Story Contest 2017 #1 - Outstanding Stories » Wet Heart

“Wet Heart” is one of the outstanding stories of the first biannual International Short Story Contest 2017 written by Maren Mooijer, The Netherlands.

Wet Heart

Moisture dripped down the gravestone of James liluek, 1972– 2007. It’s been six years since Jill's adventurous father passed away; he was mysteriously lost in the middle of the ocean. Her mother is the headmistress of Eagle Close School; it had not been easy for her since he passed away. Jill was just eleven and had to move to the school’s boarding facility because of the hard times she and her mother were going through.

Rain poured down and dripped off the leaves on the trees. Jill wiped her tears; she hopped back to her dormitory. Her friend Lily was looking terrified,

“Hey, what's the matter?” Jill questioned.

“Didn't you hear that scream?”

“No, what are you talking about?”

Jill ran out into the corridor kneeling down in a dark corner where she saw something sticking out. She slipped it into her hands,

“This can’t be mum’s”, but it was, she knew. She ran back to Lily.

“How are you sure, it could be anyone’s” Lily questioned.

“It says her name in it” Jill was confident. With a trembling face Lily replied,

“Okay that's that; let’s go to bed. We can sort this out in the morning”.

Falling back onto their beds they fell into a deep sleep.

Jill woke up as usual, she had forgotten about the last night’s episode,

“Good morning Lily,” Jill twisted her head with a surprised face. Lily wasn't in her bed, “Lily!”

Her face turned to the door of the dusty dormitory and there stood a hooded person. Jill jumped out of her bed and ran to the opposite wall, and hooded man whispered, “Hi Jill!”

He grabbed Jill tight around the neck and took her to a cellar under the school, where she had never been. As she was dragged down the wooden stairs, she saw Lily and mum. While she was tossed down he prepared duct tape for her arms and legs.

She mustered up all her courage and questioned,

“What do you want from us? Who are you?”

The person threw his hood away and grinned at Jill, looking her straight in the eyes, confusion ran through her mind: “Dad?”