A stranger

 Cold sweat covered my hands. I grabbed my bag tightly. I could hear the sound of footsteps behind me. I wished I had listened to my mum, how I wished. But it was all too late. I started jogging. Then running. I did not want to see who was behind me. The empty streets were silent, except for the footsteps of the person behind me. They had started running too. What did they want to do with me? It all started that morning.

“Mum, can I please go to the park after school?” “No Wendy, it’s winter now. The day is shorter, and there is no time to go to the park. It will be very dark by then.” I did not listen to her. I thought that I could manage myself. So after school when I was supposed to go home, I went to the park. I played for so long that I didn’t notice it was dark. No stars shone in the sky. No moon was hanging in the sky like normal. No one in the streets. I grabbed my bag and started walking home. 

Home was not that far away. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man. He was dressed from head to toe in black, with a hood over his face and hands in pockets. He was sitting on a wooden seat in the park. I had not noticed him then, but I did now. And that was because he had stood up and started walking towards me. Immediately I knew something was wrong. I started walking fast, afraid that it would be too obvious that I was scared of him if I ran. It was completely dark. I was nearly home, nearly...Then,  a hand reached out and grabbed me.