It's 4:00 pm, and in 30 minutes, I'll be heading home. The work in my office today makes me tired because I have to finish the financial report with the manager. Suddenly my cell phone rang. I don't know who is calling, because the caller's number is not listed in my cell phone contacts. I took the call.
"Yes, hello!"
"Diana, it's Marry. Have you finished work?"
"Yes, I just finished. What's up?"
"I need your help decorating the room for my son's birthday party tomorrow. Do you want to help me?"
"Okay, I'll be right there"
I was actually lazy to go there, but I didn't have the heart to say no. After all, he's been my best friend since I was a kid. The sky looked cloudy like it was going to rain. I quickly headed to the parking lot and got into my car. I didn't want to go home late at night, so I had to rush to Marry's house to help her decorate the room.
Marry had just moved into the Grand Jasmine housing estate because she had bought a new house. Marry's house is quite far from my office. There is only one road to get there. Halfway there, I passed through a quiet neighborhood. I looked at my watch and it was already 5:00 pm. It was raining very hard, soaking the road. From the front, I could faintly see someone standing in the middle of the road because it was a bit foggy during the heavy rain. I stepped on the brake pedal and stopped my car.
It turned out that the person standing in the rain was a young woman with long hair. She approached my car and stood in front of the window with a smile. I opened the window and asked her,
"What happened?".
"Can I have a ride?".
I was actually reluctant to bring a stranger into my car. But, in the middle of a lonely road and heavy rain, I felt sorry for her and let her in.
"Okay, get in".
On the way, this young woman just stayed silent and looked at me from the rearview mirror with a smile. I was a little scared by her expression. I started a conversation with her.
"So, where do you live?"
"I live in the Grand Jasmine housing estate."
"What a coincidence, I'm also heading there to help my friend decorate the room"
She continued to stare at me with a smile, but not for long. She asked me,
"Are you afraid of me?"
"No, why should I be afraid of you?"
"What are you afraid of in your life?"
"A lot, I'm afraid of rats and cockroaches"
"Are you afraid of death?"
"I don't know, everyone will die at some point. Why do you ask like that? Have you ever felt it?"
I smiled asking her a joke. But her expression changed. She was no longer smiling, her gaze was so sharp at me. I was a bit scared seeing her expression like that. Not long after, she told me,
"Do you know, dying is very painful? You'll never know how much suffering you'll experience when your life is taken from your body."
I fell silent, and so did she. She still had that horrible expression and gaze. I regretted letting her ride in my car. The rain began to subside. Suddenly the young woman screamed. "Aaaa!!!". I was startled and stopped my car abruptly. I turned my head towards her, but I didn't see her. I don't know where she disappeared from. I felt goosebumps and fear. I stepped hard on the gas pedal and drove fast towards Marry's house.
At 5.45 pm I arrived at Marry's house, I told her about the strange incident I had just experienced on the way here. Hearing our conversation, Marry's husband, Alex, immediately said that in the middle of the road that I had traveled earlier, there had been an accident that caused the death of a woman. It was rumored that the woman's spirit roamed the road. It hitches a ride on a lone rider and then just disappears.
Hearing Alex's story, I got even more scared and creeped out. I didn't dare go home alone and decided to stay at Marry's house. I also called my younger brother to come to pick me up tomorrow so he could accompany me home. I would never pass that way again. I was afraid of the same thing happening to me again.
This fictional story is for prompt 108 in The Ink Well community
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator