It was an awkward dinner, and the mood of the room was tense. Silence enveloped the entire dining room with the exception of the shiny, metal silverware softly clanking on the glass plates. Mira was glaring at Harriet from the other side of the wooden table, a noticeable scowl on her face. Meanwhile, Harriet ate her plate of food quietly, glancing away from her angry wife while trying to focus on ...

The day Harriet returned was the day my will go live died

The day Harriet returned was the day I cried

Then I saw Harriet, beautiful and ugly

But then I realized she would never want me cuz I am super fugly

I waited all day to ask her out

But then she told me she was just using me for clout

She was a tik tok star and only loved me for my money

So later I decided to drown myself in honey

However th...

The day Harriet returned I was in bed. Surrounded by my daughter and sons, talking to me.

My loving, passionate Harriet came to me with a smile on her face. The girl and woman I fell in love with, was there to see me. See me again.

I reached my hand out to her but my son took it and I said:

“Your mother is waiting for me. I’m tired. We’ll see each other soon’ my voice began to fade.

“I promised...

Cold. Windy. Dark. Her hair blew around her as she stood in my doorway.

“H-Harriet..?”

Harriet Bond went missing 2 months ago. No one knew why but rumours spiralled in school.

“I heard she ran away…”

“She ran off with a boy from the village…”

“I heard she was murdered…”

“She just skiving. We know she’s a freak so she would do this sort of thing…”

“Did you hear? She apparently killed herself…”

...

Have you ever had a secret that keeps you chained to a place? Like, you had a chance to have your dream life but then you couldn’t all because of one stupid mistake. I was the one who stayed behind and on that night we had promised to never see each other again. It’s been ten years since our hands touched and we shook them in agreement. It’s been ten years since I had to scrub blood and dirt from ...

Oh, thank goodness you’re here, Inspector. I honestly don’t know what to do.

Please, please do come in.

Yes. About Harriet. She’s… different.

Ever since the village children returned to us, something has been very wrong. That child - it’s not her.

What do I mean?

It’s just - not her. Well, yes, it’s her body. But that’s not my child. I know it’s not!

I know she only just returned yesterday e...

I couldn’t say I was looking forward to that day. Harriet was the eldest and, being taller and stronger, she loved bullying the smaller children - like me... - in the orphanage. Even our caretakers seemed to be afraid of her for some reason because Harriet often escaped scot-free. Or maybe they didn’t have the courage to scold her because she was so pretty. When we heard about her being adopted, w...

The day Harriet returned I thought..”how could this be? I killed you! I killed you with my bare hands! Was it all a dream? Am I truly that mad?” I watched you as you crossed the street, so nonchalantly. Your hair flowing in the wind as if you were in a cover girl commercial. How dare you look that carefree after the hell you put me through! After all the fucking lies! Who are you? Are you ju...

“You see that lady over there?” Jan pointed out an elegantly dressed woman with immaculately manicured nails sitting under an umbrella at the cafe we were at. It was an exceptionally hot day and I was glad we managed to get a table indoors where there was air-conditioning.

The lady outdoors was chatting animatedly with two girlfriends and all three of them gave the impression that they were once...

There were missing posters all over the walls. Pictures of children piled over each other. One of these pictures was Harriet. The 12-12-12 was the day all the missing children returned. All but Harriet. The day all the children returned was the day that Harriet went missing. All 56 children came back. None of them spoke a word about their abduction. They would not speak to anyone. Their parents he...