Maria

Thunder boomed, lightning painted the sky, clouds cried tears of rain. She stood over her victim with a knife in her hand. Crimson red soaked the ground as her victim's life was fading away. Weeks it took to find the open opportunity to kill her prey. As for the murder scene, this is how it went.

Staying in the shadows is what she did best. It was one of her things to do when she was a child. The years of practice helped her to be one with the shadow and learned that a predator is always quiet when stalking their prey. Meeting him at the cafe was a special day for her. The way that he dressed on that day was a formal business suit. He ordered a cold brew with two shots of espresso. Ever since that day, she followed him to learn his routine. Every day she studied his body language. He was a well fit with average muscles, five foot ten inches of height, probably weighed about a hundred and sixty pounds. By her looks, she would not have a chance to kill him, but she did. She was trained for this by her Uncle, who isn't her Uncle. A stranger. Who killed her parents and took her in because he felt some kind remorse towards her.

The guy stopped under a light post looking behind him. His gut was telling him something, but he wasn't sure what it was. He called out a hello, waiting to see if something or someone was lurking in the shadow. She watched him shiver a chill from his body and telling himself to get a hold of himself as he continued on his way.

They were coming up a park, and now she needed his attention. Thunder rolled across the sky, shaking Earth with its rumbles. She knew there was a significant percentage of rain for the night. She hoped that her victim didn't bring an umbrella with him, and luck was on her side because he didn't have one with him. He stopped and looked up at the sky, cursing at it. Her chance was her to catch his attention.

"Excuse me, Sir? I have room for you under my umbrella."

"You can stay under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh, e...h" he started to sing, but one look at her facial expression, he stopped. He loosened his necktie, clearing his throat. "Sorry, bad joke. Thank you." He apologized to her while getting under the umbrella. The silence didn't settle with him as they heard the raindrops hit the umbrella and the ground.

"So, what's your name?" He asked, trying to start small talk. He thought it might calm his nerves. This woman, who offered him to walk under her umbrella, had a mysterious aura around her. It made him nervous that his senses were on high alert.

"My name doesn't matter to you, Henry." She stopped leaving him in the rain. The umbrella was now covering her face. He was soaked to the bone, shivering from the cold rain hitting him, and the creepy chills that alerted him that something was wrong. "How do you know my name?" He said in a small voice. It was more like a light whisper that was overpowered by the rain.

She smiled, lifting the umbrella to see her prey pale as a sheet paper. "I know everything about you, Henry." She took a step forward as he took a step back. "Where you live." She stepped forward again. "Where you work. The first time I saw you, you were at the cafe where I work. That was a special day for me. Cold-brew with two shots of espresso, Henry."

His eyes widen. "C-C-Cafe girl?" He stopped moving when he realized who she was. Million thought ran through his mind as everything became a blur to him. She was close enough to be where she wanted to be. Taking out the knife from her back, she stabs him in his right side. Pulling out the blade, she felt alive then she has the past weeks. She watched him, collect his hand to where she stabbed him. He pulled back one hand from his side to see the blood run off his fingers with the rain. Another clap of thunder echoed above them, followed by flashes of lightning.

She stabbed him again; this time, his senses kicked in when she pulled back from her stab. His hand on his wound; he fled, the best that he could do. Leaving a trail of blood as he walks. He could hear her footsteps against the rain, following him, keeping her eyes on her prize. She was going to enjoy this chase. He was helpless, limping, trying to hold onto things to keep him stable on his feet as he tried to stay ahead of her. What he didn't know about his predator was that she is handy with knives. She raised her hand, throwing the knife, watching it hit him in his back and making him fall to the wet ground. He crawled on the ground but wasn't fast enough. She grabbed hold of his ankle, pulling him back close to her, retrieving her knife. She turned him over while he screams and pleads for his life.

She stabbed him five more times in the chest, carved an M into his skin on his abdomen above his two wounds on his right side of his stomach, and under the five stab wounds to the chest. What she did was artwork to her. She admired it through the rain for a while, listening to his quiet suffering. Leaving the heart in one piece for her victims is her way of remorse. She also wants to hear them suffer while they bleed to death. Her Uncle taught her this to leave some sort of apology. He wasn't all cold-hearted, and he didn't raise her to be all cold-hearted either.

Thunder boomed, lightning painted the sky, clouds cried tears of rain. She stood over her victim with a knife in her hand. Crimson red soaked the ground as her victim's life was fading away. She turned her back on the dead body and walked home. Tomorrow was a start a new day for her—a new victim to pick out. Maria is who she is, and this is her story.

(Word Count:1061)