Anonymous Diary

It had almost been a month of living in the place I had recently bought. Compared to the place I was living, it was way smaller. It was cozy whatsoever, and it didn't make me feel homesick. Especially, after moving 1,000 miles away from the place I used to call home. Everything was perfect, except the smell. The smell that could be only smelled in the hallway. Living in the brand new place, seemed to start turning into a nightmare. All because of the smell and where it came from, it wasn't from a body, however that was my first thought. It was from a small, black, notebook, that without releasing it, everything would change.

*2 Months Ago*

I recently decided that it was time to start a "new life." Move out of home, make friends, find myself a lover, the typical stuff a 19 year old person would want to do. However, I didn't have the money to start this brand new life I wanted, and my parents for some reason weren't going to support me. I feel like it had to do with me coming out as a lesbian to them three months ago. Since then, they don't show me the love they used to have for me, at least they still allowed me to live with them.

I had to go take a walk at the community park that was basically abandoned at this point, no one knows why. For being a park near traffic, it was very peaceful and mistreated. Weeds had overgrown, and the paths were starting to be invaded by moss. Roses didn't grow anymore there, only dandelions. It was basically as if a small section of a forest had been transported to a random town. The playground was already rusted, pieces of it already on the floor, they weren't noticeable though, as if nature slowly began to swallow the playground in pieces. Walking in the park was something I did everyday, usually at noon when all the cars started to disappear.

It did seem scary walking at the park by myself, but in this town, the last disappearance of a woman was almost 35 years ago. There was no crime here, and everything was and is peaceful. And as much as I loved this town, I had to get out. I didn't want to keep living with people who don't support me, and also I'm basically an adult now. It was time to get out and explore the world.

*2 Weeks Later*

I didn't realize how hard it would be to get a job that paid well in the town. I was starting to notice that I am not happy living here any more. I just had to find a way to get out. So, to distract my mind out of these past 2 horrible weeks, I went on a walk.

I went a little later than the usual time, to enjoy the breeze that flew around at night. There was no sound around, no cars with people trying to get home, no children playing. It was perfect.

As I opened the gate to the park, something started to feel weird. As if someone was watching me, it was probably me being paranoid. This time, instead of just walking around the covered path, I decided to see the playground and how much was left of it. Nothing unusual I would say. But there was a bag there, covered in dirt, as if someone was trying to bury it.

I reached down to grab the bag, not caring if it was unsanitary for me to grab. It seemed vintage, a woman's handbag. I decided to open it out of curiosity, and I wouldn't believe what I had just found. It was $20,000 there. Who would carry $20,000 and then try to bury it!! The bag seemed left out for a while, so I thought to myself that it probably didn't belong to anyone in the town anymore, so I took it. I realized that this was my way out.

*1 Week Later*

After looking for apartments all over the state, I found the one that was perfect for myself. It was pretty small, compared to where I used to live with my so-called parents. But it was perfect, this beautiful smell in the hallway that would lead to the bathroom and the bedroom. It smelled like lavender, the real estate agent had told me that that smell had been there since the apartment was abandoned. With the money I found, I bought the place.

I thought to myself, that now living here, everything was going to change. I had to get ready to take my stuff and buy furniture and make this place my home.

*2 Weeks Later*

I had officially moved into the apartment that I called home the first time I stepped in. The apartment was close to the city, about a 15 minute ride. The smell in the hallway was still there, lavender, now with a hint of roses. Such a beautiful smell. It was weird whatsoever, the smell only came from the hallway and the hallway only. If I stepped out of the hallway, the smell of lavender and roses disappeared.

I had made a few friends already, between the days of moving, I met my neighbors. College roommates, about 4 people living together. Pretty surprising in my opinion, the apartments being pretty small.

I hung out with them a few couple of times, going to get coffee, showing me the place, the city, and helping me find a job. Those $20,000 weren't going to last forever.

I felt like saying a big thank you to them, so I made a small party for them.

While fixing the place 3 hours before, I heard a *thump* in the hallway. I went to check it out, and a horrible smell came out flying from the sky. A painting that was there when I bought the house fell down. A strange black small notebook fell down as well. It was the thing that made the beautiful smell of lavender and roses. But it was the same thing that for the first time ever, filled the room with a horrendous smell of something rotting.

I wanted to ignore the smell, but I couldn't. It just filled the whole room, it never happened before. It was only the smell of lavender and roses that you could smell in the hallway, now it was this rotting smell that surrounded everything. It was going to affect my party, so I decided to throw away the notebook. However, I just couldn't, there was something unusual about it. I decided to read it.

"Dear Diary,

I am so glad that someone found this notebook. She is really pretty, I just wish I knew more about her. I do know something whatsoever, she is just like me. She will suffer exactly like me."

I stopped to keep reading, it creeped me out. I decided to lock it in my room, and open up the windows to get rid of the smell.

I only had two hours left before my neighbors came to the party. I doordash some food, and ran down to the grocery store quickly to grab drinks and more snacks.

I arrived on time at home, 5 minutes before the food came, and 30 minutes before the guest arrived.

*Few Hours Later*

Everyone had already left, it was 1:00 AM. I'm not sure if that is the right time for a party to end for college students and a 19 year old? I cleaned everything up in the kitchen that connected with the living room. There wasn't a lot to clean up so I finished in less than an hour.

I forgot everything about the book that I left on my nightstand. I was surprised when I opened the bedroom door, there was no horrible smell. The lavender and roses smell was back. I kept reading,

"She seems to be happy you know. I was just like that. I left that horrible place 35 years ago, and ended up here. People didn't care that I 'disappeared' all I am known from is as a myth. I'm glad you know. This happens every 35 years. I "disappear" from town, and end up in this apartment. I am not sure how she hasn't realized it, the $20,000, the perfect town, the four friends living together. Everything needs to add up to her. She'll start to remember and forget.

Sincerely,

I'm not sure"

What did I just read!!!

What did it mean by "everything needs to add up to her"? Who is this person talking about? How do they know how I got here? Nothing seems to make sense now. I wish it did, this whole book ruined everything. All in one two pages would make me question everything about myself.

I tried to go to sleep, leaving the notebook far away from me. It was difficult for me to sleep, was this the same person that disappeared from my town? It sort of matched up. Why would they write that whoever read this would suffer the same as they did? I just didn't get that. The thoughts went away and I was able to go to sleep.

I woke up in the morning. Remembering what I read last night, trying to make it seem as a dream. I had gotten scared, the book wasn't where I placed it anymore, it seemed to disappear. It sort of relieved me, it made me think that I was going crazy and that everything must have been a dream.

I went on my day to the bookstore, ran some errands. Everything seem to be going great. I hung out with one of the four roommates since they decided to drop out of college. We went to a mall in the city and did some shopping. After I got home I noticed that I got an unusual letter in my mail. It didn't say who it was addressed to, and the envelope seemed to be dirty.

I opened it and it was a page from the diary that disappeared from the apartment. "SUFFER EXACTLY LIKE ME" was written on the whole page. I threw it away as quickly as I saw it. What was that? Was someone pranking me? I hid in my room just in case someone was here, but I couldn't believe how it was. Almost every page of the notebook were on the walls, every single one with "SUFFER EXACTLY LIKE ME"

Was I going crazy? Is this some sort of curse?

Everything started to be so confusing, that basically everything came back to me. This has all happened before, the diary was right. I was that girl who disappeared 35 years go. What did this mean? What was actually my name? Was this some sort of alternative reality? I still didn't get what the pages "SUFFER EXACTLY LIKE ME" meant. What was going to happen to me? Everything is starting to get woozy, I guess this is it....I guess everything is going to repeat again. The pages on the wall disappeared. The apartment started to look exactly how it looked when I bought it. All it was missing was the black small notebook.

Sincerely,

I am not sure

*She started to put the notebook into the wall and the painting over it. Everything surrounding her, as well herself started to drift away. Like a smudge of a painting. No one would remember her, only a myth. A story that was told to children about the women who disappeared, in which $20,000 and a black small notebook were not included. There wasn't that much history behind them or why they're important. Only the next victim would've known about how important those items are when it all became too late.*

*35 years later and it all began again*

I recently decided that it was.....