Anna Fox - Night. Part 1

Translator А. Васильева

© Anna Fox, 2020

© А. Васильева, translation, 2020

ISBN 978-5-0050-5500-2 (т. 1)

ISBN 978-5-0050-5501-9

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Dear reader!

I’m glad to welcome you, and to know that you’re here! And before you open the door to the mysterious “Night”, I want to share with you a secret… The book that now in front of your eyes is a part of my soul.

It is indeed so. Because when I was writing it, I input to it only what resonates in me. You will see a world that, like many other things in life, is multifaceted and ambiguous. It is captivating and beautiful, someway idealistic, and somewhat even instills fear and awe. But it’s real. It is filled with sincere emotions and feelings. And, of course, the main of these feelings is love, which so much is sometimes lacking in our world.

It is not enough just to say that the book is dedicated to love. I praise and exalt it because I believe it lives! It hides, trying to escape from rudeness and rough edges, from meanness and cowardice, from selfishness and hypocrisy. But it exists! It lives! And I am eager to give you, my reader, at least a small part of this love. I sincerely want you to experience it in the pages of my book, and your heart sang with mine.

Love! Create! And remember, you came to this world in order to overcome all obstacles and adversity, and be happy!

Yours sincerely, Anna Fox.

There’s always special charm in night. It’s like a guide to another existence, to another reality. This shrouded in darkness world frightens and attracts at the same time. Night gives a feeling of incredible freedom and independence. People open their hearts to unknown. They forget about worries, everyday problems, sometimes even about morality. They forget themselves or, on the contrary, find themselves. In soul of man awakens another being, not like one he shows to condemning public before sunset. Whether it’s terrible or beautiful depends on what is behind eyes. It can be darkness. Or indomitable spirit of divine that breaks through borders and limits to freedom. And it flies like moth on trembling flame, forgetting about danger, while others become this danger. Revealing yourself, someone may inevitably get in set nets of ruthless fate. After all, it’s night that accompanies transformation of man into animal – both internally and externally…

* * *

Once again, hurrying home in the evening, Francesca caught herself thinking that dark time of day instills in her inexplicable prickly fear. Not that she was afraid of dark – but rather of unknown behind veil of night. Black alleys, crooked shadows from the light of streetlights, people’s faces hidden in darkness. And these sounds… Now they are floating and annoying with their dull monotony, then abruptly exploding with some horrific screech. Ugh … Even goosebumps ran over the skin. All this is so unfamiliar to Francesca – both in feelings and in character. She did her best to avoid such walks as this evening.

But she has the necessary obligations, which she had to fulfill. First of all, of course, studies, which often ended quite late. The rest of the time, she worked in a bookstore that closed at eight in evening. Her friend Tammy worked there too, who replaced her while she was in school. So, Francesca often had to work the last shift, which meant walking home in dark.

Sometimes Tammy accompanied her and even stayed at her place for night. No one was against it, because Francesca lived completely alone. Her parents died during the train crash just three months after she turned fourteen. Accepting this, she lived with her grandmother in a suburb for the first year, and then decided to move to a city. Here she rented an apartment until now.

It was on the outskirts. Small, perfectly simple, but comfortable – Francesca didn’t complain. School and work were, one might say, two steps away. So, her routes seemed very short and simple. And as for the city center, she’s never even been there. It was too far away and too luxurious to go there for nothing.

She lived on her own money, well, the grandmother helped her with what she could. Every day the girl was closely busy with household chores. There was almost no time for rest. Except for the nights when she was sleeping, of course. This, by the way, was also the reason for her dislike for such walks. Francesca believed, that night exists to ensure that people slept. She admitted that she felt some contempt for those incomprehensible to her personalities that stagger at night. And, of course, she was afraid of any criminal manifestations, that coming into force mainly at night.

All in all, she wasn’t friendly set up to this time of day and moved her legs quickly to get home.

It was warm outside, and Francesca was already steaming from the rush. But it remains to pass quite a bit – now it will be the last turn and she will be at home. She will immediately take a shower and lie down in a soft bed to get enough sleep. This thought encouraged her, and smiling to herself, she quickened her pace.

But as soon as she reached to the corner of the street, a strange chilling feeling pierced her entire body. Goosebumps rapidly ran on her neck. Francesca froze, feeling someone’s gaze on her back.

That’s what she was always afraid of! God, it’s just a little left. If I hurry, I’ll probably be able to… get away, she thought. Although she sincerely wanted to believe that she’s wrong and really her no one was watching. That it was just her fantasy played out. But, again finding the strength to move, the girl immediately darted around the corner and just in case sprinted from spot, running on the stone road to the house.

Surprisingly, while Francesca was running, she didn’t hear a single sound of pursuit. And, slowing down, she decided to stop to catch her breath and listen better.

She leaned against а high brick wall and, trying to breathe as calmly and silently as possible, listened to the silence. Nothing disturbed it. Francesca stood there for a moment to be sure, and when she finally realized there was nothing to worry about, she chuckled softly:

“Silly,” she said softly. “I twitch at every rustle.”

Lightly slapping palm against forehead, she lowered face, as if ashamed of her own reaction. Watching… It’s necessary to think of this! – She was amazed at herself.

With sigh of relief, Francesca took a step forward and…

…bumped into someone. Searing ice wave covered her with an attack of fear and panic. Breathing froze, and a heart pounded wildly somewhere near а throat. And before she looked up, she struggled with herself for a long time.

A black silhouette of tall man appeared out of nowhere in front of her. In the dark he wasn’t to be seen at all, and see facial features seemed impossible. He didn’t move and didn’t seem to be breathing at all. Francesca’s knees shook treacherously. In confusion, she tried to pretend that she didn’t notice him (in which she didn’t succeed at all), turned around and wanted to leave the stranger. But suddenly he grabbed her by the throat with his strong hand and pulled her back against the wall.

Now her fear was definitely justified. She bumped her head against the wall, causing hundreds of nasty annoying bells to ring in her ears. The stranger moved closer and leaned directly into her face. But Francesca still couldn’t see him: he squeezed her throat too tightly with his tenacious fingers so that her eyes were covered with a whitish veil and beads of tears stood out in the corners. She opened her mouth convulsively in a silent scream and pounded her feet on the stone wall and the pavement. He kept looking at her, as if studied. Her fear gradually turned into colossal horror, madness raging in her head.