City Nightmares

Chapter 1 -The beginning

Snap. Snap. Snap. Blood everywhere—on the floor, on his hands, on his shirt, and dripping from the knife.

“Ha, ha, ha… Baby. Surprise, surprise.” The voice was creepy, unpleasant. It belonged to a boy—not yet a man—just an average college student.

A body lay on the small table, the metallic stench of blood choking the air. Darkness swallowed the room, only the windows faintly visible. The single dim light fell only on the girl’s lifeless, fragile body—covered in deep wounds..

Barely a patch of skin remained untouched. Her lips were stitched together like torn cloth. One eye was carved with an X, the other a deep, bleeding hole.

Her forehead was riddled with deep punctures. Blood ran down her scalp, where only jagged patches of hair were left—torn out as if yanked mercilessly.
Her five soft fingers had been sliced into ten pieces—each one missing.

“You know how much I planned for you, baby? You really made my brain work, but I’ll give you credit. Killing you was harder than killing the others. You’ve got a sexy brain, princess. But finally…
It's resting in peace. You can thank me later. Now—it’s time for the package. Hmm, what should it be this time? Ah yes, that pretty tattoo on your hand. Let’s clean it first… otherwise those pesky cops might find me and take my baby away.”

Snap. Snap. Snap. Her arm was hacked into two pieces from the elbow down.

"Let’s pack it, babe. Will you help me? Oh… you’re still sleeping. Never mind, I’ll do it alone. One, two, three, four, five… and the bow. See? The package is wrapped in your favorite color—lavender—with a red bow. Pretty, right? I hope your parents will like it. Ah—the card. I almost forgot. Let’s stick it on.”

Inside the lavender package, tied with its red bow, lay her severed lower arm—the tattoo still visible. A card was attached, reading:

“Surprise, surprise. Let it rest in peace. This will be your best gift. Enjoy… and feel free to frame it.”

The letters weren’t handwritten—they were typed in a distorted, creepy font. Alongside it was a photo of a cherry blossom tree beside a bench in a park, the delivery address, and a ring—custom-made, impossible to duplicate. There was also a rough sketch of a girl lying lifeless on a table.

“Oh… too late. You made me late, princess. It’s already 1:00 a.m.”

* Earlier, at 10 p.m. *

“Hey, Mira… is Sara picking up your calls? I’ve been trying but she’s not answering mine.”

“Come on, Jack. She’s not a kid anymore. She told us she was going for a night out with Akira. She’ll be back in the morning—it’s Sunday tomorrow. Maybe she’s just asleep.”

“You’re sure, right? I just… I get tense. She’s my only daughter—the most precious gift I’ve got. You know how much she does for us.”

“Yeah, honey. Let’s sleep now. Good night.” They kissed softly, then drifted into sleep.

* Earlier back then *

“Hey, Sara. Are you coming to my house tonight?”

Sara planned to surprise her, so she said no. Akira was a night owl—she usually slept late—so Sara had no worry she’d miss her.

“Mom, Dad, I’m leaving! Do I look good?”

“No, you don’t just look good—you’re gorgeous, my darling,” her mom said.
“You’ll always be my princess. Take care, okay?” her dad added.

She hummed softly in response and walked out the door.

* The next morning *

A sharp knocking echoed at the door.

“Sara! Sara! It’s Akira—are you ready for the park? Come on, we’re getting late!”

“Oh, Akira… Sara was with you last night, right?” her mom asked.
“No, aunty,” Akira shook her head. “When I called her she said she won’t be coming.”

“But, Akira—Sara left the house at 8 p.m. She wanted to surprise you. That’s why she said no.”

“But… she never reached my house.”
“Are you pulling out a prank on me?"
laughing awkwardly
“No, aunty. I’m serious this time.”

While they were having a conversation a man arrived there-
"Mam a post for you. Please sign here."

She signed the slip and took the box.
“This is strange… who could it be from?”

They opened the box—and froze in horror. Inside was a severed lower arm, the tattoo still visible.

“What is this, Akira? Why… Why does the hand have the same tattoo as Sara’s? And that ring—it’s the unique design only she had. How is this possible?”

“I think Sara is doing some mischief again, do you know please, Akira it's enough now just say it now.”

“Aunty… I wish I could say it’s a prank. But I swear—Sara wasn’t with me last night.”

Sara’s mom collapsed to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

“Aunty, let’s get inside and have some water. I told Sara to be careful—these kinds of things were happening in the neighboring city. She was careless. Listen… you call uncle and David, and I’ll call the cops.”

Sara’s mom called her husband and their son, David. He had just returned from a trip, already exhausted—but the news shattered him. (His parents had divorced a few years ago, and since then David had been living with Sara’s mom and dad.)

““Mom, calm down. Dad will be here in a few minutes. Akira, where are the cops—?”
“Hello, sir, ma’am. How can we help you?”

“Here, Mr. Watson. Please, have a seat.”
“You called us, right, Akira? What’s the matter?”

Akira explained everything to Mr. Watson.
“So, you’re saying Sara left the house at 8:00 p.m. and should’ve reached your place in fifteen minutes—but she never did. And then there’s the package. Can you show it to me?”

Mr. Watson examined the package calmly at first—but then his expression hardened.

“Here—look. There’s a note and a few pictures. The note is typed, and there are no fingerprints. That means the killer is clever… experienced. And these two pictures—one of a cherry blossom tree near a bench, and the other of a girl lying on a table. I don’t know what it means yet.”

“Wait, sir—let me see that picture. This is the park we were going to visit today. It has many colorful benches, but only one lavender bench. That one was Sara’s favorite, because it sat right under a cherry blossom tree. It was her comfort spot.”

“Can you come with us to the park and point it out?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll be glad to.”
They headed to the park together, Mr. Watson bringing his entire team along.

“Cops—search the area. Every corner.”
The officers spread out, combing the park for clues.

“Sir, there’s nothing here. We’ve searched every corner.”