Topic: Does social media violate our privacy?
Essay of the student who won this year’s competition on creative writing
The decade-old bus h was inundated with people; all of their faces painted by the darkness of night. Anyone of them could be him. Anxiety coursed through my veins as I looked through the window. Then suddenly, I heard a low chilling voice.
The day started with my usual routine of scrolling through instagram to see what everyone was up to when I received a message. It was obviously from a creep threatening to send my explicit pictures; I was desensitized to these messages; it was not something unusual. I blocked him, which was my exact mistake. Two days later, I woke to a broken window.
My heart was palpitating when I heard steps, someone was in here. I rushed to the closet, locking myself in, crouching in terror and trepidation. A booming voice reverberated throughout the house ‘come out and I will make it easy for you!’ my heart sank. But I knew what to do. Very quietly, I grabbed the bag and tiptoed down the stairs when I spotted the man with his back turned to me, suppressing my tears, I swung the bat at his head with as much force as I could. Blood gushed out of his head and he toppled over.
His face contorted in pain cursing out my name.
After that event, I never used my phone but had always suffered excruciating panic attacks. I feared I would see him again, every face looked like his. But now I saw him. His face was covered in bandages soaked in crimson red blood; he was smiling, showing off his sharp yellow talons. I felt dizzy.
Written by Lamisa Tasmin
10A Cambridge student