Joy Maker

It's funny how things can just sneak up on you, how something like a simple telephone call or a knock at the door could change your life forever. My life was very ordinary for the most part. I was a quiet person with very few friends but I liked it that way.

My weekend had started just as it would any other week. I was holed up in my one bedroomed apartment, my laptop on my knee, ready to watch my daily dose of what my mother would call "Silly Japanese Cartoons." I had waited for months for a new DVD to arrive and today after waiting all week for it to ship, it had finally arrived. I was looking forward to playing the disc and letting the generic plot-line and stereotypical characters give me something to smile about. I closed the DVD drive and gritted my teeth as the DVD made the horrifying clicking and crunching noises that my ageing laptop loved to taunt me with. I was ready to hit play, lifting my index finger over the mouse button melodramatically, when there was a knock on my door.

It may not seem like a strange occurrence for you but for me it was a big deal... nobody ever knocked on my door. I jumped up- my laptop dropping onto the floor with a heart-wrenching thud. Then I began to rack my brains for who it could be... It wasn't my parents; they were on holiday in Corfu; enjoying their new life without me. I hadn't ordered any large packages lately so it couldn't be the mail-man.

"Maybe if I just stand quiet and ignore them... they'll go away" I thought to myself- knowing that it was definitely the best thing to do.

"Is there anyone in there?!" A deep voice half-cried, half-whispered.

"No..." I whispered; quiet enough that the person on the other side of the door couldn't hear.

"Hello?!" the voice was quieter, it sounded more anxious, more urgent.

There was a loud grunting noise, immediately followed by the sound of something slamming against my door forcefully. Whoever was outside the door was trying to break in. I backed away from the door, stepping backwards, deeper into the centre of the room. I carefully kicked my laptop under the couch- it was not getting stolen; not over my dead body.

There were several more crashing sounds and I watched as the door began to buckle before suddenly tearing away from its frame. Along with the splintering door came a large yet weedy looking man. He had pasty white skin and dirty white hair that covered most of his face as he fell forwards into my apartment. 

I stood silently, watching the man as he brushed himself off and surveyed his surroundings. As he turned his head around to face me, his eyes narrowed. 

"You didn't answer me when I asked if anyone was in here." He growled.

"You didn't tell me that you were going to break into my home!" I scolded- wondering where this brave, retaliating side of me had come from.

The man clapped his hand to his head, letting an enraged cry escape from his mouth. He stomped his foot down on the faux wood linoleum floor almost like a small child having a tantrum. 

"You should have told me you were in here!" He cried, slapping his hand against the wall. "They're going to kill you too now!"

"Wait- what?! Who's going to kill me- What?!" I cried back, as confused as he was infuriated.

The man sighed, sitting down on the floor, cross-legged and closed his eyes. 

"Does it really matter?" he chuckled. Somehow he had managed to change his personality from that of a short-tempered child to a calm and collected soul."Does anything you want to know about what's going to happen next really matter if you're going to die? Do me a favour, accept your fate, no questions asked, and save my breath on wasted explanations."