Story Contest 2016 #1 - Outstanding Stories » The Reminiscent

“The Reminiscent” is one of the outstanding stories of the first biannual Short Story Contest 2016 written by Nayana B. from India.

The Reminiscent

Megan Calvin. An 18 year old teenager. She was the high school Star. Playing the leading roles in all school dramas. She was an exceptional character. Like we say, ‘All in one’. She gave justice to every task she did. All boys at her school wanted her to be their girlfriend, but she had no interest in anyone, though she loved the company of boys.

Megan belonged to an elite family. Her father, George Calvin was a leading business man. Her mother Matilda Calvin was a public prosecutor. Her brother Jacob Calvin helped his dad in business. They had a complex of institutions, companies, hospitals and much more. So wherever she went she got the first preference.

However, this gradually developed an ill effect in Megan’s character. She never accepted ‘no’ for an answer. Slowly she was turning into a psychopath. Her family pampered her a lot. They always protected her a lot. As they were business people they were subjected to threats. Her dad always told her that business people like them would have to be very cautious.

On a fine blissful Sunday she and her family were off for a wedding. After the wedding they had to attend a party too, but Megan was not feeling well and was dropped at home. Hours passed by; it was very late and she was alone. She called her brother. His phone was switched off.

Bored, she sat down to watch television. She wandered from channel to channel. Through the amazon forest in discovery to the mummified movies of HBO. But she was struck numb when she saw the news channel. It was showing an accident scene. Megan recognized the car right away, a black Mercedes, her dad’s favorite. The news declared that the Calvin car was crushed and exploded killing all the passengers.

Megan was desperate. But one thing surprised her: The news showed that Megan was also killed in the accident. She knew something was wrong. She took her phone and called her brother. The call didn’t reach him because his phone, obviously, was destroyed in the explosion.

Then, she drove herself to the house of Mathew Blare, her father’s assistant. But when she reached his home she heard something horrible. Mathew was talking to someone on his phone and he was talking about the accident. He seemed to be a partner in crime.

Megan was traumatized. Her father had trusted him the most.

Suddenly survival instincts took control of her. She understood that their accident was a planned murder. They had wanted to kill all of the family members. But if they knew Megan was alive next they would come for her. Sensing the danger, she slowly moved and drove back home.

She had a cousin, Evelyn, in the FBI. She used to visit her a lot. She remembered everything that Evelyn had told her about the criminal cases and murders. She took the sim card out of her phone and erased all the data and destroyed it. She erased all the data of the past few hours of the security cameras at home. She packed some clothes and food. She took her valuables and money which was left at home. Usually they never kept money as cash and she knew she couldn’t use cards. She also couldn’t take any of the cars because if any of the cars are missing they could trace and find her. Her brother kept a burner phone. Only he and Megan knew about it. She realized she wanted a change or people would recognize her. Megan loved her long curly blonde hair but she had no choice. She made her hair short, coloured it black and made it straight. She wore a long sleeve top, a black jacket and black denim, because black is a common colour that people won’t notice. She also wore an eyeglass. She looked herself in a mirror. It was not the Megan she knew, it was not the Megan she was but she saw a girl who was shattered and afraid and lost.

Megan knew she was losing time. Her brother Jacob had a black sedan that he had got from Canada. Megan and Jacob used to sneak out from home and went to parties late night. Their parents had never allowed that. So Jacob had bought a new car in a fake name. Only Megan knew about it. So she took the car so that nobody could trace her. She was all set, and left for down town. She also took another name for herself – Rose. On her way she remembered all the sweet moments with her family. She cried her heart out.

On the way, she saw a tattoo parlor. She knew a Calvin would never have a tattoo, so she went and got herself one, a symbol of love and family.

A year, two months, three weeks and five days after the accident, Megan was struggling, giving her best to find some income. Over the past months she had done jobs which undermined her very spirit. She had no choice.

28th march was her brother’s birthday. She went to the church where her family was cremated. Placing the flowers on their graves, a drop of tear slipped from her eyes. Jacob Calvin, her brother, she remembered his sweet loving touch and smell. She missed them a lot.

Suddenly she sensed movement behind her. Somebody was watching her .She moved out slowly but the gates were closed and two men were standing guard. She was trapped: somebody was following her. She ran into a grave and hid behind it. She saw the name on the grave, ‘Megan Calvin, beloved daughter’. Her grave.

A spark of fear rose from her spine when something touched her hair. It was a gun. She turned to see who was holding it. She was shocked. It was Mathew. She heard a big bang after sometime.

Megan opened her eyes with a start. She was in her bedroom at home. And she realized it was all a dream.