Mr No Face

(Contains mentions of bullying, death and disability)

If she knew it was going to be this cold she would have picked up a jacket before getting here. She fidgeted from one foot to the other. Then she shoved her right hand into her mouth and started biting her nails. She was paying for her rash decision now. She shivered as goosebumps appeared on her arms.

45 minutes later and she realized that maybe yes, she had actually been stood up. She ground her teeth in frustration as tears sprung to her eyes.

She should have known they were playing a prank on her.

She should have known!

There was no way the star quarterback would ask the camera geek out on a date. It was so random too but the way he cornered her and stared into her eyes, giving his signature smile; her mind had scrambled. You couldn't blame a girl.

Even the location should have been a dead giveaway.

Creepy creek.

Nobody went there on dates. Nobody actually really came here.

It was far enough from town to be shrouded in silly childhood stories.

Creepy Creek neighborhood was a quiet and half deserted neighborhood which would probably look peaceful in the day but looked eerie in the still darkness.

She stood in a shaded pathway that housed a bench or two. A chill breeze wafted through the air causing chills to run up her spine. What she thought was once romantic now looked sinister to her. Like a scene right out of a horror movie.

What was she thinking ?

They were probably laughing at her right now.

She wiped at her eyes fiercely. Whatever. She wasn't scared.

They had gotten her once but not again. She would hightail it out of here and she would go to school on Monday and pretend that nothing happened.

A twig cracked behind her and she went still. She turned slightly, wondering if she was about to be murdered. She noticed a figure from afar ambling towards her direction. The person's gait was odd but not as threatening as she initially thought. They walked fairly slow with unstable steps. When they got closer , she realized they had a stick. Were they blind?

She moved quickly and hid behind a bush close enough to the benches.

Soon enough the strange figure got close enough and she had to cover her mouth to stifle a large gasp.

The figure- the man- the person- felt around for the bench with a gloved hand and then sat down.

The person had no face.

Well, they had a face.... just no eyes, only one ear, no nose.

Just orifices where those things were supposed to be.

Sick fascination rose up within her as she slowly lifted up her camera. She never went anywhere without it. Click. the camera went. Click . Click. Click.

" Who's there?!"

The man shouted.

He looked around wildly as if he could actually see what was going on by doing so. Maybe he could. She didn't know.

She was already gone.

X

With a bit of editing and storytelling , she turned her fate and reputation around with those photos of the stranger.

She sold it to the school newspaper.

Then sold it to the city's newspaper then the state's newspaper.

Stories upon stories were made and published of the man without a face.

Students and curious people started trooping to Creepy Creek neighborhood at odd hours just to catch a glimpse of " Mr. No face".

It became a bedtime story to scare restless kids into submission, a Halloween story to encourage others to walk in groups to prevent themselves from being attacked and having their faces disfigured.

The stories traveled far and wide and spiraled and twisted into other things.

In some stories he was a ghost and in some stories he was a murderer and in some other stories he was cursed.

She enjoyed the fame it brought her, using her creative writing skills to add her own embellishments to the story every time she was interviewed.

She who shall be called Sally, to protect her identity , became the most popular girl in school. Her courage and wit were lauded all over town.

Eventually she went on to start a publishing and photography company where in it's 10th year of success , she received this letter:

" Dear Sally.

My name is Petra. You do not know who I am but we went to school together. I watched you blossom and I watched your business empire grow at the expense of turning a kind old man into a horror story.

Little kids hung out at Creepy creek after school hoping to catch glimpses of "Mr. No face" as they called him and teenagers hid in the bushes so they could play tricks on him.

You could have set things straight but you did not. Two days ago he was trying to run away from nasty students pelting him with stones when he got hit by a car.

He didn't make it.

Mr. Madden was my neighbour.

Bet you didn't think he had a name ,did you?

He loved to listen to Opera, he loved mac and cheese and he loved the fuzzy bathroom slippers he got from his mom when he was younger.

He lost most of his facial features in an accident when he was only 12 years old. The pain in his voice when he told me this story is something that I wish I could erase from memory. However, Mr. Madden did his best to live a full life as much as was possible for him .

You could have done some research. You could have done something, anything to stop this from escalating the way it did.

You should be ashamed of yourself."

Sally placed the letter down on her table, she leaned further into her 50,000 dollar swivel chair, she crossed her legs and lifted her wine glass .

"Cheers to Mr. Madden. For making me the woman I am today."

She drank deeply from the glass, leaving the imprint of her red lipstick on the rim.