WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.480 --> 00:00:06.080
<v Speaker 1>I was always a bit of a party animal, only

2
00:00:06.120 --> 00:00:08.279
<v Speaker 1>stopped going to clubs and bars every night once I

3
00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:11.919
<v Speaker 1>got engaged. Once the engagement fell through, I went right

4
00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:14.919
<v Speaker 1>back to my old habits, dancing and drinking whole nights

5
00:00:14.919 --> 00:00:17.760
<v Speaker 1>away and taking just about every club drug you can

6
00:00:17.800 --> 00:00:20.320
<v Speaker 1>think of. I was on my first night of clubbing

7
00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:23.519
<v Speaker 1>without my fiance sending me a hundred texts asking where

8
00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:26.399
<v Speaker 1>I was, and that knew that bachelor's life was the

9
00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:30.519
<v Speaker 1>life for me. The feeling of blissful freedom wouldn't last, though.

10
00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:33.200
<v Speaker 1>One day I was having fun at a night club

11
00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:35.200
<v Speaker 1>as usual, with a new girl I met at a

12
00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:38.640
<v Speaker 1>different club a few nights prior. We'd already down quite

13
00:00:38.640 --> 00:00:40.840
<v Speaker 1>a few cocktails and we were both more than a

14
00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:43.679
<v Speaker 1>little bit tipsy. She suggested that we have a go

15
00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:46.719
<v Speaker 1>at dancing. I knew it was a bad idea. My

16
00:00:46.840 --> 00:00:49.439
<v Speaker 1>vision was blurry, and my stomach was one sudden move

17
00:00:49.439 --> 00:00:53.079
<v Speaker 1>away from emptying itself. Nevertheless, I couldn't turn down a

18
00:00:53.079 --> 00:00:56.560
<v Speaker 1>cute girl's invitation to dance, just on principle alone. We

19
00:00:56.679 --> 00:00:58.719
<v Speaker 1>had a good time dancing with each other under the

20
00:00:58.719 --> 00:01:01.600
<v Speaker 1>flashing strobe lights of the club. Things were getting a

21
00:01:01.600 --> 00:01:04.640
<v Speaker 1>little hot and heavy, between us for a moment there,

22
00:01:04.840 --> 00:01:07.159
<v Speaker 1>I thought I might actually get lucky that night, if

23
00:01:07.200 --> 00:01:09.959
<v Speaker 1>you know what I mean. At one point, she took

24
00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:12.760
<v Speaker 1>me by the hand and started pulling more suggestive dance

25
00:01:12.799 --> 00:01:16.280
<v Speaker 1>moves with me as her partner. I thought I'd hit

26
00:01:16.319 --> 00:01:19.280
<v Speaker 1>the jackpie. But before I could get too happy, I

27
00:01:19.359 --> 00:01:21.200
<v Speaker 1>noticed something from the corner of my eye that made

28
00:01:21.200 --> 00:01:24.480
<v Speaker 1>me stop dancing. I turned my head and saw her,

29
00:01:25.120 --> 00:01:27.599
<v Speaker 1>standing alone in a dark corner of the club. Was

30
00:01:27.640 --> 00:01:31.079
<v Speaker 1>my ex fiance. She was pale and filthy. The white

31
00:01:31.079 --> 00:01:33.480
<v Speaker 1>cloth of the dress you wore was tattered and covered

32
00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:36.680
<v Speaker 1>in dirty The heat in my body drained away, replaced

33
00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:39.000
<v Speaker 1>by a chill of fear that bit right into my bones.

34
00:01:39.599 --> 00:01:44.239
<v Speaker 1>What's wrong, asked the girl I was with. It's nothing,

35
00:01:44.640 --> 00:01:47.159
<v Speaker 1>I told her, just had a little too much to drink,

36
00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:52.000
<v Speaker 1>that's all. Ah. She sounded disappointed. Well, that's a shame.

37
00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:54.920
<v Speaker 1>I was hoping we could dance for a bit longer.

38
00:01:55.480 --> 00:01:57.879
<v Speaker 1>You want to call me a cab No, I'm good.

39
00:01:58.280 --> 00:02:00.400
<v Speaker 1>I'll just walk back. I could do with some fresh

40
00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:03.280
<v Speaker 1>air anyways. I stumbled out of the club, while the

41
00:02:03.280 --> 00:02:05.599
<v Speaker 1>girl I was hoping to go home with stayed behind

42
00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:08.879
<v Speaker 1>to keep drinking alone. A girl like her probably won't

43
00:02:08.879 --> 00:02:10.800
<v Speaker 1>stay alone for long in a place like that. Though

44
00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:13.360
<v Speaker 1>I cursed myself for missing my chance to score just

45
00:02:13.400 --> 00:02:16.400
<v Speaker 1>because of something that happened in my past. It seemed

46
00:02:16.439 --> 00:02:19.159
<v Speaker 1>like my ex fiance was still holding me back even

47
00:02:19.199 --> 00:02:21.599
<v Speaker 1>after I cut her out of my life. I walked

48
00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:24.520
<v Speaker 1>through the empty streets, the alcohol still not fully flushed

49
00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:27.199
<v Speaker 1>out of my system, yet my blurred vision made it

50
00:02:27.240 --> 00:02:29.400
<v Speaker 1>hard for me to see anything around me, while my

51
00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:31.719
<v Speaker 1>splitting headache made it hard for me to care much

52
00:02:31.719 --> 00:02:34.039
<v Speaker 1>about it. I must have looked like the sort of

53
00:02:34.120 --> 00:02:36.879
<v Speaker 1>wondering drunkard parents would warn their teenagers about when going

54
00:02:36.919 --> 00:02:39.680
<v Speaker 1>outside at night, the sort of guy you'd crossed the

55
00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:42.759
<v Speaker 1>street to avoid. At one point, I tripped over an

56
00:02:42.840 --> 00:02:46.039
<v Speaker 1>uneven towel on the sidewalk. I managed to steady myself

57
00:02:46.080 --> 00:02:48.400
<v Speaker 1>in time not to fall on my face, but all

58
00:02:48.439 --> 00:02:51.520
<v Speaker 1>the booze I drunk splashed around in my stomach. I

59
00:02:51.520 --> 00:02:53.800
<v Speaker 1>felt a burning sensation rising from the pit of my

60
00:02:53.840 --> 00:02:56.960
<v Speaker 1>stomach and up into my esophagus. I lurched forward with

61
00:02:57.000 --> 00:02:59.240
<v Speaker 1>a wretch. I chipped my hand over my mouth to

62
00:02:59.280 --> 00:03:01.439
<v Speaker 1>keep my mouth from vomiting as I fought back my

63
00:03:01.479 --> 00:03:04.280
<v Speaker 1>own gag reflex. I couldn't hold it back at the

64
00:03:04.400 --> 00:03:07.280
<v Speaker 1>end and scrambled towards the closest trash can to throw up.

65
00:03:07.800 --> 00:03:09.759
<v Speaker 1>I ran into an alleyway that led to a dead

66
00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:12.240
<v Speaker 1>end and threw open the lid of the nearest trash can.

67
00:03:12.879 --> 00:03:15.919
<v Speaker 1>My headache somewhat subsided after I emptied everything I drank

68
00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:19.439
<v Speaker 1>that night into that trash can. Slowly, but surely, my

69
00:03:19.479 --> 00:03:22.560
<v Speaker 1>normal vision returned to me as well. I brushed myself

70
00:03:22.599 --> 00:03:25.439
<v Speaker 1>off and got ready to leave the alleyway. I wanted

71
00:03:25.479 --> 00:03:27.439
<v Speaker 1>to take a good long nap at home to forget

72
00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:30.120
<v Speaker 1>what I'd seen at the club. Maybe then I could

73
00:03:30.199 --> 00:03:32.319
<v Speaker 1>actually enjoy the next time I went to the club.

74
00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:35.360
<v Speaker 1>I turned around to walk out of the alleyway, only

75
00:03:35.400 --> 00:03:38.120
<v Speaker 1>to see something that froze me in my tracks. My

76
00:03:38.240 --> 00:03:40.840
<v Speaker 1>ex fiance was standing at the entrance of the alleyway,

77
00:03:41.080 --> 00:03:44.199
<v Speaker 1>blocking my only exit. She was wearing the same white

78
00:03:44.280 --> 00:03:46.319
<v Speaker 1>dress she wore back at the club, but now that

79
00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:49.520
<v Speaker 1>my vision was clearer, I could tell it was actually

80
00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:52.919
<v Speaker 1>a full blown wedding dress, the same one she intended

81
00:03:52.919 --> 00:03:55.319
<v Speaker 1>to wear at our wedding and the same one she

82
00:03:55.439 --> 00:03:59.719
<v Speaker 1>wore when I permanently ended our relationship. You promised me,

83
00:04:00.439 --> 00:04:05.120
<v Speaker 1>she said, in a raspy voice. You promised, you promised

84
00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:08.360
<v Speaker 1>you'd be with me forever. I didn't know what to

85
00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:11.759
<v Speaker 1>say or what to do. Panicked, I stumbled backwards and

86
00:04:11.800 --> 00:04:14.400
<v Speaker 1>fell with my eyes still fixed on that ghastly visage

87
00:04:14.400 --> 00:04:17.240
<v Speaker 1>of a woman I once loved. Pain shot through my

88
00:04:17.240 --> 00:04:20.000
<v Speaker 1>body as I landed on the hard cobblestone, but it

89
00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:22.519
<v Speaker 1>was nothing compared to the terror that gripped in my heart.

90
00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:25.759
<v Speaker 1>With no options left, I backed up against the wall

91
00:04:25.800 --> 00:04:28.800
<v Speaker 1>of the dead end and closed my eyes. Tears trickled

92
00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:31.199
<v Speaker 1>down my cheeks. I prayed that I was just on

93
00:04:31.240 --> 00:04:33.639
<v Speaker 1>a bad trip from something I took back at the club.

94
00:04:34.199 --> 00:04:36.240
<v Speaker 1>I don't know how long I was there, but by

95
00:04:36.279 --> 00:04:38.959
<v Speaker 1>the time I finally gathered the courage to open my eyes,

96
00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:42.839
<v Speaker 1>it was morning and my ex fiancee was nowhere to

97
00:04:42.839 --> 00:04:45.240
<v Speaker 1>be seen. I hurried back to my house that day

98
00:04:45.399 --> 00:04:48.240
<v Speaker 1>and went straight to the backyard. I grabbed a shovel

99
00:04:48.279 --> 00:04:51.079
<v Speaker 1>from the shed and started digging, Determined not to let

100
00:04:51.079 --> 00:04:53.360
<v Speaker 1>the memory of my ex fiance hold me back from

101
00:04:53.399 --> 00:04:57.040
<v Speaker 1>living my life. I told myself that was all she was,

102
00:04:57.399 --> 00:05:00.360
<v Speaker 1>a bad memory, meant to be forgotten. Trum and mine

103
00:05:00.439 --> 00:05:03.000
<v Speaker 1>must have conjured her up back at the club. There

104
00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:04.560
<v Speaker 1>was no way it could have been her stalking me

105
00:05:04.600 --> 00:05:07.439
<v Speaker 1>at the club, because I knew exactly where she was.

106
00:05:08.199 --> 00:05:11.639
<v Speaker 1>After all, I was the one who buried her. The

107
00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:13.920
<v Speaker 1>blade of my shovel hit something hard within the dirt.

108
00:05:14.519 --> 00:05:16.879
<v Speaker 1>I tossed my shovel away and roked away the dirt

109
00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:20.199
<v Speaker 1>with my bare hands. Still lying there in the shallow

110
00:05:20.279 --> 00:05:23.120
<v Speaker 1>grave I dug months ago was the rotting corpse of

111
00:05:23.160 --> 00:05:26.079
<v Speaker 1>my ex fiance. She was still wearing the dress she

112
00:05:26.079 --> 00:05:28.360
<v Speaker 1>bought for her wedding, though it was riddled with holes

113
00:05:28.360 --> 00:05:31.800
<v Speaker 1>made by hundreds of withering worms. Maggot's had eaten away

114
00:05:31.839 --> 00:05:34.360
<v Speaker 1>most of her head and face, exposing the cracked, open

115
00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:37.360
<v Speaker 1>skull she got the night I killed her. I breathed

116
00:05:37.360 --> 00:05:40.120
<v Speaker 1>a sigh of relief. If she was still here rotting,

117
00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:42.120
<v Speaker 1>there was no way it could have been her stalking

118
00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:45.600
<v Speaker 1>me out at the club. Right My blood ran cold

119
00:05:45.600 --> 00:05:47.600
<v Speaker 1>when I felt the foul breath of something dead and

120
00:05:47.680 --> 00:05:50.600
<v Speaker 1>rotting brush against the back of my neck. I didn't

121
00:05:50.680 --> 00:05:52.839
<v Speaker 1>dare turn around for fear of what I might find.

122
00:05:53.800 --> 00:05:56.759
<v Speaker 1>Although I was holding my dead fiance with my bare hands,

123
00:05:57.399 --> 00:06:00.160
<v Speaker 1>I heard her raspy voice whisper in my ear as

124
00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:02.839
<v Speaker 1>if she were right behind me. It was the last

125
00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:06.199
<v Speaker 1>thing I would ever hear to the death. Do you

126
00:06:06.600 --> 00:06:14.480
<v Speaker 1>spot My parents were overprotective of me when I was young.

127
00:06:15.120 --> 00:06:17.759
<v Speaker 1>I couldn't really blame them, though. For as long as

128
00:06:17.759 --> 00:06:20.560
<v Speaker 1>I could remember, I've had only one eye and a

129
00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:23.480
<v Speaker 1>good portion of my left face was covered in burn marks.

130
00:06:24.040 --> 00:06:26.439
<v Speaker 1>According to my parents, I got them when I was

131
00:06:26.480 --> 00:06:28.839
<v Speaker 1>still just a baby during a house fire in a

132
00:06:28.839 --> 00:06:32.600
<v Speaker 1>different time. I can't remember any of it myself. I

133
00:06:32.639 --> 00:06:35.480
<v Speaker 1>guessed that my near death experience as a baby must

134
00:06:35.480 --> 00:06:38.480
<v Speaker 1>have made my parents overprotective of me. They never let

135
00:06:38.560 --> 00:06:40.720
<v Speaker 1>me go outside on my own, and when I did

136
00:06:40.759 --> 00:06:43.800
<v Speaker 1>go outside under their supervision, they would always make me

137
00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:46.160
<v Speaker 1>cover my burnt face under a hood or a hat.

138
00:06:46.800 --> 00:06:49.160
<v Speaker 1>I wasn't even allowed to go to school since they

139
00:06:49.160 --> 00:06:51.439
<v Speaker 1>were afraid i'd get picked on by the other kids

140
00:06:51.439 --> 00:06:55.199
<v Speaker 1>for my apparents. Because of that, my mother had homeschooled

141
00:06:55.199 --> 00:06:57.959
<v Speaker 1>me since I was old enough to speak. For a

142
00:06:58.000 --> 00:07:00.279
<v Speaker 1>long time, I did everything they told me to, like

143
00:07:00.319 --> 00:07:03.160
<v Speaker 1>the obedient daughter they wanted me to be. But like

144
00:07:03.319 --> 00:07:05.920
<v Speaker 1>most kids, I got more and more rebellious as I

145
00:07:05.959 --> 00:07:09.560
<v Speaker 1>got older. When I was about twelve, I started sneaking

146
00:07:09.600 --> 00:07:11.480
<v Speaker 1>out of my house when my parents were at work

147
00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:15.000
<v Speaker 1>or asleep, not to smoke or drink or anything. For

148
00:07:15.040 --> 00:07:17.360
<v Speaker 1>the most part, all I did was take walks in

149
00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:20.000
<v Speaker 1>the park to take in the fresh air. Since my

150
00:07:20.079 --> 00:07:22.240
<v Speaker 1>dad worked the night shift and my mom liked to

151
00:07:22.240 --> 00:07:25.000
<v Speaker 1>sleep early, the only times I could sneak out were

152
00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:28.720
<v Speaker 1>during night and late evening. I didn't mind, though, I

153
00:07:28.839 --> 00:07:30.279
<v Speaker 1>was happy for a chance to get out of the

154
00:07:30.319 --> 00:07:33.759
<v Speaker 1>house without my parents watching my every move. Back then,

155
00:07:34.120 --> 00:07:36.920
<v Speaker 1>I was blissfully still unaware that there were terrible people

156
00:07:36.959 --> 00:07:40.000
<v Speaker 1>in the world who wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of

157
00:07:40.040 --> 00:07:44.680
<v Speaker 1>even a little girl. As you can imagine, some people

158
00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:47.240
<v Speaker 1>in town started gossiping about a little girl with a

159
00:07:47.279 --> 00:07:50.439
<v Speaker 1>scarred face walking around a mostly empty park in the

160
00:07:50.480 --> 00:07:53.240
<v Speaker 1>middle of the night. I'm pretty sure I became an

161
00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:57.120
<v Speaker 1>urban legend amongst the kids and teenagers too. Looking back,

162
00:07:57.399 --> 00:07:59.759
<v Speaker 1>that must have played a factor in what would later

163
00:07:59.759 --> 00:08:03.439
<v Speaker 1>happenapon It all started during one of my nightly walks.

164
00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:05.959
<v Speaker 1>I was strolling through the local park with the blue

165
00:08:05.959 --> 00:08:08.199
<v Speaker 1>hood of my jacket pulled over my face like I

166
00:08:08.240 --> 00:08:11.560
<v Speaker 1>had a hundred times before. The flickering lights of the

167
00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:14.519
<v Speaker 1>neglected street lamps meant to illuminate the trail gave me

168
00:08:14.720 --> 00:08:17.040
<v Speaker 1>just enough light for me to see ahead with my

169
00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:19.439
<v Speaker 1>one eye, though I still had to be careful not

170
00:08:19.519 --> 00:08:22.560
<v Speaker 1>to bump into anything. I strolled through the darkness with

171
00:08:22.639 --> 00:08:24.879
<v Speaker 1>only the crickets and the caddy DIDs to keep the company.

172
00:08:25.560 --> 00:08:28.560
<v Speaker 1>Listening to their shrill cries resonating through the cold night

173
00:08:28.600 --> 00:08:30.800
<v Speaker 1>air gave me a sense of freedom that I could

174
00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:33.799
<v Speaker 1>never get cooped up in my parents' house. It almost

175
00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:37.080
<v Speaker 1>distracted me enough to not notice that I was followed.

176
00:08:38.399 --> 00:08:40.679
<v Speaker 1>Having lived most of my life with only one eye,

177
00:08:40.840 --> 00:08:43.240
<v Speaker 1>my sense of hearing had to compensate for it by

178
00:08:43.240 --> 00:08:46.639
<v Speaker 1>being sharper than most. From the sea of nocturnal noises

179
00:08:46.679 --> 00:08:49.320
<v Speaker 1>around me, I was able to pick out what sounded

180
00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:53.360
<v Speaker 1>like footsteps on the cobblestone behind me. The sounds seemed

181
00:08:53.360 --> 00:08:56.240
<v Speaker 1>to be trying to mask itself by matching my own footsteps,

182
00:08:56.480 --> 00:08:58.399
<v Speaker 1>and it was doing a pretty damn good job at

183
00:08:58.440 --> 00:09:01.279
<v Speaker 1>it too. Every time I took a step forward, I

184
00:09:01.320 --> 00:09:04.720
<v Speaker 1>heard the sound echo ever so faintly behind me. I

185
00:09:04.799 --> 00:09:07.679
<v Speaker 1>doubt anyone without an unusually sharp sense of hearing like

186
00:09:07.759 --> 00:09:10.639
<v Speaker 1>mine would have heard it. I decided to test my

187
00:09:10.720 --> 00:09:13.559
<v Speaker 1>suspicion by stopping halfway through a step to throw my

188
00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:16.679
<v Speaker 1>follower out of sync with me. I froze right before

189
00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:19.039
<v Speaker 1>my foot could touch the ground and make a noise.

190
00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:22.720
<v Speaker 1>The moment I did, I heard a single footstep ring

191
00:09:22.759 --> 00:09:26.000
<v Speaker 1>out behind me, Although it was barely audible amongst the

192
00:09:26.039 --> 00:09:28.919
<v Speaker 1>ambient noises, to me, it might as well have been

193
00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:33.080
<v Speaker 1>a deafening danger siren. My heart beat skyrocketed, and I

194
00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:36.200
<v Speaker 1>broke into a sudden sprint, not even bothering to look back.

195
00:09:36.879 --> 00:09:39.559
<v Speaker 1>I was somewhat relieved when I didn't hear anyone running

196
00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:42.840
<v Speaker 1>after me from behind. Still, I ran like a bat

197
00:09:42.840 --> 00:09:45.840
<v Speaker 1>out of hell back home, just in case. When I

198
00:09:45.879 --> 00:09:48.720
<v Speaker 1>got home, I snuck back inside through my bedroom window

199
00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:52.080
<v Speaker 1>and locked both it and my bedroom door. Once I

200
00:09:52.080 --> 00:09:55.159
<v Speaker 1>had calmed down enough, I tried to convince myself that

201
00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:57.960
<v Speaker 1>the person following me was just someone curious about the

202
00:09:58.080 --> 00:10:01.080
<v Speaker 1>urban legend of the ghost girl the burnt face, and

203
00:10:01.120 --> 00:10:05.039
<v Speaker 1>not something much worse. That night, I stayed up watching

204
00:10:05.080 --> 00:10:07.559
<v Speaker 1>the window until I saw my father's car pull into

205
00:10:07.559 --> 00:10:10.759
<v Speaker 1>the house. Seeing his car set my mind at ease.

206
00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:13.679
<v Speaker 1>Even if the person from the park followed me home,

207
00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:16.159
<v Speaker 1>I knew that my father would keep me safe as

208
00:10:16.200 --> 00:10:19.279
<v Speaker 1>long as he was around. I was homeschooled by my

209
00:10:19.360 --> 00:10:21.720
<v Speaker 1>mom the next day while my dad watched the TV.

210
00:10:22.399 --> 00:10:25.480
<v Speaker 1>It was a lesson in mathematics were something equally boring.

211
00:10:26.080 --> 00:10:29.039
<v Speaker 1>I struggled to stay up, especially after having little to

212
00:10:29.080 --> 00:10:31.759
<v Speaker 1>know sleep the night before. My mother was quick to

213
00:10:31.799 --> 00:10:35.480
<v Speaker 1>notice and asked if I was all right. I'm fine,

214
00:10:36.159 --> 00:10:38.440
<v Speaker 1>I told her, while I was also stifling a yawn.

215
00:10:39.159 --> 00:10:41.919
<v Speaker 1>You don't look fine to me. She closed the math

216
00:10:41.960 --> 00:10:45.559
<v Speaker 1>textbook and patted me on the back. Go get some rest, sweetie.

217
00:10:45.840 --> 00:10:49.000
<v Speaker 1>I'll fix you something to eat. Thanks, Mom, I said

218
00:10:49.039 --> 00:10:51.919
<v Speaker 1>with a smile. I trushed up to my bedroom and

219
00:10:51.960 --> 00:10:54.480
<v Speaker 1>got ready for a midday nap. But before I let

220
00:10:54.559 --> 00:10:56.799
<v Speaker 1>my head hit the pillow, I went to my window

221
00:10:56.879 --> 00:11:00.480
<v Speaker 1>to close the curtains. When I did, I saw something

222
00:11:00.639 --> 00:11:04.200
<v Speaker 1>that sent chills down my spine. A man was standing

223
00:11:04.320 --> 00:11:07.279
<v Speaker 1>half hidden behind the fence. He looked like a normal

224
00:11:07.279 --> 00:11:11.759
<v Speaker 1>guy in his thirties, wearing clean but drably colored clothes. However,

225
00:11:12.200 --> 00:11:14.440
<v Speaker 1>the fact that he was staring straight at me was

226
00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:17.399
<v Speaker 1>enough to make me sweat. I closed the curtains and

227
00:11:17.480 --> 00:11:20.360
<v Speaker 1>huddled up in my bed, hoping that he'll go away soon.

228
00:11:20.919 --> 00:11:23.320
<v Speaker 1>I heard the sound of a doorbell come from downstairs.

229
00:11:23.399 --> 00:11:26.799
<v Speaker 1>Only seconds later, I peeked through the curtains. Despite myself,

230
00:11:27.279 --> 00:11:30.000
<v Speaker 1>I saw the man who'd been watching me waiting right

231
00:11:30.039 --> 00:11:32.960
<v Speaker 1>at the front door. The door opened and my father

232
00:11:33.039 --> 00:11:35.720
<v Speaker 1>stepped outside to talk to him. I couldn't tell what

233
00:11:35.759 --> 00:11:39.080
<v Speaker 1>they were talking about, but the longer the conversation got,

234
00:11:39.120 --> 00:11:43.000
<v Speaker 1>the more and more angry my father seemed. Without any warning,

235
00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:45.840
<v Speaker 1>my father punched the man in the face. The man

236
00:11:45.919 --> 00:11:48.840
<v Speaker 1>fell on the ground, and my father kept pummeling him

237
00:11:48.879 --> 00:11:51.480
<v Speaker 1>again and again until his face was a black and

238
00:11:51.480 --> 00:11:54.440
<v Speaker 1>blue mess, dripping with blood. Though he might have been

239
00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:56.879
<v Speaker 1>my starker, I couldn't bear to see someone get beaten

240
00:11:56.919 --> 00:12:00.120
<v Speaker 1>so badly. I closed the curtains and curled up on

241
00:12:00.159 --> 00:12:03.639
<v Speaker 1>my bed with tears in my eyes. Moments later, I

242
00:12:03.679 --> 00:12:06.960
<v Speaker 1>heard my father knock on my bedroom door. Sweetie, we

243
00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:09.320
<v Speaker 1>have to go now, he told me, with panic in

244
00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:12.559
<v Speaker 1>his voice. I didn't think to question him and quickly

245
00:12:12.600 --> 00:12:14.639
<v Speaker 1>followed him out of the house and into the car,

246
00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:18.720
<v Speaker 1>passed my unconscious stalker lying on the porch. My mother

247
00:12:18.840 --> 00:12:21.320
<v Speaker 1>joined us in the car, and soon we were speeding

248
00:12:21.320 --> 00:12:24.200
<v Speaker 1>out of the neighborhood. I wanted to ask where we

249
00:12:24.200 --> 00:12:27.200
<v Speaker 1>were going, but the distress of my parents' faces told

250
00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:30.440
<v Speaker 1>me that they probably didn't know either. Not long after

251
00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:32.840
<v Speaker 1>we left, I noticed the car following us from the

252
00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:35.399
<v Speaker 1>back seat window. I had never seen the car before,

253
00:12:35.799 --> 00:12:37.799
<v Speaker 1>but I could see the bruised face of my stalker

254
00:12:37.840 --> 00:12:41.080
<v Speaker 1>behind the wheel. His left eye was swollen shut, and

255
00:12:41.120 --> 00:12:43.759
<v Speaker 1>blood trickled from his nose and the corners of his lips.

256
00:12:44.679 --> 00:12:46.960
<v Speaker 1>My eyes were fixed on him. When the car came

257
00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:49.600
<v Speaker 1>to a sudden stop, I turned around to see what

258
00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:52.600
<v Speaker 1>made us stop. Relief washed over me when I saw

259
00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:55.000
<v Speaker 1>a barricade of police cars in front of us, But

260
00:12:55.080 --> 00:12:58.279
<v Speaker 1>when I looked at my parents, their faces did not

261
00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:02.279
<v Speaker 1>share my relief. Dead they seemed frightened and on the

262
00:13:02.360 --> 00:13:05.240
<v Speaker 1>verge of panic. Before I could ask what was wrong,

263
00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:08.120
<v Speaker 1>they both jumped out of the car and ran, only

264
00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:11.879
<v Speaker 1>to be apprehended and cuffed by the police officers. Everything

265
00:13:12.080 --> 00:13:14.960
<v Speaker 1>was a blur after that. My parents and I were

266
00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:18.519
<v Speaker 1>taken to the station and police cars. My supposed stalker

267
00:13:19.000 --> 00:13:22.279
<v Speaker 1>was taken there as well, but unlike my parents, he

268
00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:25.440
<v Speaker 1>wasn't being cuffed. Once we were at the station, I

269
00:13:25.559 --> 00:13:27.879
<v Speaker 1>finally got an answer to what the hell was going on,

270
00:13:28.279 --> 00:13:31.120
<v Speaker 1>and why on earth my stalker wasn't arrested while my

271
00:13:31.200 --> 00:13:35.559
<v Speaker 1>parents were. A sympathetic police officer explained everything to me

272
00:13:35.919 --> 00:13:40.159
<v Speaker 1>while I listened to him in silent shock. Twelve years ago,

273
00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:43.000
<v Speaker 1>an unsolved case of arson caused a house fire that

274
00:13:43.080 --> 00:13:46.080
<v Speaker 1>claimed the lives of a young family. The charred bodies

275
00:13:46.120 --> 00:13:48.799
<v Speaker 1>of the parents were found in the smoldering wreckage, but

276
00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:52.360
<v Speaker 1>their infant daughter was nowhere to be found. That infant

277
00:13:52.440 --> 00:13:56.080
<v Speaker 1>daughter was me. My real parents had died in the

278
00:13:56.080 --> 00:13:58.600
<v Speaker 1>same house fire that took my left eye and burnt

279
00:13:58.639 --> 00:14:02.039
<v Speaker 1>my face. People who I thought were my parents were

280
00:14:02.120 --> 00:14:06.240
<v Speaker 1>actually my kidnappers, kidnappers who had gotten away with their

281
00:14:06.279 --> 00:14:10.240
<v Speaker 1>crimes for over a decade. Police suspected that they might

282
00:14:10.279 --> 00:14:12.519
<v Speaker 1>have been the arsonists who started the fire that claimed

283
00:14:12.639 --> 00:14:15.399
<v Speaker 1>my real parents' lives in the first place, all because

284
00:14:15.440 --> 00:14:17.679
<v Speaker 1>they wanted a child of their own but couldn't have

285
00:14:17.759 --> 00:14:21.480
<v Speaker 1>one due to medical reasons. My stalker was actually a

286
00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:24.600
<v Speaker 1>private investigator hired by my real uncle to find me

287
00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:27.720
<v Speaker 1>when everyone else thought I died in the fire. I

288
00:14:27.799 --> 00:14:30.320
<v Speaker 1>now live with my uncle. He is a kind man,

289
00:14:30.519 --> 00:14:33.600
<v Speaker 1>and he does his best to care for me by himself. However,

290
00:14:34.039 --> 00:14:36.159
<v Speaker 1>I can't help but wonder if my life would have

291
00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:39.039
<v Speaker 1>been better had I never learned the truth about my family.

292
00:14:42.759 --> 00:14:45.600
<v Speaker 1>I used to date a really clingy girl. She said

293
00:14:45.639 --> 00:14:47.840
<v Speaker 1>that she was just being protective of me while we

294
00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:50.759
<v Speaker 1>were dating, but I didn't really see it that way.

295
00:14:50.919 --> 00:14:53.360
<v Speaker 1>She'd text me every night, asking me about my day

296
00:14:53.480 --> 00:14:55.960
<v Speaker 1>or how I was doing, and if I didn't reply

297
00:14:56.080 --> 00:14:58.960
<v Speaker 1>right away, she started guilt tripping me to call her back.

298
00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:01.799
<v Speaker 1>It was I'm a cute at first, but after a

299
00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:05.879
<v Speaker 1>while it started to feel overbearing. We eventually broke up

300
00:15:05.960 --> 00:15:08.519
<v Speaker 1>after almost a year of dating. She seemed to take

301
00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:11.000
<v Speaker 1>it pretty well, though we were quiet whenever we ran

302
00:15:11.039 --> 00:15:13.519
<v Speaker 1>into each other during class or out in the town.

303
00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:16.039
<v Speaker 1>One day, I found out that she got a part

304
00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:17.960
<v Speaker 1>time job at the cafe I liked to study at

305
00:15:18.039 --> 00:15:21.200
<v Speaker 1>during the weekend. She made my coffee exactly the way

306
00:15:21.279 --> 00:15:23.600
<v Speaker 1>she knew I liked it, and we started talking again.

307
00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:27.559
<v Speaker 1>The awkward post breakup tension between us melted away every

308
00:15:27.559 --> 00:15:30.440
<v Speaker 1>time I visited the cafe. She even made sure to

309
00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:32.720
<v Speaker 1>save a blueberry muffin for me on days she knew

310
00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:35.799
<v Speaker 1>i'd visit. Soon, we were talking with each other like

311
00:15:35.879 --> 00:15:39.639
<v Speaker 1>normal friends again. I couldn't be happier for a time.

312
00:15:39.960 --> 00:15:41.759
<v Speaker 1>I even felt like we had a chance of getting

313
00:15:41.840 --> 00:15:46.200
<v Speaker 1>back together. After all, that feeling wouldn't last, though, my

314
00:15:46.279 --> 00:15:49.080
<v Speaker 1>sister came to visit one weekend. We hadn't seen each

315
00:15:49.080 --> 00:15:51.399
<v Speaker 1>other since we went to different colleges, so we were

316
00:15:51.440 --> 00:15:54.200
<v Speaker 1>looking forward to catching up. We decided to get some

317
00:15:54.240 --> 00:15:57.600
<v Speaker 1>pizza together at an Italian restaurant right across the cafe

318
00:15:57.759 --> 00:16:00.519
<v Speaker 1>my girlfriend worked at. The waitress led us to an

319
00:16:00.519 --> 00:16:03.159
<v Speaker 1>open air, two person table on the second floor, beside

320
00:16:03.159 --> 00:16:05.840
<v Speaker 1>the fenced ledge. It looked like the sort of seat

321
00:16:05.919 --> 00:16:08.639
<v Speaker 1>you take your date to for a romantic view. There

322
00:16:08.679 --> 00:16:10.879
<v Speaker 1>was even a rose in a vase decorating the table.

323
00:16:11.480 --> 00:16:14.039
<v Speaker 1>I swear I saw the waitress smirk when she showed

324
00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:16.360
<v Speaker 1>us to the table too. She must have thought that

325
00:16:16.440 --> 00:16:19.399
<v Speaker 1>my sister and I were a couple, which fair enough,

326
00:16:19.639 --> 00:16:22.000
<v Speaker 1>we didn't really look like each other despite having the

327
00:16:22.039 --> 00:16:25.440
<v Speaker 1>same parents. I took after our dad while she looked

328
00:16:25.480 --> 00:16:29.000
<v Speaker 1>more like our mom. Neither of us pothered to correct her, though.

329
00:16:29.480 --> 00:16:31.919
<v Speaker 1>If they were gonna give us special treatment just because

330
00:16:31.919 --> 00:16:34.440
<v Speaker 1>they thought we were a couple, then we weren't about

331
00:16:34.440 --> 00:16:37.440
<v Speaker 1>to complain. Not long after we sat down, I got

332
00:16:37.480 --> 00:16:40.000
<v Speaker 1>a text on my phone. I looked at it and

333
00:16:40.039 --> 00:16:42.240
<v Speaker 1>saw that it was my ex asking me how it

334
00:16:42.320 --> 00:16:45.279
<v Speaker 1>was doing. We'd been texting again as of late, anyway,

335
00:16:45.360 --> 00:16:48.759
<v Speaker 1>so I didn't think much of it. Hey, no texting

336
00:16:48.799 --> 00:16:51.600
<v Speaker 1>at the table, my sister said in jest, just as

337
00:16:51.639 --> 00:16:54.080
<v Speaker 1>I was about to type back a reply. If you

338
00:16:54.120 --> 00:16:56.600
<v Speaker 1>don't pay attention to your food, the flies will eat them.

339
00:16:57.120 --> 00:16:59.840
<v Speaker 1>She used the exact same words our mom did whenever

340
00:16:59.879 --> 00:17:02.639
<v Speaker 1>either of us checked our phones during dinner, even got

341
00:17:02.679 --> 00:17:05.920
<v Speaker 1>the inflections in her voice down too. Of course, I

342
00:17:06.039 --> 00:17:08.160
<v Speaker 1>was a little annoyed that my younger sister was trying

343
00:17:08.200 --> 00:17:10.920
<v Speaker 1>to boss me around, but she had a point. I

344
00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:13.440
<v Speaker 1>quickly replied to my ex, saying that I'll text her

345
00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:16.720
<v Speaker 1>back later, and turned off my phone. My sister and

346
00:17:16.759 --> 00:17:19.079
<v Speaker 1>I talked for over two hours about how we were

347
00:17:19.079 --> 00:17:21.559
<v Speaker 1>doing in college. When I told her that I was

348
00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:24.599
<v Speaker 1>single again, she said she had a few female friends

349
00:17:24.599 --> 00:17:27.559
<v Speaker 1>in her own college that were still single. She went

350
00:17:27.599 --> 00:17:30.039
<v Speaker 1>as far as to offer me their numbers. I wasn't

351
00:17:30.039 --> 00:17:33.319
<v Speaker 1>all that interested, but decided to humor my sister anyway

352
00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:36.720
<v Speaker 1>to make her feel helpful. More than anything else, I

353
00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:39.359
<v Speaker 1>turned my phone back on to save the numbers. The

354
00:17:39.440 --> 00:17:43.000
<v Speaker 1>moment I did, I was bombarded with notifications for over

355
00:17:43.039 --> 00:17:47.000
<v Speaker 1>a hundred text messages and dozens of voicemails. Every single

356
00:17:47.039 --> 00:17:50.279
<v Speaker 1>one of them were from my ex. The last text

357
00:17:50.480 --> 00:17:54.440
<v Speaker 1>since almost an half hour ago simply read looked down.

358
00:17:55.200 --> 00:17:57.200
<v Speaker 1>I looked down from the ledge of the seat and

359
00:17:57.240 --> 00:18:00.440
<v Speaker 1>felt my stomach churn and panic. Standing on the streets

360
00:18:00.440 --> 00:18:04.160
<v Speaker 1>below us was my ex girlfriend, still wearing her barista uniform.

361
00:18:04.759 --> 00:18:07.720
<v Speaker 1>Her wide, bloodshot eyes stared right at me and threw me.

362
00:18:08.279 --> 00:18:10.880
<v Speaker 1>The look on her face was a horrifying mix between

363
00:18:10.920 --> 00:18:15.200
<v Speaker 1>anger and batshit crazy. She held her phone in one hand,

364
00:18:15.440 --> 00:18:18.400
<v Speaker 1>and then the other a long kitchen knife, gripped so

365
00:18:18.480 --> 00:18:21.799
<v Speaker 1>tight that her knuckles were white. A chill shot through

366
00:18:21.799 --> 00:18:23.680
<v Speaker 1>my body as I showed the text to my sister.

367
00:18:24.279 --> 00:18:26.079
<v Speaker 1>Her face went pale as she looked down over the

368
00:18:26.160 --> 00:18:29.759
<v Speaker 1>ledge as well. The moment my sister's eyes met my exes,

369
00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:34.720
<v Speaker 1>my exes gaze turned from my obsessive infatuation to burning hatred.

370
00:18:35.319 --> 00:18:37.480
<v Speaker 1>She clinched her teeth so hard that I could have

371
00:18:37.559 --> 00:18:40.960
<v Speaker 1>sworn blood seeped from her teeth. Without warning, she threw

372
00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:42.680
<v Speaker 1>the kitchen knife in her hand at my sister with

373
00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:45.680
<v Speaker 1>a surprising force. The tip of the blade clinked against

374
00:18:45.720 --> 00:18:48.160
<v Speaker 1>the ledge fence and clattered back onto the ground, but

375
00:18:48.240 --> 00:18:50.359
<v Speaker 1>it startled my sister enough that she fell out of

376
00:18:50.359 --> 00:18:53.119
<v Speaker 1>her chair. That got the attention of a nearby waiter,

377
00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:56.039
<v Speaker 1>who came over to help her up. We quickly explained

378
00:18:56.039 --> 00:18:58.799
<v Speaker 1>the situation to him, and the police were immediately called.

379
00:18:59.400 --> 00:19:02.200
<v Speaker 1>My ex girl was dragged, chicking and screaming into a

380
00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:05.319
<v Speaker 1>police car, all the while she shouted about how she

381
00:19:05.400 --> 00:19:07.480
<v Speaker 1>and I belonged together and that the girl I was

382
00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:11.079
<v Speaker 1>eating with didn't deserve me, not knowing that that girl

383
00:19:11.200 --> 00:19:14.680
<v Speaker 1>was actually my sister. When the police searched her apartment

384
00:19:14.759 --> 00:19:17.680
<v Speaker 1>for more evidence of her stalking, they found hundreds of

385
00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:20.400
<v Speaker 1>photos of me plastered on the walls. Some of them

386
00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:23.440
<v Speaker 1>were from our time together, but many of them were

387
00:19:23.480 --> 00:19:26.279
<v Speaker 1>of me by myself. There were pictures of me studying

388
00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:30.079
<v Speaker 1>at the cafe or walking home alone, all taken without

389
00:19:30.119 --> 00:19:33.440
<v Speaker 1>me ever noticing. In the corner of the apartment was

390
00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:35.960
<v Speaker 1>a small shrine with a framed picture of us when

391
00:19:35.960 --> 00:19:39.480
<v Speaker 1>we were together, surrounded by the empty cups of every

392
00:19:39.519 --> 00:19:43.079
<v Speaker 1>coffee I'd ever ordered from her at the cafe. My

393
00:19:43.160 --> 00:19:46.759
<v Speaker 1>sister is still traumatized about the whole thing, but she's

394
00:19:46.799 --> 00:19:50.079
<v Speaker 1>been getting the help she needed, and despite everything that's happened,

395
00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:52.359
<v Speaker 1>I hope that my ex would get the help she

396
00:19:52.519 --> 00:20:02.240
<v Speaker 1>needs now too,