Jigsaw

She opened the front door and sighed. It was damp and drizzly. Jogging on a rainy day was not particularly her favourite, but it was a better option than convincing her mother otherwise. She shuddered at just the thought of it. Nevertheless she pulled the black hood over head and took off. Her house was at the edge of the woods, a mile away from the countryside. The jog past the woods into the clearing again proved to be the difficult part. It always was…with all the ducking, and evading of the branches. As she reached the clearing she stopped waiting to catch her breath. She then looked up and a smile appeared across her face. The view of the country-side never failed to impress her.

She started again, this time a little more slower with smaller steps thoroughly enjoying the cool gentle breeze blowing across her face .It was then that she saw it. It was the same sight…everyday for the past three months..as it stood there. The lone barn house in the middle of the countryside. The moment she saw it she couldn’t help remembering all the stories her mother had mentioned about people disappearing inside it. Normal healthy people , people who believed paranormal activities never exists.. who ventured into the barn alone defying all warnings. She was too old to be believing in ghost stories,she wanted to tell her mom. She was so lost in her thoughts that she seldom noticed all the water her dress had soaked up.The rain was steadily increasing and with a mile to go in either direction she weighed her options. She didn’t need any time to think…Almost instantly she dashed towards the barn.She had never believed in paranormal activities..or atleast that is what she thought.

The door was open ,she slowly stepped inside. It was pitch dark. She gently scanned the walls with her hands .It didn’t take long to find,it made a loud click .She stood there watching in disbelief. It looked nothing like a creep house. The walls were neatly painted with ample lighting across the whole barn. It was dust free, the chicken stands were arranged coherently , even the hay was spread across with utmost care .The barn had a single window on the right wall. At the centre of it all was a large circular elegant wooden table with an unopened box of jigsaw puzzle on top of it.

“This is it..??” she mumbled as she gallantly strode around the barn. “Show me the blood…Show me the horror “ she said. Nothing seemed peculiar or out of place. She stopped as she reached the centre table staring at the unopened box of jigsaw puzzle. “Strange” she thought out loud. “Since when did people started leaving jigsaw puzzles at abandoned barns”.As she examined the box she realized that there was something even more odd.There was no figure of formation displayed anywhere on the box.Just a bunch of advertisements and colourful cartoon characters.She decided to give it a try.She glanced outside the window and could make out that the rain was still pouring. She peeled off the plastic covering on the box and emptied the entire contents on the table.The noise echoed through the barn and was promptly followed by stunned silence.The eerie silence for the first time gave her goose bumps.She froze for a moment. ”Dont be a moron” she told herself ,as she set out to arrange the pieces.

An hour had passed and she was almost done, only a dozen pieces remained. She stared at it intently ..twisting her head to all angles to make some sense at what was forming.It took her a moment to realize but then it struck her…she gasped at what she saw and instinctively took a few steps backwards from the table.The picture so far was clearly depicting the interior of the very barn house she was in.”.How is this possible??”She whispered to herself and again quickly glanced around the barn to dismiss her vehemence that she was being watched. She looked at the table again ,with only a dozen left it could be over in a minute,she thought. Mustering all her courage she slowly walked towards the table and picked up the remaining pieces..her hands still shaking.As she fitted the very last piece of puzzle, her face drained white.To her horror she realized that the dozen pieces she had arranged formed a center table with a young girl in a black hood arranging the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and that was not the worst part. The last few pieces also completed the window beyond which was a tall,dark figure forebodingly staring inside at the girl. She was trembling now not sure whether to turn back at the window and confirm her worst fears.Yet again it proved to be too late.The last sound she ever heard was that of breaking glass…