The Night of the Party
Sarah sat up on her bed, breathing heavily. Perspiration dripped from her forehead. She looked around; all was pitch black. Fumbling about she found her phone and checked the time. It was a quarter to 4 in the morning. She knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. But she had gotten used to waking up scared and shocked in the middle of the night. At least this time it was only 2 hours short of her actual waking time.
Since Jessica had passed away, Sarah hardly slept well. The death of her best friend had turned the jovial and bubbly girl into a manic, depressed soul. Sarah hardly spoke to anyone anymore. She would quietly go about doing her job, which also showed signs of neglect. Her party life came to a stand still. Her weekends now included psychiatric counselling sessions.
She remembered very well the night of 10th June. They had gone out partying as usual. And although the clubs they frequented were filled with drunk men and women alike, they hardly indulged in more than two or three drinks. They just wanted to dance and have a good time.
That night wasn't different. The same routine activities. Sarah didn't notice anything unusual until Jessica asked her to stay with her the night, saying she had something to tell her. Even then Sarah wasn't expecting anything like what she had to digest.
Sarah followed her friend into her house. There was something different about the house that night. Sarah had been there a hundred times in the past but tonight there was an eerie disposition about the place. Groping about she tried to find the light switch, wondering why her friend had not turned on the light.
It took Sarah a while to find the switch. She mouthed a 'Thank God' and turned it on. The entire place looked neat and clean unlike usual. Sarah couldn't remember the last time she walked into this apartment when it was clean. Not thinking much about it, she walked towards her friend's room. She was a little uncomfortable of the silence that prevailed in the apartment. Jessica was usually a talker, even more so when she had had a drink or two but tonight all was calm.
She opened the door to Jessica's room. At first the darkness blinded her for a couple seconds. When her eyes adjusted, she at once saw what changed the course of her life.
Jessica's body was hanging from the fan. Sarah hurriedly got up on a stool believing Jessica wasn't dead yet as she has only been in that position for a while. On getting close however, she realised Jessica's body was cold and stiff. Rigor mortis had set in, which meant she was dead for a while now.
As she turned and ran from the apartment, crying out loud in shock, grief and fear, she couldn't help but wonder, who accompanied her to the party that evening?