Writing Prompt

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 cooking she missed so much. Of course she felt guilty for leaving Mira behind, but it had to be done.

“So…” Harriet began, pausing her words to chew and swallow some of the dinner before continuing, “What did I miss when I was gone?” She asked lightheartedly with a small, forced smile, hoping to somewhat ease the ambiance of the moment.

The glower on Mira’s face deepened at the question, her hand beginning to clutch the end of the wooden table with a tight grip.

“Do you really have the fucking audacity to ask me that?” Mira barked, her question making Harriet sigh.

“I was trying to start-“

“Just shut up and eat.”

It became quiet afterwards, and Harriet’s mind was racing with thoughts as she stared off to the muted-blue wallpaper. “What do I even say to her if she clearly doesn’t want to talk to me?” She thought to herself before she cleared her throat and spoke again.

“Look, I get you’re angry at me, and you have every right to be upset…but I’m here now, and I really want to make it up to you. I-“

Before Harriet could finish her apology, Mira snapped and slammed her fists onto the table with a loud thud, the silverware clanking against the plates to the point where it was ear-splitting.

“You faked your death, left me alone for five fucking years in mourning, and now you decide to waltz back in here like nothing happened at all! How the hell am I supposed to accept your stupid apology when you left me?!” She retorted, and the fact that Mira brought up her “death” made Harriet wince.

“Yeah, but- I really had no choice, Mira. I was in danger.“

The woman tried to justify herself, keeping a calm, serious face so she wouldn’t make the conversation worse.

“So? You could’ve hidden here until it was okay! You didn’t have to leave me alone!”

Mira said angrily, her face flushed red and her hands on her hips.

“I’ve tried to tell you that you should’ve quit your job! I was trying to tell you that it’s too dangerous for you! None of this would’ve happened if you listened to me for once!”

The woman’s shoulders slumped when she noticed her wife’s expression, and she looked away as she yelled at her.

“I-I couldn’t quit that easily, and you know that. I’m not arguing about this anymore; I just want to move on from it and-”

“Do you really think I could forgive you so goddamn easily?!” Mira shouted, leaning forward and pointing a finger right in the woman’s face, “You’re lucky that I even let you back in my house and didn’t leave you to rot in the streets!”

“Both of us know that you wouldn’t do that…” Harriet thought, slowly moving her hand to rub her neck with a small grimace as she let her wife continue her protest.

“Words literally can’t even describe how much you hurt me; you stabbed me in the damn back and like made me waste so much energy on you! The fact that you couldn’t even trust me enough to tell me that you were okay until now is such a shitty move on your part, Harriet!”

With tears that slowly formed in her eyes as she yelled and scowled with rage, Mira finally cracked. She stormed out of the dining room, stopping up the stairs before slamming her bedroom door.

“No, wait!-” were the only words Harriet could utter, but it was too late; she was gone.

Once again, there was a strained silence throughout the entire house, which allowed Harriet to recollect her thoughts. As she sat at the dining table alone with her head in her hands and a frown on her face, Harriet contemplated about how absolutely horrible she felt for what she had to make her wife endure, even though she was just trying to save herself from someone who was threatening to take her life away. She messed up, even though she had no choice but to lie and fake her death. Maybe Mira was right about her job being way too dangerous for her, yet there’s nothing she could do about it anymore.

“What the hell am I supposed to do to make her feel better?” was the biggest question in her mind that kept repeating itself as she stared down at the table with empty eyes. Ultimately, she decided to give Mira some time to herself before speaking to her again.

About an hour later, Harriet wiped her hands off with the marshmallow white kitchen towel that hung from the oven handle, glancing around at the work she had done with a faint, hopeful smile. She had just finished cleaning the entire kitchen for her wife as a way to show that she’s does care about their relationship; It took her mind off of things for a while, and it filled her with a sense of nostalgia and bittersweet positivity to explore the home she hasn’t lived in in five years.

But then, the time had came, and with a deep breath, Harriet began to slowly climbed up the stairs, the boards creaking under her feet. Her hand was gripping onto the railing as her body tensed slightly, not knowing what to expect. Once she made it to her wife’s bedroom, she turned the doorknob and peeked her head in.

Mira’s head immediately turned to face the door when she heard it open, her teary, red eyes narrowing as she saw who was there.

“What the hell do you want?” She interrogated, shifting her seated position on her queen sized bed.

Harriet rubbed her arm and glanced away for a moment. “W-well, you know… I just wanted to tell you that I cleaned up the kitchen for you.” Harriet stuttered and sighed when she saw Mira roll her eyes, knowing that she had done the bare minimum for her wife’s forgiveness.

“You’re acting like I want you around right now.”

“Obviously you do, or else you wouldn’t have let me inside the house or fed me a dinner. And I really want to solve this damn problem already.” Harriet tried to sound firm, even though her mannersms weren’t matching with her tone at all. Getting irritated again, Mira started to retort.

“Oh my god, just shut-“

“Do you even want to save our marriage?”

When Harriet cut her wife’s words off, there was a a long silence that followed as Mira was thinking to herself, a tiny sniffle coming from her due to her previous tears. Just like Harriet, she had been pondering to herself about everything while sitting in her bedroom, analyzing how she felt when all of the initial anger and tears left her. Then, she decided to come clean…

“S- Yeah, I do, even though you make me so goddamn pissed, I’ll try to give you a second chance…”

With a bit of surprise, Harriet’s eyebrows raised, genuinely expecting this conversation to go south. Her mouth opened to speak, but then Mira talked over her.

“I want you to actually listen to me and communicate with me whenever something is wrong. You can’t just ditch me; like, the least you could’ve done was tell me that you had to fake your death and leave for a while.” She added, making Harriet nod with a tiny smile.

“Of course, I promise I won’t let you down again, okay?”

A skeptical sigh escaped Mira, but she nodded her head as well

“Okay, fine..”

Many months passed, the relationship between Harriet and Mira gradually healed, which took an enormous amount of effort. Their relationship was much more open than before, and as her old occupation still thought she was dead, she could find a new, safer one to support the two. Once their marriage was mostly mended, they lived together with contentment.

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 that’s when I saw Judge Judy practicing law It gave me the inspiration to go to law school It gave me the inspiration to not drown myself in a pool I got my degree Shouted one two three And jumped off a cliff And that was the day that Harriet returned And I’m glad she did because now I have learned That I was not meant to be a boyfriend or a lawyer I was just meant to die in a sewer.

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 Harriet I’ll go to her”

I felt her soft hands touch mine. Leading me to a bright light in the hallway. I heard faint crying as I walked hand in hand with my Harriet.

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…” “I think she got into an accident…” “At least we don’t have to deal with that stupid freak anymore…” Some girls were worried, others were glad, some made fun of it all, and the majority just didn’t care or didn’t know how to feel. I was worried. Despite all the things people said about her, Harriet was a close friend of mine. And now…

“H-Harriet..?”

She stood at my doorway. Her skin was pale, her eyes wide and scared. Her once beautiful silky back hair was now knotted and wild and.. bloody..? She had no shoes on and wore only a plain grey dress that was also drenched in blood. I could see cuts on her legs and arms, there was one scar that ran along her cheek.

“Harriet?” I tried asking again. She didn’t respond.

The rumours around school got worse. People started theorising she was kidnapped or… Some girls continued to laugh and joke. It made me sick. “Kidnapped? Hah! Don’t be daft who would take an ugly pig like her?” They would burst into fits of giggles. God it made me sick. Who would joke about things like this?

“Harriet?”

No response. Suddenly, she fell forward and I caught her. “Harriet?!” Crap! I held her close and grabbed my phone from the side. The blood from her cuts covered me. I felt like throwing up. As quickly as possible, I dialled 999. How did she even find my address? She’s only ever been to my house once or twice before so how the hell did she find me? “Harriet? Harriet, stay with me. Please. Crap!” A tear falls down my cheek.

“E-Eliz… a.. be.. th…” Harriet mumbled. Her voice was quiet, weak and croaky. It hurt to see her like this. “Harriet? Yes! It’s me! Stay awake for me okay?” Hope ran through my body. Harriet only managed a slow, small nod but it was enough. That was when the police came in, an ambulance waiting outside. It must have looked like I did it from the amount of her blood that was on my clothes.

It took ages for Harriet to recover. Turns out her arm was broken and her ankle was fractured. The police interrogated me and I told them everything honestly. Once Harriet was better she came home with me. She told me her parents kicked her out and.. a few other things I’d rather not mention. She got better and brighter and soon enough she was Harriet again. Her eyes became that bright blue I remember and her hair returned to its silky form. Her skin regained colour and most of her cuts healed while others stayed as permanent scars. Everyday I tell her how beautiful she is and that the scars only add to that beauty. I tell her she means the world to me and I won’t ever let anything happen to her.

Harriet smiles now. She’s happy again. I think deep down it still hurts her but she definitely feels safer and I’m glad.

The rumours stopped but some girls still whispered. I could tell it bothered Harriet. I tell her that their opinions don’t matter. They can talk all they like because they are insignificant compared to her. That always makes Harriet smile.

    Me and Harriet. Together again.

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 my hands that felt like it’d never come off. So tell me why when I walk into the town’s only grocery store today I see her face?

At first, I thought it was my mind playing a cruel trick. The anniversary of the life-changing event was lurking about and whenever that time came around…I got different. It was like the guilt transformed my brain into my own personal torture chamber. But it’s never her face that I see. No, it’s always that same bloody face that pleaded to be spared…Crystal. That was her name.

She was going to be a doctor. Everyone in town loved her and…it shouldn’t have happened. I almost fall in the store but steady myself using one of the shelves. I take a deep breath. It’s okay, I think. No one has ever suspected us. And why would they? I was Lisa Walker, once salutatorian then valedictorian after Crystal’s unfortunate demise. I was going places and one day I was going to leave this town. But it never happened. All because of Harriet.

Harriet was considered trouble because her daddy was trouble. She was the one parents warned their children not to talk to or befriend. We used to be best friends and everyone said I was a great influence on her. No one expected Harriet to even graduate. The elders of our town had labeled her as a future teen mother as soon as she hit puberty. Under my influence, however, she didn’t just graduate, no, she ended up succeeding in life. Who would think that two success stories would ruin it all just before graduation? No one. And that’s how it needs to stay. That’s why I stayed.

Every now and then I go and check that spot. The spot where we buried her. I apologize to her till I’m sobbing and beg for her forgiveness. I don’t think I’ll ever receive it because I’m cursed to relive her distorted face every single anniversary of her death. I go back to focusing on my grocery shopping, deciding to dismiss the idea of Harriet being back in town. She wouldn’t break our agreement especially when she had it all now.

Every now and then I look her up and see photos she’s posted of her lavish vacations with whatever beau she was wooing that month. Her text along with her photos was always inspirational but they all read like self-brags to me. I was happy for her of course. After all, I was the one who sacrificed everything so she could have the life she dreamed of. But did she have to be so showy about it?

I’m walking down the bread aisle looking for the usual brand I buy when I see I wasn’t mistaken earlier at all. There, comparing two loaves of bread in her hands is Harriet. I become frozen with fear and betrayal.

Everything felt like it was crashing down around me.

“Harriet?” I say my voice oddly raspy.

She looks up, turning her head. Her eyes light up when she sees me.

“Hey, Lisa!” She greets, her tone warm like she’s greeting an old friend.

We were old friends but what we did and promised had erased that all. I walked closer to her seeing all the differences in her actual appearance compared to the ones she posted online. There’s only one consistency between the two personas she presents which is her near-perfect makeup that looks tattooed to her face. But her eyes didn’t look as bright and big as they did online. She had laugh lines and moles that you would never see in her vacation photos in Italy.

“Why are you here?” I ask, my tone accusatory.

She looks around, a bit nervous.

“I have some business here,” she says, her voice loud.

I look around wondering what the theatrics were for. But then she places both loaves of bread in her hands back on the shelf. She turns, moving towards me. And then does something unexpected.

She hugs me. I don’t react to the hug becoming a stiff board. She whispers something in my ear that almost makes me faint.

“Did you hear there’s been a break on Crystal’s disappearance?”

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 evening, but she’s… I’m…

Have you had other reports from parents whose children have returned? You have? What have they said? My own account of what’s happening? Oh. Uh…

It’s everything, Inspector. The way she talks. The way she phrases things. Her accent. The way she looks at me, with such malevolence. I don’t feel safe in her presence. That’s not my daughter, Inspector, it’s not.

Our pet rabbit this morning. I found him in his hutch, dead. His neck had been broken.

Yes! I think it was my daughter! She’s not… right.

Where is she now? She’s in the garden. She’s just sitting there, staring into space. It’s like she’s in some kind or trance or something. Been like that for hours.

I tried to get her attention, to talk to her. First time I tried, she snarled at me and told me to leave her.

“Leave me be!” she said. What child phrases things that way?

Then since that time, every time I tried to talk to her she hasn’t responded. She just looks right through me. It’s like she has left. She’s somewhere else. Anywhere but in that body.

Inspector, something is very wrong. Are the other parents reporting…?

Oh, goodness. How many?

I… I need to sit down.

Inspector, what do I do? This child sitting out there - that is not my child. And I… I am frightened of it - her - whatever that is out there. It’s like it oozes pure evil out of its pores. You can feel mal-intent coming from it as soon as you get within a few paces from it/

What did it do with my child, Inspector? Please! Help me! What did it do? I need to find her. She must be somewhere.

No! That is not my child!

You see it - her - through the window there. Go see for yourself. You’ll understand when you get near her.

But Inspector, don’t go too close. Just… don't.

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, we sighed in relief. The bully would go. Finally. No more hair-pulling, toy stealing and food spitting.

After she left, the atmosphere got much lighter. The girls now played without having to look behind their shoulders to check if Harriet was around. But now she would come back and we couldn’t help but fear that day. What could possibly have happened? Was she also a bully at her adoptive family’s home? I couldn’t think of anything else.

The day finally arrived.

“Now, I want you all to be nice to Harriet, you hear me, girls?” Mrs Compton, our director, sternly said to us. And I wondered why we had to be nice to a bully.

When Harriet walked in, her head was bowed. Her eyes were red as when you’ve been crying all day. She was thinner too and had bruises on her naked arms. Curiosity was burning in my throat but I dared ask no questions. She did look very disturbed.

“We are all so sorry for our misjudgment and mistake, my dear.” Mrs Compton apologised to her, her face contorted in remorse, shame and pity. “Please go to your room, we left it nice for you. Please also know that we have reported the abuse to the police and your abuser is under arrest. We will do the best we can to make sure your court sessions will go smoothly.”

My chin dropped. “Has the bully been bullied?” I wondered. Had he or she also stolen her toys and spat in her soup? After Harriet retired to her bedroom, Mrs Compton told us some things about abuse. Things that my six year old mind couldn’t yet clearly grasp. Only a few years later did I understand what she meant by “No one, no even me, are allowed to touch certain parts of your body without your consent.”

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 just in my head? Is this some cruel joke? Is this my guilt? My guilt that threatens to haunt me everyday for whAt I’ve done? I thought you saw me too. Our eyes locked and you smiled at me like the first day we met in high school. Long before everything turned to shit, you were my only friend in the whole world. When Joe called me fat you were the person that dried my tears. When I shared my dreams with you, you were the one that encouraged me to chase my dreams. You looked at me through those light blue eyes and you saw my soul! True sisters in every way....until the lies started. First you would lie about where you were going, but I knew. I knew you were sneaking off to see Joe the asshole that didn’t know how to love. How could you love him? I thought I knew you! I thought I knew everything about you! Then you started to lie about hanging out with OUR friends without me. Why did I deserve this? Maybe I was too needy? That’s what my mom always told me. She would say “ darlin’ you just love too hard! You force others to keep their distance. You’re too needy and no one likes that. Therefore, no one could ever love you!” She was always sharing words of wisdom for her eldest daughter. Even when I came to her and shared with her that I had been raped I never got the understanding and love that I so craved, until you showed me kindness. I always end up ruining any relationship in my life though. Sometimes it by jealousy, my “neediness”, paranoia and my agonizing need to please others by being someone I’m not. I close my eyes and count to ten but you’re still there. I follow a safe distance away not to be too noticeable. You smile at everyone that passes you. I catch a whiff of your perfume that lingers in the air. You always loved clean scents. Warm cotton by clean was your favorite. I get closer trying to close the distance between us now because I just have to know. I have to know if it’s truly you! If it is truly you Harriet then who the hell did we bury that cold October night? I reach out to touch your arm and you startle easily. Turning to ask what I wanted I realized in that moment i wasn’t even sure what to say!

“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 the popular kids at school. They were studded with branded accessories from head to toe - Hermès, Chanel, Prada were just few of the bigs names I spotted. “Of course, birds of a feather....” I thought. “What about her?” I asked Jan expecting her to tell me that she was some celebrity or famous person that I ought to know.

“She used to be my friend’s brother, Harry” she replied. I looked at Jan blankly and it took a while before it dawned upon me what she meant. I studied the lady’s face and physique again. I would never have been able to tell she was once a man. Her features looked so delicate and there was no indication of an Adam’s apple.

Jan told me how Harry had always known he was a girl at heart. Growing up, his Asian parents never encouraged nor acknowledged his feminine fantasies. They bought him stereotypical masculine toys and dressed him in blue. Harry had never fit in but he didn’t even try to. He was most himself when in his sister’s dresses and mother’s stilettos. When his teachers asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, much to their discomfort, he always unflinchingly replied “a lady”. The moment he turned 21, Harry arranged for his transgender rebirth in Thailand. In the nine months he was gone Harry had multiple surgeries to transition into Harriet.

Harriet’s return brought great discomfort and shame to her parents. Her transformation was too radical for them to come to terms with. Being their only son, they had hoped to see him carry their family name. Harriet’s sister on the other hand embraced the change and made her the maid of honor at her wedding.

Long after Harriet and her friends had left, Jan and I continued talking about her. Her courage in the face of the conservative society we lived in was something to be greatly admired. “To Harriet, for the challenges she went through to stay authentic to herself” I said as Jan and I clinked our glasses of cold water.

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 heard them whispering before they went to bed “thank you Harriet for setting us free”. Harriet’s mother and father searched the woods and all around the city for clues, but there was no trace.

Harriet was surrounded by wooden barrels. Moving each barrel towards the slope and giving it a big push. The barrels stopped with a bang. The ship was full. The chains clanked on the floor as she walked across the ship, closing the door. She looked up at the balcony seeing the older man dressed in a dark brown robe with a list in his hand. Wiping the dirt from her face she continued in her way to finish her job. When Harriet bolted the ropes down, all was set . “Harriet” a whisper was heard above deck. Harriet walked up the creaky staircase on top of the ship. She saw her friend Amy. Amy waved to Harriet before pointing to the back to the ship.

Harriet did not sleep, she waited for the right moment. Once all was asleep Harriet moved slowly to the end of the ship. Amy was waiting. “What is it?” Harriet asks confused looking at Amy. “Remember that night you saved all the children" Harriet whispers. Harriet nods in response as Amy hands over paperwork. “This is your way out” Amy says before running towards the life boat. “What do you mean?” Harriet asks following Amy. Amy smiles turning to Harriet. Harriet shrieks in alarm as Amy picks Harriet up and shoves her in the life boat. “That piece of paper is the only thing you need. Get to the checkpoint, show the paper and you can get home” Amy says before cutting the rope making the life boat crash in the water. Harriet holds tightly to the folded piece of paper as the water pushes her away. Watching as the boat becomes impossible to see.

Harriet awoke in the life boat the next say. However, she found that the boat was not moving. Harriet went to the edge and saw sand, looking up she saw a light house. Harriet traveled for days before arriving at a check point. Once she got to the front of a the line, she showed the guard her paperwork. The guard looked over at Harriet before saying “where yee be goin brat?”. “Earth” Harriet said quietly not looking at the blue skinned guard. The guard moved to the traveling machine, stamping the letter as the portal opened. Once Harriet set foot into the portal, her world began to spin. She was found.