The Written Tapestry

The man had been watching her for weeks. Always the same street corner, always the same time. He would sit on that cold bench in the middle of this harsh winter and wait for her. Everytime she showed herself, he couldn't help but grin wickedly and take in her youthful innocence. He had waited long enough, everything was prepared...in place...perfect.

As the girl walked up to the corner of the street, waiting for the light to change, he made his approach. It was late in the evening, and not many people were standing around them...though the thought of that didn't bother him at all. He skulked quietly behind her, his expression a mix of stoicism and glee. He reached a hand out, tempted to run it through her hair...but he had to stop himself. Now was not the time, but soon. In the still of the evening the man produced a small cloth that looked to contain a substance stained within the fabric. Just like a shadow, he crept up right behind her and moved to shove the cloth over her mouth and nose. Using his free arm to hold her in place as she became limp, he smiled and quickly dragged her into the nearby alley.

The man opened a metal door and dragged her inside, placing her on the floor gently and locking the door behind him. He turned to gaze upon his prize with a wicked smile. "Such a pretty little thing...you'll do nicely." The single light bulb hanging from the ceiling swayed eerily in the room as the scene unfolded.

It had started out as a nice brisk evening. Perfect for a little walk out to the park. And she'd enjoyed the comforting stillness of it all, lost only to the sound of the music caressing her mind through the earbuds perched in her ears. She was plenty warm, done up in a nice knee length knit wool jacket, with leggings beneathe the skirt that she wore. And those boots, her favorite little fuzzy boots. She went nowhere without them. Still, she could feel a little chill run up her spine. Every so often, a strand of her hair would be tugged out of place by a breeze. But, none of it bothered her just now.

It wasn't until the rain began that her comfort was taken. She'd not brought an umbrella, hadn't expected it to rain this evening. Snow, perhaps. But certainly not rain. Slowly her steps to look up at the sobbing clouds overhead, she sighed and clicked off her music, reaching to remove the buds from her ears. It was then that something warm pressed in against her back and a soft fabric fell across her face and was pushed against her mouth and nostrils. Before confusion or fear could entirely sink in, darkness overcame her. The eeriness of where she'd been taken would be lost for lengthy moments as her mind drifted in nothingness.