The deserted alley by Natalie M.

I was once a brave woman but I swore to myself that I would never walk at any deserted alley alone, especially at night. This was what happened.

It was late at night. I walked through a deserted alley, after work, as usual. I always walked through the alley as it was the short-cut to reach home. Walking towards home, I whistled cheerfully. Then, out of nowhere, I saw a human-like shadow falling against me. It was really rare that anyone, apart from me, would walk through this alley.

As I pretended to take something out of my purse, I stole a glance at the person from the corner of my eye. The person was a man with a sinister smirk plastered across his face. Petrified, my heart skipped a beat. From the man's expression, I could feel that he was up to something - something bad. Anxiety bubbled up inside me like soda water. Beads of perspiration matted around my temples. Being a little suspicious, I wondered if I should take the gamble and run away. But before I could run, I heard a voice.

"Hey, there! Where are you going?" the man bellowed.

I became as still as a statue in a trance. But I quickly recovered from the panic and tried to keep my composure. As I was about to make a turn, the man ran towards me and cornered me by the side of the alley.

"Hey, I am Jared. What's your name?" he asked, his eyes glinting with malice.

I did not answer. My knees went weak and my courage shrank. After the short silence, I cleared my throat, opened my mouth but swallowed my words again.

Jared -if that was his real name- was wearing a suit with a brown tie. As he walked closer to me, I noticed that he was holding a sharp silver knife in his hand.

I reeled back in trepidation, whimpering, "Don't! Please don't kill me!"

"Don't be scared. Just give me your purse and I will leave you unscathed," the man inched towards me, his eyes emanating threat.

I did not know why, as I was an inch from the death, I hesitated. Seeing my reaction, Jared brandished his knife in the air menacingly and I could feel the cold sharp end of the blade pressing against my stomach. I braced myself for the worst, but Jared sputtered angrily, growing impatient, "I am giving you another chance. Give me your purse!"

I reached out for my purse spontaneously. Fingers trembling, I handed my purse to him. I opened my mouth to speak but there was only a muffled cry in my throat. My entire body was trembling violently.

" Good," he praised me as his smile widened.

I was really reluctant to give him my purse, as I just got my October's salary that day. Despite having taken possession of my purse, he still made a small cut on my left arm.

Blood oozed out. He must have done that to slow me down so that I could not call the police. Jared ran away from me as fast as a cheetah and as he made a turn, he, together with my purse and my October salary, disappeared out of my sight.

That was the story of how I promised myself never to walk alone in that alley anymore. I realized that the outside world is dangerous and I should always be careful. I was taken it was my money that was taken, not my life!