Maria takes ahold of the amulet bag, made of quartz and jewels that she was given after her grandma died. When she received it, it came with a warning to never open it. Everyone in town had believed that her grandma was a witch, and they often shied away from any of the family. Maria was lucky; she had made a friend when she first moved to Alma, Kansas. Maria was sent to live with her grandma after her parents had left her to chase their dreams. Every now and then, Maria would cry, but when she did, she felt as though she was being watched.

Every time she felt that she was being watched, she would slide the bag across the leather strap she wore it on. Tonight was a bad night. She had been out to dinner with her best friend and then had started her trek home. Walking down the street she felt that she was being followed, her every move a spectacle, so she was sliding the amulet bag more often than she usually did. As Maria was walking down the street, something jumped out of the bushes, scaring her. She had to laugh at herself when she realized it was just a big raccoon that had been startled by her. “You poor thing,” she said “I scared you just as much as you scared me.” The raccoon looked at Maria, its eyes shining in the streetlight, and then ran off. Maria shivered a bit as those glowing eyes just intensified her feeling of being watched. “Get yourself together,” she chided herself “It is just a feeling, nothing is watching you.” Maria took a breath of relief as her grandma’s house came into view, and she jogged the rest of the way, feeling watched with every step.

The next morning, Maria awoke refreshed, took a shower and then placed the amulet bag once again around her neck. Looking outside, she noticed the trees were blowing in the gentle morning breeze, but the sky was as blue as a cornflower. She grabbed her bag and opened the door, planning on another day with her best friend. Pulling her cell phone from her pocket she made the call, and then looked around, as she started feeling watched again. Grabbing her amulet bag, she started to pull it back and forth across that leather strap and shook her head feeling as though she was losing her mind. “It is a bright day, there is nothing but squirrels and birds foraging for food,” she said to herself. Her friend showed up about ten minutes later carrying the basket that contained the picnic they had planned for today. The two girls headed off towards the alley that lead to their favourite park. The feeling of being watched intensified, Maria kept sliding her amulet bag, and all of a sudden the leather strap broke. Maria bent to pick up the bag, and screamed as an eyeball the same stormy blue as her grandma’s rolled out, its optic nerve wagging like a puppy dog’s tail. It turned and looked straight at Maria, and blinked with its attached eyelid.

Word count: 527

 I was inspired by the feeling of being watched all the time, this is just a way to explain the feeling of being watched.