Imagination?

Melissa sighed heavily as she stared out of the truck that she and her father were driving in. Clunching a photo of her friends and herself, she sighed again, feeling saddened that she would no longer see them again.

Her father and her were off to a new place... a new home, and a new state. Since her father couldn't bear to be around anything that reminded him of his late wife, he had decided to pack up all of their things and move away from all of the places that constantly reminded him of her, of all the memories they shared together.

Melissa couldn't bring herself to even try to talk him out of his decision, since she could see her father often wore a tortured expression whenever he would see anything that reminded him of her mother.

They were mainly silent for nearly the entire trip. Even when they finally reached their destination,  a small house in a small town, they barely spoke.

Her father was too busy brooding, though he would occasionally glance over at her with a slightly worried expression when he thought she wasn't looking. No doubt he was worried about how his daughter was feeling about the sudden move, though she hadn't complained.

At the house they were now renting, they silently unpacked their belongings. It didnt take long since her dad left most of his stuff behind, not wanting to bring anything that reminded him of his late wife, except for a few precious photos and items. As for Melissa, she was in a depressed state and didnt feel the need to being most of her things.

"I'll order some takeout for dinner," her father suddenly said, breaking the overwhelming silence.

Melissa shook her head. "It's fine," she responded. "I'll go out and buy, since I want to get a look at the new place."

Her father nodded, then handed her a fifty dollar bill. "Buy whatever you need... as well as dinner," he said awkwardly.

Taking the money, Melissa grabbed her backpack and walked out quickly. She didn't even want to go out, didn't want to see her new town. But she had so many emotions swirling around inside of her, that made her felt as if she were going to explode. Stepping outside, she hoped that the walk would do her good, and that she would be able to calm herself down before she said something hurtful to her father, who was already going through so much suffering already.

As she was walking, she noticed someone sitting by the side of the road. She ignored them... it was none of her business why they were sitting there. But as she was walking past, a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist. With a shriek, Melissa tried to yank her arm away, but the grip on her wrist was too strong.

Seeing that it was an elderly woman who had grabbed her, Melissa calmed down a bit. Again, she tried to shake off the old woman's hand, but the old woman had an iron like grip that seemed unbreakable. 'She's strong for an old lady,' thought Melissa with a wince, as the elderly woman dug her nails into her wrist like claws.

"Can u please let go of me?" Asked Melissa, as she tried to twist her arm away, but to no avail.

The old woman merely stared at Melissa for several seconds.

"Don't you know?" She suddenly asked Melissa.

'Know? Know what?!' Thought Melissa in bewilderment.

"The artifact... it can grant you a wish, but only through the death of one with blood." The woman began to gasp and pant. "Don't!" She said, staring at Melissa with wide eyes. "Don't do it... She didnt want that for you. Just... be happy. Like attracts like... suffering... more suffering..."

The old woman released her hand and began to rock herself back and forth. Melissa rubbed her wrist as she stared at the crazy old lady, who suddenly burst into laughter.

"You're like me!" She said, cackling gleefully. "Just like me!!"

"You're crazy! Stay away from me!!" Yelled Melissa as she backed away, then turned around to run.

"Life can't always be a happy fairytale!" She heard the old lady call out, as she ran off. "Sometimes a fairytale can turn into a nightmare!"

As Melissa turned a corner, she glanced back at the place where the old lady sat, only to see that there was no one there.

"What..?!"Melissa stopped in her tracks.

'Where the hell did that old lady go?!' She thought in confusion.

She had such a powerful grip, and sharp nails that dug into her skin... yet it was as if the old woman never existed.

Looking around, Melissa searched for her, but saw no trace of her. It's not like there was anything close by that she could have hidden behind or inside... so where could she have gone?

'If it wasn't for the marks on my wrist, I would have started to think that I was going crazy,' she thought as she glanced at the marks on her wrist, only to see that her wrist was uninjured.

"How...?" Melissa's brow furrowed in confusion. "How is that even possible? I remember that old lady dug her nails into me... I saw the blood. So how come I have no cuts... and no blood?"

She shook her, trying to clear her mind. Surely she wasn't going crazy... there really was an old lady... wasn't there? Or did she just imagine the whole thing?