The spoiled carton of milk pooled down onto her legs before being dumped directly over her entire body. She trembled as someone's spit hit her cheek and she was unable to stop herself from bursting into tears.
Once the small crowd that had gathered around the teenager saw she was sniffling and wiping at her face in a panic sparked fit of mania, they finally started recording. The older teens shouted at her to suck it up and laughed at her tears.
While others just laughed in amusement and pointed at her soiled clothing. She cried silently cursing at herself for being so weak and not having the guts to stand up for herself.
She wished she had told a teacher sooner and that they had listened to her. Even more so, she wished her mother took her side instead of just telling her to toughen up and handle it all on her own.
The poor girl was the laughing stock of the charter school she attended. Her parents weren't very well liked by the teacher's so they took it out on her. Her brother was despised so when he graduated all of the other students' hatred for him automatically transferred over to her.
Any friends she managed to make were driven away by her clinginess. She always wanted a hug, someone to touch and hang out with. That drove anyone away no matter how much she cried and pleaded with them to stick around.
Soon, rumors spread about her strange behavior and it accumulated into what was happening now. Everyone bullied her and she was starting to think even her parents hated her. If only someone loved her, someone cared for her. Then she would finally be free from the horrible hell she called life.
"Ew. Look at it trying to run away!" An older boy shouted at her, startling the girl enough to make her trip and fall.
Teary eyed, she silently begged for them to leave her alone. Just this once she asked for them to disappear and for any adult out there to reach a hand to help her up. To ask her what was wrong and to take her word for it.
"Your wish has been granted."
"My wish?" She mumbled looking around for the owner of whoever's voice had been so close to her.
But still no one else was there besides the teenagers who had tormented her. They were walking away, having grown tired of poking and prodding at the distraught girl for so long. If she was feeling a tad bit stronger she'd thank whatever entity had answered her prayers but for now she laid on the ground.
Her legs hurt from running from the group after initially being spotted by them. She had chosen to walk home from school due to being too afraid to take the bus anymore. The walk was long that by time she neared her house the other kids were waiting.
They pulled at her hair despite it being but in a high bun to escape from that happening. Dust had gotten in her eyes from her feet kicking it up in the air when she tried to fight them off. They burned and were red with irritation but she had no energy to get off of the ground.
"Are you tired?"
Fear gripped her as she looked around, terrified that one of the teens had returned to torment her. She trembled in anticipation only to find herself all alone. Nobody was near her or even down the alleyway she had become trapped in earlier.
"Please leave me alone!" Crying out she coughed and tried to crawl backwards hitting a brick wall that stood clumsily behind her. "I can't take this anymore!"
Her anxiety got the best of her and she started to cry even harder. The thought of being attacked again, so soon after being brutalized was too much for her to take. She just wanted to be left alone and nobody would grant her that one wish.
"I can grant you your wish."
"How did you hear that?" Wildly, she got up from the ground and spun around in her effort to find the person tormenting her. "Get away from me stay away!"
Suddenly, she could hear someone coming near. Still she wasn't seeing anyone in the alleyway and she had started to run out of it's cramped confines towards the busy street. She felt her anxiety growing with the knowledge of someone possibly watching her.
If she woke up and saw a video of her freaking out in the alley online, she'd feel sick. They already had so much dirt on her it was suffocating her with its existence. Panting, she came closer to the end of the alleyway when something stopped her in her tracks.
Appearing out of thin air, a boy stood in front of her. He had a gleam in his eyes that looked suspicious to her as she blinked, unsure of whether or not she was hallucinating. But to her shock he was still there with a blank look on his face. Slowly, he held out a hand to her.
"Your wish little lady."
Her mouth was agape as she tried to think. "My wish? You heard what I was thinking?"
The air had dropped in temperature, making her shiver in her soaked clothing. Despite being so close to the exit she felt trapped again in the alley. The boy wasn't big in size or buff. He was a normal twenty something who made her wonder if he was homeless or on drugs.
A smile that made her shrink when it was directed towards her spread on his lips. He kept his hand out with his dirty black nails grossing her out. They contrasted with his deathly pale skin covered in tattoos and piercings. It all screamed danger but her legs were frozen.
"I heard your cries and I had to come check it out. You've peaked my interest."
"Oh." The teenager was clearly growing uncomfortable with the man's presence.
"Don't worry little lady, I will leave as soon as you tell me your wish."
She thought about what the man had said. What even was her wish? Did he mean what she had said about wanting all the other children to leave her alone or something more? The girl stared at him for a moment before looking away as her stress grew the longer they stood.
The smell of spoiled milk was still evident as drops fell down from her hair and onto her face. Before she could wipe it away, the man did it for her. His hands felt soft and extremely warm against her shaking body. He wiped the milk away and held her chin before pulling back.
The action felt alien. She wasn't sure if he was trying to comfort or tease her. It made her feel icky deep down and the desire to push him away only grew more the longer he had pitched her skin.
"What if I don't want to tell you?" She asked timidly, looking down at her ruined shoes.
"Then I'll ask again," His voice grew darker as he repeated himself. "And again and again. Until you decide to tell, I'll never leave you."
Swallowing thickly, she began to back away. "You're going to stalk me? Please I don't have any money or a interesting–"
Just as he had appeared, the man was gone in a blink of an eye. Her body felt weak from the fearsome encounter and she pushed it into the back of her mind. She didn't want to think about it fearing that she had been hallucinating.
If anyone had seen the last five minutes and decided to record it her life would be over. Not only would her classmates make fun of her for being covered in spoiled food. But now they'd say she had lost her mind and started to talk to herself in public.
Hesitantly, she looked around the alley one more time before walking out into the packed street. She ignored the looks people gave her and the whispers that followed. Years of being bullied and harassed had made her used to gossip.
Still it made her body tremble with its presence. Knowing people found her weird was something that drove her mad. Everyday since she was young they would treat her differently.
It was as if everyone saw her as a science experiment instead of human. Strangers on the street whispered about her soiled clothing in fake pity while people who recognized her giggled.
Her misery felt unbearable but she knew this was the beginning. Once she got home it would be so much worse. She stopped into her large house with her shoes squeaking. Liquid poured out of them onto the hardwood floor beneath her.
The house was empty, with minimal furniture decorating it. Nobody was home which lifted a large weight off of her shoulders. Taking off her things, she brought them upstairs as she walked up the large spiral staircase leading to the main floor.
Her bedroom was just as large and extravagant as the rest of the expensive house. The curtains, bed sheets and mattresses were worth millions along with her belongings. It made her feel even emptier seeing all the wealth surrounding her and how it caused her isolation to begin.
Nobody loved her because they saw her as a spoiled brat. And now, she was hallucinating strange people due to her loneliness. She threw her things onto the ground and began to cry again feeling hopeless. The young girl felt absolutely pitiful standing in her ruined clothes.
"You aren't pitiful."
In her shock she fell to her knees. She covered her mouth at the sight of the man sitting on the porch connecting to her bedroom. "How did you get in here?"
Then he was real? She was terrified at the sight of such a person. His dirty boots were laid on a few of her pillows and his gaze was unreadable as he stared. He had what looked like some of her things in his lap, rolling his eyes at her panicked antics.
"I told you I would never leave you." He got up from the porch, throwing her things over the balcony without a care in the world. "You're going to hurt yourself if you keep doing this."
Breaking out of her paralyzed stupor, the girl started to crawl away from the man. Her legs felt like jelly so no matter how hard she tried to get up she'd fall back down twice as fast. All she could think of was how her life was about to end. How she'd be found brutalized and dead.
By now she was openly sobbing in her pitfulness. She wished she had never gone home. And more so she wished that she had never decided to walk in such a bad part of town. Maybe then the man wouldn't have followed her home or come across her in such a vulnerable state.
"Please don't hurt me!" Her cries sounded guttural as she trembled. Weakly, she held out her arms in an effort to keep him away. "Please leave me alone!"
He sighed and walked over to her. He got onto his knees and helped her off of the ground ignoring her refusal. His grip felt like iron, trapping her in his arms to her disbelief.
"You're hurting yourself, Winona."
Winona's horror grew hearing the man say her name. Her face became incredibly pale as the blood drained from it. She dug her nails into his skin, kicking at his legs in her fight to be let free.
He remained still tightening his grip a bit too much for comfort. "You have a beautiful name."
"Let me go!" Winona screamed only to have her mouth covered by one of his now free hands. She tried to bite it but his skin tasted disgusting making her feel the urge to throw up.
"Stop fighting me Winona," He growled out her name with his voice once again becoming darker with every word. "I'm not trying to hurt you, I want to save you."
The strange man's words hit her like a truck. She staggered in his arms feeling herself become dizzy. Save her? How could he ever save her and what twisted mind did he have to believe such a thing?
He had a twisted look in his eyes. It was incredibly perverted and full of some sort of lust that was unrecognizable. He pushed her body into his front as he uncovered her mouth.
"You were crying in that alleyway all alone. It was heartbreaking to watch, so I had to come to your aid." He chuckled at the memory of her loneliness. "You kept mumbling to yourself about your wish. So, I decided to grant it to save your life."
"You sound insane!" Winona retorted breaking free and making a run for the hallway. Only she was stopped by the man suddenly appearing right in front of her exit.
In a panic fueled burst of energy, she threw anything she could at him. Her backpack flew past him covered in milk stains flowed by her shoes. She screamed at him, asking him how he knew her name and why he wanted to help her.
It made no sense. This man was superhuman, flying past everything she threw at him. Until finally he managed to pin her to the ground with strength she hadn't encountered before.
And throughout it all his face was calm. His body remained neutral with his eyes full of lust she couldn't recognize. It was as if a thousand men were pinning her down instead of one.
"If I tell you a wish, will you leave me alone? If I tell you anything will you just leave me alone and stop tormenting me?!" She cried out with the last bit of strength she had.
A hand reached down and caressed her terror stricken face. It behaved gently despite the situation the two were in.
"It has to be your deepest desire, something only I can fulfill." He grinned at the sight of her surrender. "Now tell me, my dear, what is your wish?"