Leela's heart pounded as a bead of sweat trickled down her neck. She turned towards the kitchen, slowly turning off the flashlight in her hand as she passed the bed. Her heart pounded in her chest as the faint sound grew louder.

It was making the same steady rhythm as Sam's knife had from the other day.

Leela quickly walked towards the kitchen, her breath coming in short gasps as she neared the doorway. As she turned the corner, she was greeted by the gruesome sight of Sakeel chopping an unknown object on the kitchen counter. His eyes were as black as the night sky, the expression on his face one of pure hatred. A wave of nausea wash over her as she realized what she was seeing. Sakeel's body floated past her vision as the next sound nearly made her soil herself.

He had placed the item on the counter and was now using the knife to slash across his own chest.

A loud gasp escaped her lips as she stumbled backwards, her heart beating faster than ever.

Then, it was all over.

Leela awoke the next morning to the distant ringing of her doorbell. She groaned and lazily turned off her alarm clock, shuffling over to the door. As she unlatched the door, she was greeted by the unpleasant sight of Sam. Her stomach twisted into knots as he knocked on the door, asking if she was home.

She was about to tell him she wasn't when he knocked again, this time asking if she was inside. Leela hesitated before answering. She knocked on the door twice more before he turned around and left. Leela breathed a sigh of relief before answering her phone, which was ringing loudly. She frowned as she turned to ignore the ringing, but it continued on for several more minutes.

Finally, with one last deep breath, she answered her phone and said hello. Sam's voice floated past her ears as he asked her to meet him outside her apartment. She agreed and hung up the phone. As she turned to get dressed, a jarring noise woke her up from her daze. Groaning, Leela turned towards the noise. Sure enough, the steady chopping of a knife echoed throughout the apartment.

Leela's heart pounded as she turned towards the door and slowly crept towards the kitchen. As she neared it, the sound grew louder until she was right next to the doorway. Leela peeked inside the kitchen to see a horrifying sight. Sakeel was using a knife to cut up a plate of food. His eyes, once again, were pitch black as he stared directly at her. She turned around and ran back towards the bedroom, tears streaming down her cheeks. As she wiped the tears from her face, a loud gasp escaped her lips. Sam was standing in the doorway, his shirt stained a deep crimson.

Leela turned to see Sakeel standing in the center of the kitchen. Her heart pounded as she turned towards Sam, but he was already walking towards her. With a wave of his hand, he revealed the knife in his grasp. Leela's eyes widened as she turned towards the window, only to find the world spinning around her. Sam's knife pressed against her neck as she struggled to breathe. With the last bit of strength she had, she screamed into the air.

Leela's scream echoed throughout the empty street as she turned to see Sakeel walking next to her. Her breath caught in her throat as the familiar sound of a car's horn filled the air. As the car neared, the world around her spun until she found herself lying on the street next to Sakeel. Everything was blurry, but she could see the car bearing down on them. Just as suddenly as it neared, the car stopped. Sakeel and Leela stood up, only to find themselves standing in the middle of the road again.

Sakeel's body felt heavier than ever as his eyes met Leela's. Once again the world around them spun, only this time the world turned upside down. Slowly, the darkness all around her faded away until she found herself standing in her own kitchen. Sakeel was nowhere to be seen, and the faint sound of chopping had disappeared along with him.

Leela's heart pounded in her chest as she turned around to see Sam standing in the doorway. She turned to ask him what was going on, but before she could, he turned towards the kitchen. Her heart raced as she turned towards the kitchen, only to find herself staring at the most horrifying sight of her life.

Sakeel's body was on the kitchen counter, his eyes wide with horror. The faint sound of his steady heartbeat echoed throughout the apartment, bouncing off the walls until it reached her ears. Slowly, the world around her dimmed until all that was left was darkness. With a loud gasp, Leela turned towards the bedroom, only to find herself staring at the most gruesome thing of all.

Blood was trickling down her chest where a dark red stain had formed around her ribs.

BY

SIENNA GREY ❤️‍🩹