Post this!

It was a regular day at work for Sofia, the same monotonous work, the same dull atmosphere of the post office, everything was same, she wondered often why she didn't quit this job but she realized at the same time that it was boring but not too boring to quit it altogether!

She was awoken from her thoughts when she heard, "post this!", startled she looked up to see a young man handing out an envelope to her, he had an air of authority she hadn't seen in any other sender before, no matter how urgently they wanted the letter or parcel to reach they never looked down on her like this.

She took the envelope and nodded, she didn't like the presence of this young man, she just wanted to get over with this as soon as possible, she checked around the envelope if everything was there, her eyes fell on the red stain in the lower left corner of the envelope.

"It's just ketchup!, I accidently spilled it on the side, hope it won't be a problem!", he said quickly, stressing on the 'it won't be a problem', it didn't seem like he was hoping, he still had an air of authority around his words.

"No, it won't be!", she said as quickly as she could, she felt a certain relief when he left, she spent the rest of the day thinking about the red stain and the young man, maybe it was ketchup but something inside her told her the man was lying.

The next week he showed up again with an envelope with the same air of authority, she just hoped it wasn't going to be a regular thing, he was handsome but something was really eerie about him, she didn't want to ponder much into that though, she just didn't like his presence, he made her feel uncomfortable and she never wanted to see him again.

After he left, a curiosity lingered in her mind, she didn't want to touch the envelope again but her curiosity led her to pick it up and check it, the red stain was there but this time it was in the lower right corner, she touched it but it was dry, she smelled it, there was nothing unusual about it but it surely didn't smell like ketchup.

Over the next few weeks the young man had become a regular feature at the post office, he would come every week with the envelope and it had a red stain in different corners every time, she came to know the name of the man was Edward, he wasn't the conversive type but she managed to ask him one day because she was feeling nervous and wanted to distract herself.

From the day he had first come to the present day, she had never gotten used to his presence, he had an eerie charm and she always felt her hands tremble a little when he was near, she didn't like that feeling but she knew she had to put up with it.

The envelope with the red stain had started to bother her, she knew it was none of her business and it was best to stick to her job but there was something about those envelopes and it's sender that sent chills down her spine, it was like a monster that had invaded every area of her life, she had even started having nightmares about it!

She wrestled with her thoughts, she knew it was unethical to take the envelope home and see what was inside, she didn't want to risk her job but she still took home the envelope, she just had to see what was inside it, an assurance that she needed to give herself.

At home she kept seeing the envelope with the red stain on her table, she wanted to open it but was scared at the same time, it was like she wanted to peek into a dark abyss but didn't want to be consumed by it's darkness, mustering some strength she opened the envelope with her trembling hands.

As soon as she opened it, the contents fell out on the floor and she gasped in horror, there was an empty sheet of paper along with photos of mutilated teenage girls.

The photos filled her with disgust, she hadn't seen something so horrifying before!, she ran to the bathroom to vomit, her legs felt weak and she collapsed on the sofa gasping, just what kind of a man was Edward?, who in their right mind would do such a thing?, what if the photos weren't real?

She wanted to pick up the photos and see them again but she had lost the strength she was initially able to muster, her gaze instead fell on the empty sheet of paper, why was it empty?, was it some kind of a secret code?, she bent down and picked it up, she held it against the lamp but it was still empty, there was no secret code!

That night she couldn't sleep and when she did sleep, her sleep was consumed with nightmares of Edward mutilating her, her body divided into eight pieces and Edward looking upon her with a satisfied smile, she woke up screaming, she looked at the time, she was going to be two hours late to work, she didn't feel like going anymore, she made up her mind to quit.

But what about the envelope, won't Edward know it didn't reach it's destination, that thought filled her with fear, what if he reported her for theft?, maybe not, he was the guilty one not she.

A thought suddenly struck her mind, she had focused all this time on the sender but what about the person who was receiving it, she checked the address and decided to meet with the receiver, she had to see who was it, her mind went on an alarm that it was a bad idea but she was in no mood to listen.

The next day she was standing near a beautiful house located in a good neighborhood, there was nothing suspicious about it, she trembled thinking what was she going to say as she rang the doorbell, a young girl of about fourteen or fiveteen opened the door, her hair tied up in neat braids.

Looking at the cute girl infront of her, her anxiety eased, she told her she was there to meet her mother and she was a friend of hers, the girl led her in and asked her to sit, she said her mother would come back from shopping in half an hour and she could wait till then, she went to the kitchen to prepare tea.

There was a cheerful vibe to the house along with a sense of warmth, Sofia kept on thinking whether she had reached the right place or not, she looked around to make sure the girl was busy in the kitchen, she slowly took out the envelope from her purse and double checked the address, she hadn't gotten it wrong!

She slipped it back, wondering who the actual receiver was, what if this address was just a facade to not make it look suspicious and it was going somewhere else?, what if the mailman was involved in all this? or if a neighbor had made an excuse and given this address and collected the letter from the owners who were totally unaware of it's contents?

The girl set the tea on the table with a discipline that amazed her, she handed the teacup to her smiling, she took it with a thanks, as she was going to sip she suddenly felt an eerie vibe, what if something was mixed in the tea to make her fall unconscious?, she was hesitant but didn't want to show her hesitance to the girl.

The girl came a bit close to her, surprising her, she muttered, "you should have stuck to your job!"

Before she could react, in a flash her teacup fell, before it shattered on the ground, her body had already been sliced into half, a splash of blood covered her shirt, she didn't have anytime to recollect her thoughts, as the blood seeped into the sofa, she realized she couldn't move and her body was slowly shutting down, the girls words, "you should have stuck to your job!", kept ringing in her head.