Friendship

I was walking back home from school when I noticed an injured girl around my age. I approached her and tried to help, grabbing some bandages I had in my bag. We started talking while I was taking care of her, and because of that, we ended up getting to know each other a little.

Her mom beat her until she looked like this. She was running away from home, going towards a friend's house but lost strength in the middle of the way. After I helped, she started to feel better. She said "thank you" and went away.

I went home, feeling good that I helped someone even though I was very worried about the girl situation.

On the next day I saw her again on the same street. She was looking better, didn't have any new injuries. She was looking left and right, like she was searching for someone, until she saw me and approached me.

We said "hi" to each other and after it she gave me a gift, saying that it was because of what I did yesterday. It was a grey scarf with some red details. I accepted the scarf and she smiled. It was the first time that I saw her smile. I asked if she was doing better and she replied with "I guess". I think she didn't return home yesterday. I said "bye" and continued my path.

On the next day, there she was again. It looked like she was waiting for me. On the following day, I encountered her again, and just like before, it looked like she was waiting for me. This kept happening, and because of it, we started a friendship. I think my good deed that day really touched her heart. I felt kind of bad for not being able to help her with her mother. The only thing I could do was hope that it wouldn't get worse.

On some days, when we met, she gave me a gift. The first one was a scarf, the next was a necklace, and after that a clock. I told her that she didn't need to give me gifts to keep seeing me, but she said that it was her way of repaying what I had done. I couldn't refuse because of the smile she had when she gave me the gifts. It made me happy.

No matter if it was raining or sunny, she would be there, waiting for me. She probably waited for me even on days I didn’t go to school. I felt kind of bad for making her wait on a day when I wouldn't appear. This wouldn’t have happened if she had had a phone.

Two weeks passed.

Police tape was all around the street where we used to meet.

The girl wasn't there. She had been there every day, but the day the police appeared, she disappeared.

I waited to see if she was going to appear, but there were no signs of her. I really wanted to meet her again.

After standing on that same street for days, one of the cops approached me.

He asked me why I kept waiting on that same street every day. I told him that I was waiting for a friend, and then he said it would be better if I didn’t come back to that street anymore. A place very close to that street had been the scene of a murder, and because of that, it was dangerous. Since I was already there, the cop asked me some questions to see if I knew anything about what had happened, but I had no idea. The last thing he did was show me a photo.

It was a photo of the girl.

I got scared but I tried my best to hide it like I didn't know anything about the girl. The cop said I was free to go, so I went home.

The photo of the girl was on a wanted poster. She had killed her own mother, and the injuries on her body were the result of her mother fighting for her life before dying.

When I reached home, there was a paper on my door.

"Thank you for taking care of all the evidence."

I realized everything when I read that. The red details on the grey scarf were blood. The necklace, the clock, and everything else were from the crime scene. Everything was from her house. The cops would never think of searching the house of a random person, and because of that, the evidence would never be found and the girl would never be found as well.

I thought of doing something about it, but before I could do anything, I was paralyzed by fear. The door of my house was slowly opening.

I live alone.

Behind the door was the girl, smiling at me. The same smile as always.