2023 LCPL short story contest 3rd place (Middle school)
Full content:
I’ve always been a worrier. It’s what makes me such a good author. I think back to when I was younger, when I wasn’t on my deathbed. When I didn’t have old, wrinkled skin and short white hair. When I wasn’t plagued with anxiety everywhere I went. The only parts of me that haven’t changed would be my height, the mole on my left cheek, and the monster.
I used to live in an old apartment building in the middle of a bustling city. It was the first time I was away from my family. I’d just published my first book, but it wasn’t selling well. The reviews, which were almost all negative, haunted me day and night. I wasn’t a good writer. I was just like everyone else, and I would never be a bestselling author. During the second week of living at the apartment, I found a back elevator that no one seemed to use. I was intrigued, but a voice in the back of my head warned me to be cautious. Maybe the elevator had a dark secret, even if it was practically identical to the other elevators in the building, with a metal floor and mirrors on all sides.
When I entered the elevator, the lights flickered. It was only for a second, no more, but I saw something in the elevator mirror. A dark figure, black like coal, was standing right behind me. I screamed and turned around, but there was nothing behind me as far as I could tell. I turned back to the mirror and saw the figure for another second before the lights flicked back on. It was gone, but I knew what I saw.
My head pounded. I’d seen a monster, but no one would believe me if I told them. They would blame it on my imagination and tell me I should turn it into a novel. But I was sure I wasn’t making it up, and I avoided the elevator for the next year or two. Maybe it did have a dark secret.
But one day, I knew I couldn’t avoid the elevator any longer. Someone was hosting a huge party in their apartment, and the main elevator broke down. Everyone was going up the stairs, and I didn’t want to wait. I knew I could use the back elevator, but I was still too scared. I wasn’t seeing things. The monster or whatever I saw was definitely real. I took one more glance at the crowd surrounding the staircase, and I knew I would have to face my fears.
“Come on,” I told myself. “Maybe it was just your imagination. And you can’t avoid it forever.” I glanced at the other residents of the apartment building, who were all frustrated. I turned to an elderly lady with white hair. “Hey, I know a back elevator you can use to get upstairs.”
The lady’s face brightened. “Really?”
I nodded and led her down the hall. I tried calming my nerves. When I went on that elevator, I was a bit scared and anticipating something terrible. Maybe I had made the monster up.
The lady smiled when she saw the elevator. “I never knew about this elevator! It seems like no one uses it anymore.”
When the doors rolled open with a ding, I forced myself to get on with her. “What floor?” I asked the lady as I pushed the button for my floor, the fourth.
“The third floor.”
My heart plunged, but I tried to ignore the growing pit of dread in my stomach.
The doors closed and I felt the elevator chug upwards. My hands were cold and clammy, and I felt my body seize with panic. My eyes frantically darted towards the mirror but the black figure wasn’t there. I started to relax a little. Maybe I’d just been tired after a long day and was starting to see things.
For a split second, the elevator went dark. My heart dropped. The lights were back on in just a second, and I thought I imagined it. I turned to the lady. “Did you see that?” I asked slowly.
“See what?” the lady asked.
“The lights flickered for a second.”
“Oh.” The lady shrugged.
Ding! The elevator doors rolled open to the third floor. I stepped back as the lady exited. I watched in horror as the doors closed and I was alone in the elevator. Again.
I took a deep breath in, then a deep breath out. They didn’t work and I was still panicking. I waited desperately for the elevator to arrive on the fourth floor.
The lights shut off and the elevator went dark. My body tensed. This couldn’t be happening. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping that when I opened them, the lights would be on again and everything would be okay. Instead, a cold sensation crept up my neck. I let out a scream and opened my eyes in horror.
The black figure was back. This time, I got a better view of it. It was the silhouette of a human, but thin and stretched out like a shadow in the sun.
“Who are you?” I yelled out.
The black figure didn’t respond. It didn’t even acknowledge my question. The cold feeling wrapped around my neck and I stumbled, but quickly balanced myself again. When I looked up at the mirror, the black figure was gone and the lights were on. The elevator doors opened to the fourth floor.
I took a deep breath, trying to compose myself. My head was spinning. My fears were confirmed. The monster was real. It had to be real. I wasn’t imagining things. Next time, I could take a picture for proof… but there would be no next time. There was absolutely no way I was going on that elevator again. I was leaving this apartment building the second I could afford it.
I staggered out of the elevator and rushed to my apartment, not daring to look back. I only stopped for breath when I was in my apartment, with the door locked behind me.
“Congratulations!”
I jumped back as my friends got out from behind the table. It looked like a rainbow had exploded in my apartment and left balloons everywhere and confetti falling to the floor. A giant banner reading “Congratulations” was hung across the living room.
I laughed nervously. “What is this for?”
“Your book! It’s been a huge success!”
I blinked, remembering how one review said I had no potential to become a good author.
“Oh.” I laughed. “Guys, I appreciate you trying to cheer me up, but-”
My sister Mary pulled me in and shoved me towards the dining room. “We got cake!” she yelled.
The excitement finally died down, and after talking to everyone my head was pounding. It didn’t make any sense. According to Mary, I was worried about the release of the book, thinking it was too boring and the readers would hate it. But when the book was published, everyone loved it.
I wanted to tell Mary what was going on, but she’d think I was crazy.
For the next few months after the party, I avoided the elevator and didn’t see the monster. I almost managed to convince myself it was just my imagination.
Then I saw it again. And not just in the elevator. I saw it everywhere there was a reflection, whether it was the bathroom mirror, the reflection in the car window, or the clear pond in Mary’s backyard. I knew it was there, even if I could only see it in reflections.
I couldn’t have a single day of peace without being on edge and worrying about the monster. I suffered through it silently, not knowing what to do or how to ask for help.
Exactly three years later, I was driving on a windy mountain road in Colorado. I was going to meet up at a lodge there for a family reunion over the holidays. It was a dark and stormy night, the kind where something bad happens. The view had been spectacular earlier, with the majestic mountains towering over me and crisscrossing together until they faded into the sky. But now, the sky was a gloomy shade of grey and rain was pouring down. The mountains that had been so beautiful earlier now seemed to lead into a dark abyss below the cliff. I hadn’t seen another car for almost an hour now.
I kept my eyes on the road, paranoid about making a wrong turn and falling off the cliff. I tried focusing on something else, like how happy Mary would be when she saw the chocolate I’d bought for her at the gas station, except that reminded me of the half an hour I spent waiting in line for it. The only other thing on my mind was the monster.
“I know you’re there,” I whispered, but there was no response. The only noise was the rumbling of my car engine and the plop of the raindrops as they hit the dashboard and ran frantically in all directions. “I saw you earlier. And I know you’re here.”
I must’ve sounded crazy, but I had to get the monster talking. If it could talk. I didn’t think it had a mouth.
“Who are you? Do you visit other people? Why have I never seen you until the day I rode that elevator? And are you here to help me or hurt me?”
I realized that the monster hadn’t hurt me. Instead, it helped me by getting my book to sell well. Maybe it wasn’t dangerous. I leaned back in my seat, relaxed for the first time in a while.
Suddenly, I remembered the chocolate I bought for Mary. I quickly glanced to the side and saw the chocolate, on top of my suitcase. I breathed a sigh of relief.
I didn’t see the sharp turn ahead.
Before I could even register what happened, my car crashed into the short railing, the only thing blocking me from death. The impact thrust me forward. I desperately put my foot down on the brakes, but it was too late. The car had been going too quickly. It started to tip over and I watched, dumbfounded. Everything was happening in slow motion. I was going to die! I closed my eyes, preparing for the drop, but shot them open when I felt a familiar cold sensation around my neck.
My eyes drifted towards the rearview mirror at the last second before the car fell down the cliff. The black monster smiled at me with its equally black mouth. It pulled me backwards and I jolted onto my seat, the car upright again.
I was pulled up in front of the huge, wooden lodge my family and I were staying at. Colorful Christmas lights ran across the roof and windows. Right outside the main entrance, there was a Christmas tree, covered with shiny gold and red ornaments. Mary, in her winter coat, ran towards me and I weakly rolled down my window.
“Hey! I’m so glad you made it here safely. And you’re early, too!”
“Yeah… yeah, I brought something for you.” I searched my car, rummaging for the chocolate.
“Ooh, I love surprises.”
I felt myself getting frantic. The chocolate wasn’t on my suitcase, where I last saw it. It wasn’t in my bag either. It wasn’t on the floor and it wasn’t in the crack between the seats. I was still rattled from what happened earlier, with my car falling off the cliff. It just didn’t make any sense. I’d just pulled up here, but I didn’t remember making the rest of the drive to the lodge. Was this the afterlife? Was I a ghost now?
“I’m sorry, Mary. I got you some chocolate, but I can’t find it.”
“Oh, you’re the best.” Mary touched my shoulder, smiling. “It’s fine. I mean, it’s the thought that counts, you know?”
“Yeah, I just… I don’t know where it went.” I unbuckled my seat belt and kept on rummaging through my belongings. My hands trembled. My entire body was shaking.
“Come on, I’m sure you’ll find it later. You should see the rooms. The view is amazing!”
“No, I need to find the chocolate.” I sighed. “I don’t get it. Where could it have gone?”
Mary opened the car door and pulled me out. “Really, don’t worry about it. I can get chocolate anywhere.”
“Yeah,” I mumbled. “But I waited half an hour for it! I risked being late!”
“Well, it couldn’t have been that bad, since you’re twenty minutes early.”
I stiffened. “The drive must have been quicker than I expected, then.”
Even when the rest of our family came, I was quiet and reserved, mostly keeping to myself. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I had things to figure out.
The lodge was even prettier inside. There were festive wreaths and garlands everywhere I looked. The room I was sharing with Mary was nice, too. She was right about the good view. Right outside the window were snow-covered mountains everywhere you looked.
At two in the morning, I couldn’t keep it in any longer. I had been awake all night and knew Mary hadn’t slept a wink either.
“Mary,” I whispered.
She opened her eyes and stared at me sleepily.
“I have to tell you something.”
After I told her my story, she started laughing. I could see Mary’s face in the low light from the clock on the bedside table.
“What?” I snapped defensively.
“I love you, but you worry too much. You’re always paranoid.” Mary sighed. “Get some sleep. We’ll talk in the morning.”
I stare into the mirror. It’s been sixty years since the conversation with Mary, and the monster still haunts me every time I look in the mirror. Mary was wrong. I’ve learned to live with the monster, but my heart still skips a beat when I see it in a reflection.
I’m sick now. At first, I had weekly trips to the hospital, but I got tired of them. I’m ready to give up. I’m at peace with myself. But not completely. I have one more thing to do before I leave this world.
I close my eyes until I feel a familiar presence beside me. Eyes open now, I watch as the figure lifts its head, revealing its face for the first time. A smile creeps onto my old, wrinkled face with a mole on the left cheek as I stare into the monster’s old, wrinkled face, with a mole on the left cheek.