They buried my body under the old willow tree, by the tire swing where I had been murdered. The police still had no idea who my killer was, and I blocked out the memory… I try hard to remember… I’m not sure how I will. You know, there is still blood caked onto the tire swing. Burgundy, copper smelling, blood. And it was all mine…

I used to have a relatively nice life. My father was a fancy businessman with a 6figure salary, my mother a wealthy home seller. In addition, of course there was Jeffrey from down the street. Of course, being wealthy meant all the girls and guys at school worshiped me. We lived in a poor town, with little money. However there were some families, like Jeffrey’s, who also had money.

I miss it… the life I had. It was everything to me. There were my friends, Hazel and Genevieve, my parents, and of course, Jeffrey. I guess you would probably want to know more about me, huh? Well… My name is Anastasia Ruk. I’m Czech, and of course, I look the picture. Dark, almost black brown hair, with amber eyes. I take pride in how I look. Hardly having to use make-up is a very nice thing in life.

I guess I was a pretty, spoiled kid. Now that life was taken from me, well… I realize all the special Gucci totes, and Prada really doesn’t mean anything. It’s all about whom you care for… Not the stupid, artificial, stuff.


In heaven, you have the good people, and the mean people who got in for who knows why. I guess I’m a little of both. Because in heaven, you get whatever you want… And I got my stupid artificial wants. Nevertheless, I didn’t get the thing that really mattered. Which is the guy I’m pretty sure I love. Jeffrey White…. Yeah, you probably saw that coming. I’m just a lowly Sophomore, and him an amazing Junior.

I have a picture of him in heaven. His blond hair looking gold in the sunlight, his blue eyes to twin pools of color. I also have a picture of my dad…but not my mom. I haven’t been able to figure that out. Maybe I just sub-consciously don’t like her?

Thinking about what happened on the tire swing… I start to see images. I’m watching Jeffrey’s house, the cold weather is buffeting my face, and my little puffy hat is being blown away. Then there is a smell… It smells like lavender… Mixed with the aroma of hot chocolate. And I hear my mom’s voice; “Ana, are you thirsty?”. The rest is lost in my mind.

Jeffrey had asked me out that day… That is clear in my mind. We had been talking more often, and he finally had asked me out. I had been so excited as I watched his house. My warm, pink, cashmere sweater wrapped around me. I know, I know, very girly. When I heard my mom, Jeff had just been coming out of his house, and hadn’t seen me. So I was turning on the tire swing…


It was a month after my murder I remembered it… She killed me… The scent of her perfume, her voice, everything…it all matched up. My mother had killed me that day. Of course, I know exactly why.

My parents were getting divorced, and since my father had gotten a Pre-nup, my mother was taken out of the will, and me put in it to take everything. If I died…my parents would have to stop getting divorced since there would be no other heir to speak of. God, why hadn’t I thought of this before??? My mother killed me, to get hold of my father’s money…

And now it was too late. Hazel, Genevieve, my father, and Jeff were lost forever… And who would suspect my mother? No one… Yeah, heaven is nice, but… I’d much rather go back to that day.

I’d jump off the tire swing and start running instead, and not turn, only to be butchered. I’d run away from home, and stay with Jeff…I’d stop my mother from destroying my life…

Too bad it doesn’t work that way. All that’s left is to stick it out, and wait, for them to come.