Hallucinations

I watch in silence as she falls to the ground. Something golden flashes through the air, and I realize that it is her necklace. Red is everywhere. I feel tears running down my cheeks and I notice that everything looks blurry. It's almost as if my tears are trying to shield me from the horror that ensues around me. I clap my hand across my mouth, trying to stifle a cry, but it does nothing to mute the sound that escapes my lips.

Am I really seeing this?

I close my eyes for what feels like a split second, and am surprised to find that when I open them, the woman is gone.

Where could she have gone? Was she not as injured as I first presumed, could she have crawled away, or dragged herself to some place safer than the arms of a killer?

I rush to draw back the curtain from the window in order to gain a better view of the scene, and in my haste, I knock over a plant that sits on the windowsill. I watch in what feels like slow motion as the glass pot shatters against the hardwood floor. Suddenly I feel more awake, more alert as to what I just witnessed.

I stumble towards the kitchen, and scan the countertops for my cell phone. I fumble as I type in 911. After about 30 seconds, the call goes through.

“911 what is your emergency?”

“Hi Yes, I.. I think I may have just witnessed a murder.”

“Okay ma’am, where are you located?”

“I live on west forth street, I saw it outside of my window at elk park”

“Thank you we are sending police over. Can you please walk me through what happened.”

“Uh..umm I’m not really sure. I was walking over to the window to close the curtains for the night and I noticed a man who appeared to be engaging aggressively with a woman. He grabbed her, and then he tore off her necklace, and she fell to the ground. It looked like he was choking her. There was blood, but I don’t know where it was coming from. I’m sorry I don’t know what happened after that.”

“Thats okay Ma’am. Is the man still outside. Do you feel threatened or unsafe?”

“No the man is gone, and so is the woman. I think I am safe inside my home.”

“Im sorry, you said they are gone? Do you have any idea where they went.”

“No. I closed my eyes for a split second and then they were gone. Im sorry.” I sob into the phone.

The woman sounds frustrated with me, but I can’t understand why. This is a murder! Why is she so calm about the whole thing?

“Okay Ma’am, the police are on their way. Would you like me to stay on the phone with you until they get there?”

“No Uhh, I think I will be okay. Thank you.” I mutter.

The line goes blank. I let myself sink down to the linoleum kitchen floor and lean up against the kitchen cabinets. I hug my knees to my chest in silence as I await the sirens. Any moment now. Any moment.

A few minutes pass and I hear pounding on my front door. It startles me, I jerk my head and accidentally slam it against the kitchen cabinet. I stand up quickly and rush to my front door. When I open it, I am met with a small police woman who introduces herself as “Officer Booth”. I gesture for her to come in and she does. As she walks forward into my apartment, she seems to be surveying the room, almost as if my apartment is the scene of the crime and not the park across from my door outside. I notice as she glances toward the shattered glass pot underneath my windowsill, and make a mental note to clean that up as soon as she leaves. She asks me to run through everything I witnessed, and I reiterate everything I already told the operator on the phone. She tells me that she is going to do a thorough search outside and I nod in approval. 

I can’t sit still as I wait for her return. I grab my broom from the hall closet, and begin sweeping up the mess I made with the plant. After I am finished with that, I anxiously tidy up the rest of my apartment. My hands are covered in soap suds as I scrub some dishes, when I hear that same abrasive knock at my door.

Quickly, I dry of my hands and rush to open the door. When I open it, the first words that come out of Officer Booths mouth are:

“Ma’am, we don’t appreciate prank calls. 

I feel myself swaying, as if the ground is moving beneath my feet. What did she just say?

“We take these matters very seriously. I need you to tell me the truth right now. Did you witness a murder, or did you fabricate your whole story.”

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. Make it up? Why would anyone make up a story like that. I try to defend myself, but I can barely get the words out.

“I.. I’m sorry officer Booth, but I am telling you the truth. I can walk outside and show you where the crime scene happened.”

“That won’t me necessary ma’am. We have done a thorough sweep and have not come across anything suspicious. If a crime was committed here as you reported, especially one involving blood, we would see it. There is no evidence to suggest anything serious occurred here in the last 20 minutes.”

“That can’t be right!” I stammer. There must be something. A necklace! I saw the man rip off a golden necklace from the woman’s neck. Did you find that?”

“No ma’am.” she huffs. “I am sorry but at this point there is nothing left we can do for you. We will speak to your apartment manager and see if there are any webcams that may have recored the incident you claim occurred, but I have no further business with you at this moment in time.”

She turns swiftly, not allowing me any further questions.

I can’t process what just happened. I know what I saw! Why would I make any of this up? I rush back over to the kitchen and grab my phone to call someone, anyone who might take me seriously. I scroll through my contact list and settle on mom. She must know what to do.

I press the call button and wait for her to pickup. It usually doesn’t take long for her to answer her phone. I pray that this time is no different,

“Hi Mia! It’s so great to hear from you! Oh I must tell you darling.. Guess who I saw at the grocery store this morning!”

“MAMA STOP! Listen to me, please. I think I witnessed a murder. I don’t know what to do, I’m freaking out. I called the cops and they didn’t do anything! They said there’s no evidence. I don’t know what to do mama. Please help me.”

“Oh honey, have you been forgetting to take your medicine? You know its very important that you don’t forget…”

“Mama no! It’s not that, I know what I saw!”

“Oh my dear Mia. I knew it wouldn’t be a good idea for you to live alone. This is very bad, you can’t be acting out like this. You need to stay on top of your medication to prevent things like this from occurring.”

“Mama, I am not making this up. I have been doing really well for months, how can you not believe me?!” I cry.

“Mia you have to understand, you have schizophrenia. Sometimes you may hear or see things that don’t really exist. Please understand the severity of this situation. You cannot be calling the police for things that haven’t actually happened Mia.”

Maybe she’s right. If a crime did really take place, then why didn’t the police find anything? I can’t continue this call with her, I need to process what may or may not have happened.

“Okay mama. I’m sorry,” I concede. “I think I need to go lie down.”

I can hear my mother sigh loudly over the phone. She’s concerned, she has a right to be. 

I hit the end call button and set my phone down on the granite counter tops.

I feel defeated. I can’t understand why my brain makes me witness these false events. I drift lazily to my bedroom and walk over to my bed. I move one of my many pillows to the other side of the bed, when something shiny catches my eye. 

It's the gold necklace I saw the woman wearing, and with it, a note. The note only reads two words. 

“You’re next.”