"She’s Coming" by Uriel Marquez

I bear the marks of men, scars the highest form of status for men, a trophy of status to pride yourself with and share stories, but my scars are not imbued with pride. My scars from two years ago, are scars which embedded themselves into me surrounded by hazy clouds, scars which clouds my mind like a heavy fog. Though I may be able to see through the fog I bear a scar which cannot be seen, a scar which covers my eyes in the fog leaving me stranded, ever further from the answers in a veil of fear. So I fill my lungs with smoke and pierce my skin with needles yet the one true poison was in my mind as the quivering boy repeated “she’s coming.” My life was empty like my house, one could say that a prison cell was more decorative than my house, yet my empty life changed when I met Faith a 2 year old baby girl who was in a basket on my doorstep.

She looked familiar all too familiar it caused my scars to sting yet I took her in and in that basket was a paper that said “Faith”. My house was a void, though as time passed the void filled with scribbles a toddler called art and books that knew not the concept of bad endings, my needles and herbs no longer filled my void, instead my “Faith” filled my void. Faith was my reason, to work, to live, and to love, and their wasn’t a day that passed by that her words didn’t heal my scarred mind, they were simply “daddy let’s play”. But as weeks turned into months, and months into years Faith grew of the age to enter pre-school, her fear of school and love for me was blatantly apparent as she clung to me like a cat to a tree. Yet a malevolent thought crossed me who were Faith’s real parents? And what would I do to the people who abandoned her.

To heed my malevolent desires I took Faith to the doctors so that i may find my answer yet my scars stung as if to say I shouldn’t do this. When the doctor finished his job with Faith he looked dumbfounded, the doctor asked me to come into his office, alone so that we may have a private chat. My scars were beginning to sting more as if rats were feasting on my ankles and wrists. The doctor spoke with first a question “Sir are you alright, I mean why did you have your daughter take this test it seems rather strange for a father to make his own blood related daughter to take this test.” I replied in sheer shock of his words “U-um d-doc are you sure you didn’t mess up the test, I mean I already told you I adopted her, she’s not my blood related daughter I mean for crying out loud I’ve never even had a girlfriend let alone have sex with a woman.” The doctor replied “Sir there have been no faults in this test, Faith is indeed your blood related daughter.” My scars surged with pain as if my wrists and ankles were being stabbed furiously over and over again by a madman and I grabbed the doctor’s shirt “CUT THE BULL DOC I AIN’T HER FATHER NOW TELL ME WHO HER ACTUAL DAD IS SO I CAN STRANGLE THE JERK FOR LEAVING HER!” The doctor was scared his eyes radiated pure terror yet he pressed on with words “Sir you must calm yourself as the pressing matter is her mother.” F-Faith’s mother, the pain stopped in my scars and I let go of the doctor but what replaced the pain was a chilling cold that froze me as I heard the quivering boy’s words again “She’s coming.” but that was not all I heard another voice whisper into my ear the voice was cold and overpowering, it was the voice of a woman and the voice whispered “I’m coming.” I bolted out of the clinic with Faith and headed home. When we got home I tried to treat Faith like I normally would but I just couldn’t I botched the lullabies I would sing to her and couldn’t even look her in the eye as I said goodnight, yet Faith asked me “Daddy are you alright, did i do something bad?” she asked with innocent eyes worried about me, I started to cry and hugged Faith.

After Faith went to bed I entered my room and saw a boy naked in the corner of my room with spots of blue, black and purple littered about his skin almost as if the parent’s fist were not enough. The boy raised his head to show his tearful and scared eyes and that’s when i noticed the most glaring features of the boy his wrists and ankles were bleeding profusely and in front of the boy was a blood stained rope. The boy looked at me and said with a quivering voice and scared tearful eyes “Run, Run away, she’s coming, you know she’s coming, if you don’t run now you can’t escape. You’ll know what happens to if you don’t it’ll be just like those times all those years ago. Don’t you remember?” I couldn’t take it anymore, not the voices, not the test, and not him again. “SHUT THE HELL UP NOBODY’S COMING, I'M SICK OF IT! IF YOU WON'T TELL ME WHO THEN SHUT THE HELL UP!” The boy got up from the corner and limped slowly and eerily with a crimson trail behind him. In his hands was the bloodstained rope and when he was right in front of me I was terrified, it was as if I was shot by lighting and paralyzed as my whole body was stinging as he grew closer, and closer. The boy grabbed my hands and used the rope to tie them together, the ropes felt moist with warm and heavy blood, then the boy looked me right in the eye and said “Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten this.” I woke up screaming in terror with cold sweat pouring down my face, yet I took Faith to school and went to work but when work ended Faith wasn’t at school.

I rushed into the school’s office demanding Faith’s teacher in which she was brought to me with a dumbfounded face and asked me a question “ Excuse me sir why are you here Faith has already been picked up by her mother, did your wife by chance not tell you she was picking her up today.” After she said those words my heart sunk, my skin was crawling as if my very skin was an ant’s breeding nest, my only reply was, “i-i don’t h-have a wife.” The teacher’s face contorted to a horrified shape and quickly called 911. I staggered out of the school’s office and slowly approached my car lifelessly as if I were a zombie and once i was inside i slowly drove home, I knew Faith was there, When I arrived home the front door was already unlocked.

I slowly opened the door and entered the house to which I heard the noises of my kitchen being put to use, and the sound of a knife repeatedly chopping something up in a joyful rhythm. As I slowly walked into the kitchen I saw a woman. I asked trembling “where is Faith?” The woman replied, “Oh she’s in her room waiting for food.” I asked another question “Did you do anything to her?” The woman answered “Of course not she’s my daughter after all.” and i asked her one last question “why are you here?” The woman answered “To see you of course.” I was scared, terrified of this woman her presence alone sends chills all over my body, freezes me in place and yet my heart is beating as fast as it has ever been. I said with a shaky voice “get out.” The woman immediately stabbed the knife into the meat that she was cooking and looked at me dead in the eyes with a maniacal grin and mad eyes. “Get out? You can tell some pretty funny jokes sometimes now and then can’t you. Do you think you can order me around, huh? Do you remember what happened last time you tried to do that, huh?” I couldn’t speak, I merely trembled in the wake of her words. “It’s okay though it’s been years since we’ve last seen each other so you're bound to act up here and there, don’t worry I forgive you.” yet as she said this she grabbed something from the ground and placed it on the table, it was a rope bathed in old blood stains. The woman then pointed the bloody knife at me and said “Hey lil brother Faith is just a sweetie now don’t you think, and I think she’s been a good girl, don’t you think? So I was thinking how about we reward her with a lil brother.” I wanted to run away, i wanted to scream for help, I wanted to fight back, but I knew it was all useless, because big sis always gets her way, and tonight was no exception.