Liars

Some may not have been as lucky as Benji. Some have died hanging on a wire. Some died with burnt legs. All died liars.

This is a story about lies and the people who tell them. After you read this, you’re going to wish that you never lied. If you’re thinking that you never lied in the first place, well, that my friend, is another lie.

There once was a girl about your age, dear reader. There was a boy too, also your age. This girl and this boy were identical twins. They did everything exactly the same, except lying. The girl was a master at lying, while on the other hand, the boy never told a lie. The girl was known as Angie, and the boy was known as Benji.

One day Angie saw Benji sneaking a chocolate chip cookie. Let’s back this story up a bit. First of all, their mother baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies and told the children to not touch it until they’re cooled off. The cookies had to be cooled off for 30 more minutes but in Benji’s mind he thought ‘Why should we wait when the cookies are already ready? That’s a stupid rule.’ Angie was also thinking this thought but she was born a minute earlier than Benji, so she knew that good things came by waiting.

Thirty minutes later mom walked in the kitchen and shouted “Cookies are all cooled down now!!” In that exact same instance, she noticed one missing. “Angie! (Angie’s name always came first since she was the first-born, and never let anyone forget it.) Benji! Get in here now!!” she yelled furiously. The twins came racing down the hall. “WHO?! ATE?! A?! COOKIE!?!?!?!?!” her screeching voice pierced through their skulls.

“Benji did mother,” “Angie did mother,” replied both of the twins at the same time. “Liar!” they shouted at each other. The children stared at their mother. They knew how much she hated when they lied, well, when Angie lied.

“Don’t lie to me Angie! I know it was you!”

“It wasn’t me mom!” screamed Angie.

“We’ll see. Both of you open your mouths.” Their mouths dropped open and before they knew what was happening she was already inspecting Benji’s mouth. “Ben. Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben. Did you take one of my chocolate chip cookies without permission?” she asked in a sweet voice.

“Yes, mother. I didn’t see the reason we had to wait!” Benji cried.

“You had to wait because the flavor had to set in, it was too hot to eat, and because I TOLD YOU TO!”

I’m not going to describe all of the disgusting details that happened next. I’m just going to say that 2 hours later Angie was inside snacking on cookies. Some kids were walking outside on the sidewalk and heard moaning and whimpering. They looked up and saw poor Benji hanging on a telephone wire with his pants on the ground in ashes. Today he decided to wear his elmo underwear too, how embarrassing.

“What happened to you,” asked one of the kids.

“I lied,” Benji answered.

“Liar! Liar! Pants on fire! Hanging on a phone wire!” they chanted over and over.

You should be glad to know that Benji eventually got down from the wire, and his mother never did anything that horrible again because the twins never told another lie. Well, at least, not to their mother’s knowledge.

Secrets and the Unknown

I am sitting in Agent Keith’s office writing what happened. They want to know how I found out my Aunt was a killer. They also want to know where my father is. I cannot provide them with this information, yet.


“Hello, dear niece. I have searched long and hard and have finally found your whereabouts. I wish I could tell you this in person, but as it is, I cannot. I need you to do me a favor. I wish to speak with your father but I do not know where he is. I need you to tell him that I might die soon and he has to take over. Do not ask questions. This is vitally important. Do not bother to try to find out where I am located and do not reply to this message. Do not trust anyone that asks you too many questions. Do not show this message to anyone. Not even family. They cannot be trusted. In fact, when you are done reading this, I need you to burn this note immediately. That is all. This is probably me saying goodbye to you forever,” I read this note repeatedly, silently to myself. I did not burn the note immediately. To tell the truth, I did not burn it at all. I would have burned it if I knew what would take place in my life afterwards.

The day I got the note, I had mixed feelings. I have not seen my uncle or my father in years. My uncle left the city of Miami when I was 12 years old. I have not seen or heard from him since, until now. My dad went into hiding 4 years ago (I do not know why), when my mom died a mysterious death. I still do not know, to this day, what caused her death, and it haunts me every time I close my eyes. The only family members I am still in touch with are my aunt, and my grandpa, both on my dad’s side.

Before I get more into this, let me tell you more about me. My name is Talia Oso. I was born on January 19, 1992. The day that note was sent was my birthday. It was the first letter of communication I had received from my uncle so I read it. I wish I did not. I am currently 20 years old and attending Florida State University. (How my uncle got hold of what college I was enrolled in I never found out.) My looks are pretty average. Sleek black hair, eyes and skin the color of milk chocolate, lips that need a bit more gloss to it, and skinny. My aunt says I look just like my mom, and according to my old photos of her, it is true. I have a photo of her, my dad, and me when we went on vacation to SeaWorld under my pillow. I like to gaze at it in the darkness of the night. It comforts me to see what used to be, and how happy I was.

I searched ‘where is Miguel Oso,’ my father’s name, on my laptop the next day. I was sitting at a table in Starbucks when I felt a soft tap on my shoulder. “I know where Miguel Oso is,” whispered a voice as I looked behind me. I gasped. It was my aunt. She put her finger to her lips and led me out the glass doors of the coffee place, to her car. We got in. My aunt typed 1434 Gates Lane. I glanced a questioning look at her. 1434 Gates Lane was where the old cemetery was located. She ignored my look and drove off toward the direction the GPS took her. I clicked on an article on my laptop. “Miguel Oso has disappeared off the face of the Earth the day his beloved wife, Martina Oso, passed away 4 years ago, leaving his brother’s wife to take care of his 16 year old daughter. We do not know what caused Martina’s death. Miguel Oso was last seen talking to his sister-in-law. A neighbor witnessed this conversation happen. She was later on questioned for the disappearance and death that took place. She did not want to cooperate, and investigators threatened to take her to court but eventually left her alone due to other cases,” the article said.

“Let me see the note your uncle sent you. Do this and I’ll take you to see your father,” my aunt told me. Immediately, I knew. I knew my father was being held against his will. I knew who his captor was. I knew who killed my mother. I still didn’t know the business about my uncle, but I did know I had to get out of this car, and fast.

“I burned it,” I replied.

“No you didn’t. I was watching you ever since it was delivered,” she said.

“I left it at my house,” I said. She looked annoyed then turned around.

As this little conversation took place, I was emailing my friend. “Help! Aunt is psycho! Get cops to my apartment! Tell them it is an emergency dealing with a loose killer. Don’t ask questions, it’ll take up too much time. Just hurry, please!” I wrote. I was lucky she was online too. If she wasn’t, I can’t imagine what would have happened. She replied a simple “Ok” and went offline. I trusted her to get me out of this mess and she did. Fifteen minutes later, my aunt drove up to my apartment door. She pulled me out of the car and dragged me inside only to find five police officers standing in the living room, guns pointed, and I hope, fully loaded. She turned around and tried to run but there were five more behind us. “You’re under arrest for the kidnapping of Miguel Oso and the murder of Martina Oso. Put your hands behind your back. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be held or used against you in the court of law.


That is what happened. Need I describe all the details of the police taking her, me eating dinner then going to bed with cops patrolling the outside of my apartment building, and the next day where they took me into Agent Keith’s office to write everything I knew? I need not. I can’t even go back to the University now. They said they could not deal with students that were exposed to the law, even if the students did nothing wrong. I end this paper frustrated and wishing I knew where the future would bring me. Maybe I need to see a psychic.

Terror in the Bedroom

Debra was sound asleep in her bed at the darkest hour of the night. A noise woke her up. She peeked outside her window. Nothing. She sighed and laid back down. When she was on the verge of sleep she heard another sound. Suddenly, there was a gloved hand on her mouth and a strange man next to her. He seemed familiar to her, but she didn’t know where she’d met him. She eyeballed the window and saw that it was opened.

The man, known as Dave, taped Debra’s mouth shut and tied her hands to the wooden bedpost. He gazed at her beautiful panic-strickened face and chuckled softly to himself. He lifted his hand to her black sleek hair and looked into her petrified brown eyes. Dave slowly removed the tape from Debra’s mouth and she screamed for help. “If you don’t hush up I’ll kill you,” whispered Dave softly letting the view of a shiny sharp knife flash across Debra’s eyes.

Dave lowered his face to her lips and gave her a delicate kiss. “I love you and I want you to be mine,” he whispered gently in her ear.

In an instant, Debra knew who this was. This was the guy that was in one of her college classes. She sat in the 2nd row and he would often stare at her from the 6th row. He creeped her out, although she enjoyed that kiss he just gave her, even if she didn’t kiss back. “If you loved me,” she whispered back, “you wouldn’t be doing this to me.”

“But sweetie, I can’t bear the fact that you’re not mine. If you won’t be mine, you won’t be anybody’s,” Dave said as he showed her the glint of the blade again. He made sure her hands was still tied to the post and started unbuttoning her pajama top. Before he reached the top, Debra kicked him in his stomach, sending him on the floor with a thud.

Dave was surprised about this sudden attack and he tied her feet to the bottom of the bed rail, leaving her legs wide open. He reached into his pocket, pulled out the knife, and put it to her neck. “Try something now. That’s right, you can’t! What now woman? I win, you lose, now you’re going to get a big fat bruise.” Dave taped her mouth back up and scraped a huge amount of skin across the side of her neck. She screamed in pain and tears came down from her frightened eyes. Blood trickled down and went to the side of her neck to the pillow. “You’re lucky that you’re too beautiful to kill, now let me love you,” he whispered into her ear.

Dave undid the last button to her pajamas revealing a black sports bra. He kissed the area of her neck with the scraped skin. Debra just wished this was over with. She wondered what happened in his past to lead him to do this. Dave tore the pajamas shirt from her body with the knife.

The door clicked open unexpectedly, and Dave whispered, “Tell anyone about this and I’ll kill you,” right before he ran and jumped out of the window.

Debra heard footsteps leading into her bedroom, and she felt her hands and feet being untied. She felt the tape being taken from her mouth and realized how much her arms and legs ached. She glanced up and saw the apartment building manager and the elderly woman that stayed in the apartment next to hers. “I heard the commotion, dear, and called the manager to come and straighten things out,” said Mavis, the aged woman. Debra smiled and was grateful for their sudden coming.

“Everything ok?” the Anthony, the manager, said while looking around. He noticed the open window, the frayed skin on Debra’s neck, and the tattered pajamas shirt hanging loosely from her arms.

“Yeah, sure, everything’s fine. Thanks,” Debra said abruptly and told them to let themselves out. Once they was gone she closed and locked the window wondering how he got it open. She fell back against the bed. “I don’t know how I’m going to face him in class,” she thought as she drifted off to sleep.

Debra woke up to the sound of her television. The events of last night were still fresh in her memory. She shuddered and sat up in bed. “Found dead early this morning at Florida’s State College,” Debra heard. She suddenly became alert. That was the college that she attended. She glanced at the screen and, to her horror, she saw none other than Dave. His chest had a hole in it and was surrounded with blood. Debra heard a little scream come up from inside of her and turned the TV. off quickly.
.

Tripas De Pescados

“Mom, can you take me and my friends to that new roller rink downtown? I’m dying to try out my new skates. What better place to do it than a new rink?”
“What’s wrong with the rink closest to us, Mel?” Mel’s mom asked.
“Nothing! I just really want to try out the new one.” Melanie knew what was wrong with it. She didn’t want to encounter Raymond, a senior at her school. All the kids hung out at “Disco Skating”, the name of the rink her mother mentioned.
“Ok, fine, fine,” Mel’s mother sighed.
“Thanks Ms. B!” Mel’s friends called through the window and loaded into the tiny space of Melanie’s mom’s car.
“You girls are something else,” she murmured, opened the door, made sure Melanie came out behind her, locked the door, and got into the car. Melanie entered on the passenger’s side. Besides her and her mom, there was 4 girls in the back, Trish, Sara, Pamilla, and Samantha.

30 minutes later

“I’ll be back at 6:00 to pick you girls up. It’s 2:30 right now. Have fun!”
“Bye mom!” Mel yelled as her mother drove off. She rushed to catch up with her friends.
“Why are we at this rink again?” Pam asked.
“Because she doesn’t want to run into Raymond,” Trish replied.
“That’s not true!” Mel yelled. People walking into the rink stared at her.
“Hate to say this, but yeah, sweetie. It is,” said Sara.
“Let’s just go inside. I’m starved!” said Mel quite loudly.
They all agreed and entered. Mel got instantly blinded when she stepped in. There was bright, colorful, lights lit up everywhere. “Now I know why it’s called ‘Sunshine Skating Rink,’ she muttered. A very good aroma caught her nose. “You guys smell that?” she asked.
“Yes,” replied Sara.
“It smells so good,” Pam said.
“Let’s go find it out,” Mel said. She took the lead and walked where her nose took her. The rest of them followed. They eventually wound up at a small eatery. She didn’t know what to make of the waitresses.
“What will you like to have?” one asked the pack with a Spanish accent.
“I want whatever that interesting smell is,” replied Melanie. The others ordered the same thing. They were all anxious to try it.
“Cinco tripas de pescados, por favor!” she yelled into the kitchen. “It will be ready in a minute,” she told the girls and walked to a different table. Neither of the girls knew Spanish so they didn’t know what the waitress said.
The food was there in no time. The scent was really strong up close. Each of the girls looked at the plates in front of them. They saw something fried. When they touched it, it was mushy. It had bits of shredded cheese in it.
“How about you try it first, Mel?” Sara asked.
“That’s fine by me.” Melanie answered. It was kind of bulky looking. She saw a fork at the corner of her eye and picked it up. She cut into the thing, lifted a piece up slowly, and taste it. “O-M-G!” she yelled.
“How does it taste?” asked Pam nervously.
“It is the most wonderful thing ever laid on my tongue.” Mel replied. She gobbled up the rest and asked for more. In less than 7 minutes all 5 of them had done with theirs and already had their second plates.
“Mind if I ask what’s in this?” asked Melanie.
“Fried fish guts, goat cheese, and a few seasonings,” the waitress said in her Spanish accent.
Sam choked. “Did you just say FISH GUTS?” she questioned.
“Yes,” the server said and walked away.
No one was eating now. They were all staring at their plates like it was poison. “You gotta admit, that was the best thing ever tasted,” Trish said. They all agreed and left a check on the table. They added it with a five dollar bill for the waitress’s tip.
“Let’s go have some fun now girls!” Sara said, looking at her watch. It was 3:30 already. They had two hours and a half to skate before Mel’s mother came. They skated hand in hand. Cupid’s shuffle came on and they did the dance on the rink. When it was couple’s skate they took their rest at the eating booth, and told the waitresses they weren’t eating.
“Time to go. I really had fun tonight,” said Pam.
“Me too,” the other four said at the same time, and they all laughed, while heading out the door. They saw the teeny black car waiting for them. “So, tell me all,” Mel’s mother said as they entered the car.
“We had tripas de pescados,” Melanie said.
“What’s that?” Mel’s mother asked with a weird look on her face. The girls laughed and she just drove off wondering what that was.

Ugly or Beautiful

Rick looked in the mirror and hated what he saw looking back at him. He would do this everyday. He would wonder why he was cursed with this look. ‘Ring, ring,’ the phone rang. He let it go to voice message.
“Hello Rick. You’ve just been promoted as our top reporter! Aren’t you happy? I know you’re there. Pick up so we can talk properly. Congratulations!” Bob, Rick’s boss, said into the phone.
This added to Rick’s mood. It made him madder. He didn’t want to get promoted. He barely even liked his job. He slacked off the most out of the entire news company he worked for. All he did was sit in a chair eating Doritos why everyone else worked. He wondered how in the world he had gotten promoted. He didn’t even have to wonder because he already knew the answer. His look.
The main thing Rick’s look bought him his girls, ladies, and women. They could be pretty, ugly, fat, skinny, black, white, Asian, Chinese, Japanese, you name it, they were all attracted to him. Once he was passing by a mother and her daughter and he heard the daughter gasp and say, “Wow, mom! He’s the most handsomeness man I have ever seen in all my life!” The fact that little girls admired him made him feel queasy.
“I’m sick of this! I hate my look! I hate myself!” Rick yelled into the mirror.
A lady appeared out of nowhere. She looked him up and down. She stared at his blonde locks. She looked appalled by the height of him. She gazed into his baby blue eyes, admired the perfect weight he seemed to have had, and touched his smooth skin. The thing that was stranger than the fact that she appeared out of nowhere was that she kept a straight face as she was analyzing him. Well, and that she was ugly. So very ugly. The ugliest thing Rick laid eyes on. He was flabbergasted at how unappealing, hideous, and revolting she looked.
“Do you wish to become ugly like me?” she asked. Her voice wasn’t at all like her look. It was a soft smooth voice. “I was once as beautiful as you are handsome. One day I couldn’t stand it and yelled at my mirror. A tornado formed right in the middle of my room and knocked me out. When I woke up I was like this, as you see me now. ‘You are as you willed to be. Enjoy,’ the voice of a teeny fairy told me. She’s made me appear to you through some kind of device.”
“This is a dream. I’m dreaming,” Rick muttered.
“This is no dream,” the woman said and vanished suddenly.


24 hours later

Rick woke up. He looked around and noticed he was wearing a gown. He was laying on one of those hospital beds. “Doctor?” he called.
“Oh, you’re up. You’ve been unconscious for a whole day exactly. How do you feel? Your blood pressure dropped immensely,” the doctor said.
“Can I have a mirror?” Rick asked. The doctor handed him a mirror. Rick was dumbfounded at what he saw looking back at him. He saw a vicious, foul face looking back. He took a glance down his body. He was fat. Not chubby fat. Overweight fat. He realized how the woman who visited him was looking. She was looking down in the dumps. That’s how he felt just now.
“Is anything wrong sir?” the doctor asked.
“Nothing,” he replied and they let him check out.
Later on he found out he had a job as a garbage man. It’s like the entire universe changed from his one change.
“Be careful what you wish for,” he heard a tiny, creepy voice say. The funny thing is, he didn’t exactly wish for it. His mind was wishing it but he didn’t wish it in words. He wondered about this. Rick shrugged his shoulders and walked off into the world.

Windy Woods

The wind circled all around me, making my vision blurry. My family was out camping in the middle of the woods. My mom had sent me out to get wood for the fire but I doubt she knew how windy these woods really were. My eyes stung from the rush of the air. "Mom!?" I called into the hazy mist. My voice sounded pathetic against the loud screeching of the wind.

I walked on and on into the unknown. Next thing I knew, I was falling down, down, down. I screamed, and was relieved when I finally felt earth underneath my dark boots. It didn't hurt too badly when I landed. My eyes flashed upward with a grim expression on my face. I was approximately 7 feet below the ground I was previously standing on.

I brushed my hand alongside the wall. I figured it wouldn't help me to try and climb it. The dirt would just come tumbling down. There was nothing I could grab hold on to hoist myself up. I went frantic trying to look for something that my hands could grip to haul myself up. After awhile I gave up out of pure exhaustion. I curled up into a ball and drifted off to sleep.

I woke up to the sound of barking. I glanced up to the glow of the moon and saw Pebbles, the family Dalmatian, at the edge of the hole, looking down at me. I figured Pebbles discovered me gone and decided to sniff me out. I wondered if my family noticed my disappearance. “Shh,” I quieted her down.

I realized how hungry I was. I didn’t eat dinner because I had to gather wood, and you know the rest. “Go Pebbles. You have to lead mom, dad, and Susie towards me. Go, girl!” Pebbles took off running with her long pink tongue hanging at the side of her mouth. I hoped she knew what I said. I reckoned the only words she knew was her name and go. I dug deep down my dirty jean pockets and pulled out a melted Hershey’s chocolate bar. I took a bite, and another, and another, until the whole candy bar was resting safely in my stomach. My hunger was eased a bit.

The wind picked up. I heard the intense roaring of it. A face peered down at me. “Susie!” I exclaimed. I saw two bright lights flashing in my face and looked away. “Lay off the lights, please.”

“Oh, sorry Hun,” my mom said and she and my dad flicked the flashlights off. I saw a long brown rope drop down into the hole and I grabbed hold of it. In an instant, I was yanked up and out of the hole. When my feet were planted solidly on the ground I rushed to hug my parents, Susie, and Pebbles.

“Now, which way leads us back to the tent?” asked my mom. We all shrugged then laughed and walked off into the darkness of the night, Pebbles leading the way silently.

Family

Family. It meant the only people you could depend on. The only people who would truly love you for you. The people who would support you no matter what you did. That's what it meant, but only in my dreams.

I walked down the crooked street to the house that I had no choice but to call my home. I walked into the raggedy brown door. As always, there was no loving mother to greet me. There was no snack on the counter to soothe my hungry belly. No father to tell  me everything I was doing wrong. No annoying little brother. I was abandoned, lonely.

I guess this was the effect of running away. I was only on the next block from my family, but they didn't know this. I was in the abandoned shack on the corner. Two days ago, when I ran away, I thought that I would see police everywhere looking for me. What I saw was the complete opposite. Nothing but strangers going about their business. No cops. No parents. No family.

I was fed up with staying in this crap of a house. I decided to check and see how my family was doing without me. I casually strolled out and walked in the direction towards my old life. The life I had before I decided to run away. As I got closer and closer I turned around and sighed. What would happen if I just showed back up in their lives after I snuck out my window without letting anybody know?

Three minutes later I found myself at the porch of my ex-best-friend's house. I knocked shyly.

"Hi," she answered quietly.

"Hi," I replied.

"Your family is devastated."

"Oh."

"So was I."

I was speechless so I just hugged her and apologized for all the wrongs that I did. She hugged me back.

"Want me to go with you?" she asked.

"Yes," I replied.

We walked together to my house. She knocked on the door and my father answered. His face had a gnarly beard on it and it his hair was unkempt. I could tell that he had been crying, but probably in private without anyone seeing. The moment he saw me his face lit up with joy that I had never seen before and he called the rest of my family. I knew that everything would be OK from this point on.

Evergreen Love

I stood watching the bright yellow leaf float down from the tree. I think back to my break-up.

"I need to breathe," he said.

"I need to find my soul mate," he said.

"I thought I was your soul mate," I said.

I stomp my foot hard on the ground and frown up at the sky. 'Life's unfair,' I think. I look up at the tree in front of me. An apple-colored leaf lands on my face. I lift it up and look at it. Then, I look at the tree. I wonder how the tree feels when all of its leaves escape from it. 'But, that's just a natural part of nature,' I think out loud.

I see my mother. She walks toward me and stands next to me. "You know, you are like this tree, here," she says.

"How?" I reply.

"This tree sheds its leaves every fall to prepare for winter. Then, in the Spring, all of its leaves grow back."

"But, how am I like the tree?" I ask.

"Love is just another natural part of nature. You are a tree. You fall in love, then you lose that love. You eventually fall back in love, and one day you will stay in love. But, for now, you'll just have to keep falling in and out of love, just as a tree has to shed its leaves and grow new ones back. The day when you'll fall in love and get married you'll be an evergreen. Evergreens never loses its leaves."

An orange leaf falls on the tip of my nose. I lift it up and smile.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 15.09.2012

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