Specimen by Roald E Peterson Iii Out for a simple walk, Carl encounters two aliens hunting for scientific specimens to study, and they ... [3,882 words]
Insomnia by Jeremy Lee Henderson Where do writers get their ideas? Sometimes it's best you don't ask... [597 words]
The Day The Rain Stopped by Jeremy Lee Henderson A story about death and friendship. [802 words]
Image Obsessed by Paula M Shackleford A brief "Bridget Jones" moment. [816 words]
The Stone: Man Or Myth? by Lawrence Peters Continuing story of a legendary childhood friend, which will be updated as time and the... [1,956 words]
The Secret Admirer
The Island Of Avalon by Sandy Wasson a fictional tale, telling of the origin of avalon, along with a cute romance in it. [6,265 words]
The Battlefield Philosopher by David Gardiner We all had that poster of Che Guevara on our walls. We all wanted to fight for the ... [3,702 words]
Paradise Relived by Adagio This is a short emotional story of the full cycle of love. [1,534 words]
Night Out by Virginia Waters A bitter-sweet tale of unrequited love. [4,358 words]
Deraa by Caitlin Conaway *Short* scene-- WWI hero Lawrence of Arabia meditates on a pivotal event in his life: his capture and tor... [950 words]
Am I Dreaming by Janae D Anthony dream or reality. [777 words]
A Sinner by Paula M Shackleford Janey feels smothered by the man in her life. Will He ever relinquish His hold on her? [1,432 words]
The Short Stories Of Mila Strictzer by Mike Strozier The Short Stories of Mila Strictzer, With a Preface by Tex Strozier: The T... [42,875 words]
The Gangster Prince by Sreenivasa Murthy Govindaraju An innocent girl who was on her way to her village was the victim of a gang rape. The leade... [1,664 words]
The Shadows by Christina L. Voigt Is there such a thing as life after death? [638 words]
Vega's Revenge by Olivia Geraghty It only looked easy... [718 words]
Two Days Of The Beginning Of My Life by Laura Peruzzi A teenage girl finds understanding in her surroundings after 48 hours of d... [1,486 words]
The Stubborn Old Man by Roxanne Kendrick About an old man and his daughter who wants to leave. Wrote it for classwork back in 1994. [761 words]
The Lies Of Sleeping Dogs by David Gardiner History is the attempt that each generation makes to come to terms with its past. Per... [4,992 words]
One Look by Timothy A. Lyzenga A basic view of humanity [1,199 words]
Klaas by Adagio This is a story I 'discovered' after noting the homeless in the city of Cape Town. I would appreciate any... [2,122 words]
Kate by Thomas J A man dies and attends his own funeral. [4,040 words]
Kate & Louis by Roxanne Kendrick I don't know how best to describe this story, except that it's a romance. So I've put the names of... [8,062 words]
Hideaway by Laura Peruzzi After her father is killed by members of the Italian Mafia, Semara Menaratti is placed in the Witness ... [1,173 words]
Dream Park De Mattete by Rachel This is an almost love story between a Chinese ballet student and Japanese skating studen... [2,980 words]
All's Well... by Jan A. Tammen The end of the "Spooks" saga. Published by me alone, due to differences between the authors. For ... [1,173 words]
Thoughts On The Dawn After A Starry Night by Jeremy Lee Henderson A bad breakup, two days with no sleep and a 4 hour cram session for a... [563 words]
Wrath Of The Fallen: Chapter I by Jan A. Tammen In an imperfect future, a greedy corporate creation turns devastating, and human... [3,015 words]
Turning Point by Harriet Nicholas The thoughts of a girl in one afternoon that will change her attitude towards her social life . .... [2,270 words]
The Honest Cheat by Sreenivasa Murthy Govindaraju He could not meet both ends meet and steals money from his benefactor-but rises high later on ... [2,895 words]
The Agonies Of Agnes- First Entry by Hippolito Jaken Don't you ever wonder? I mean, you've read about the Saints, probably written... [327 words]
Stan & Angy by Phoenix Rises When a satan falls in love with an angel. [1,388 words]
Gem 38 by Saaz - [4,108 words]
The Monkey-Trap by David Gardiner An ageing ex-Nazi receives a visit he has been waiting for since the end of the Second World Wa... [4,815 words]
The Karmic Wheel by Becka Roach Destiny unites two lovers who find each other in every lifetime. [974 words]
The Antique Table by Sreenivasa Murthy Govindaraju He finds a love letter in a table, written 53 years back by a lady and goes in search of the ... [3,014 words]
Pilgrimage Of A Parasite by Sreenivasa Murthy Govindaraju A criminal sentenced to serve a jail term, escapes and flees in search of God and peac... [2,077 words]
Joe The Hatter & The Black Pearl by Lawrence Anthony Calabro - [12,748 words]
In The Light Of A Shadow: Showdown In The House Of God by Robert G Hagans This is the second chapter in the seris about a professi... [2,561 words]
Going Dancing by Becka Roach A young woman sets her sights on a handsome stranger. Their night of passion is one they will nev... [1,475 words]
E-Love by Rita A. Wheeler A shor-short story about internet love. [1,708 words]
Childhood Dreams by Adagio This is a short piece for those who fondly remember the past and try to relive it as often as ... [288 words]
Back Home by Becka Roach After months of being away, a young husband and wife become re-acquainted with one another. [1,703 words]
A Chance Meeting by Becka Roach What happens when two souls find one another after a life time of searching? Magic.... [1,077 words]
Go to page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 [44] 45 46 47 48 49 50
| |
TITLE (EDIT)
The Secret Admirer |
DESCRIPTION
An admirer from afar? Or is he really a harmful stalker?
[1,051 words] |
AUTHOR
Yolanda Sfetsos |
ABOUT
THE AUTHOR
I live in Sydney, Australia with my husband and baby daughter.
Writing fiction has been a hobby of mine for over a decade, and has now become a passion.
I love writing and creating new characters which reach out beyond the realms of this world, or unsual people who go unnoticed in society.
[July 2001] |
The Secret Admirer
Yolanda Sfetsos
He�d been admiring her from a distance for a long time.
She somehow, single handedly, became the only source of happiness left in his life.
Samuel was a loner, a quiet man whose family and few friends had given up on years before. He was now totally on his own with no job, and a poor excuse for a life. His entire existence fed off this stranger.
A woman, who may otherwise be seen as average, he saw as the most beautiful woman he ever laid eyes on. He saw her through very different eyes. Saw past the blond frizzy hair, the slightly long nose and the skinny frame.
He saw her through the eyes of a lonely man in his mid-thirties. A man who�d never been with a woman that he hadn�t paid for. His stocky build and balding hair didn�t exactly attract women, but what usually repelled females even more than his looks, were his eyes. They were so dark, gloomy, and filled with a darkness that made anyone who looked into them cringe.
As far as he was concerned, she was the only woman he needed in his life, even if she wasn�t even aware of his existence. He fell in love with her two years before, after she jogged past him in the park. Their eyes met for only a few seconds but she captured his heart forever. His heart belonged to a woman who wasn�t even aware of his feelings.
He purposely passed by her many times but she never noticed him. Sometimes she appeared to be looking at him, but he could never be sure, she was caught up in her own world.
Samuel followed her around since, to her apartment, job, anytime she was out he wouldn�t be far behind, in the shadows. It was easy for him to follow her around - they were both residents in a large complex full of apartment blocks - she lived in one and he in another, but they still remained strangers.
While she went about her normal life, he watched every move. She was unaware that to this bizarre individual she was like an ongoing movie. Wherever she went, Samuel and his cameras would follow. Taking countless of photos and hours of footage on his video camera. There were close ups, long shots, and even odd shots with her smiling, laughing, shopping, and walking.
All of these photos lined the walls of his apartment; the whole place was a shrine to the woman that he was deeply, and insanely, obsessed with� Jennifer Landers.
During the last year he started to notice something different about Jennifer. She hardly ever smiled anymore. Yet he failed to make the inevitable connection that the deterioration of her happiness was a result of his own actions.
For in his mind, even though he was living the fantasy of a stalker, he had absolutely no intention of harming her physically or otherwise. He knew something that she would never find out - that he was harmless.
Instead, Samuel continued to unintentionally hurt the person he was in love with, more than his twisted mind would ever know. He�d driven a stake of fear so deep into the heart of this woman that he was the reason why Jennifer had stopped smiling; stopped living a proper life.
The flowers, chocolates, and all of the other gifts that he was anonymously sending to her work and home were only adding to the fear that Jennifer already had, along with his calls. He loved to hear her sweet voice, but the silence only scared her further to reclusion.
He called her again tonight, at the same time that he did every night since finding out her telephone. She hadn�t answered. Instead she once again ignored the phone, even though she was home. Samuel always knew when she was home; he would stand by the mailboxes as she arrived home from work every day.
When his phone started ringing only minutes later, it startled him. He didn�t get any phone calls, unless they were wrong numbers. But this wasn�t one of those.
�Hello?�
Silence.
�Hello?� He repeated. His voice sounded rusty, he hardly even put one sentence together each day.
Further silence followed.
�Hello Jennifer, I know it�s you, I�ve got caller ID�
A quivering voice finally replied. �Please leave me alone.�
�I can�t do that� I love you.�
�Please, please leave me alone.� Her voice quivered as she started to cry.
�Oh Jennifer no, please don�t cry. I won�t hurt you, we will soon be together and you will see how happy I can make you.�
Suddenly there was a loud noise on her end of the line.
�What�s going on?� Samuel asked, genuinely concerned.
Jennifer continued to cry but didn�t say anything.
There were yells now; it sounded as if someone was knocking hard on her door. Yelling at the same time, Samuel couldn�t make out the words.
�Who�s that Jennifer?�
He heard an awkward sound, as if the phone had dropped out of her grasp. Suddenly his body began to shake. For the first time, he felt fear wash over his body. Something else must�ve been underlying in the life of his beauty, being drowned by his own actions.
The line was cut off.
Samuel dialed that familiar number we call during an emergency. He informed the operator of the location and of the disturbance then hung up. Once again remaining anonymous.
The next evening he found himself in the darkness of his one bedroom apartment allowing the silence to wrap itself around him. He sat staring at all of the photos of his beautiful, Jennifer, as her face also appeared on his television screen. This was all that he had left of her� there would now only be her memory to stalk.
Jennifer would never know how much this stranger cared for her. He dedicated many hours to someone he hadn�t even met; he�d only known her from a distance and invaded the privacy of her life, for his own selfish gain.
Jennifer Landers� body was found in her apartment the night before. She�d been murdered; died a tragic soul with the pain that he himself helped put in her life.
For the first time during his obsession, he felt partly responsible� but Samuel heard the killer�s name, the one truly responsible for her death.
He could no longer be her secret admirer.
|
READER'S REVIEWS (6)
DISCLAIMER: STORYMANIA DOES NOT PROVIDE AND IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR REVIEWS. ALL REVIEWS ARE PROVIDED BY NON-ASSOCIATED VISITORS, REGARDLESS OF THE WAY THEY CALL THEMSELVES.
"Powerful... the way it was delivered was refreshing and shows the weakness but yet power indivulas have over their lives and others' lives!" -- CV.
"I enjoyed reading this and became very involved in the story, but I think it could be improved in a number of ways. Firstly, we don't really understand the feelings and motives of the stalker, even though you try hard to get them across. I wanted to know what the girl represented for him, why pick on her rather than someone else: did she remind him of a childhood love, or what was it about her that had really pressed his buttons? Why did he have eyes "filled with a darkness that made anyone who looked into them cringe?". You have made him physically unattractive but I think it would actually be more interesting if he was physically completely ordinary and unremarkable, and all the problems that stopped him forming normal relationships were inside his head. Similarly for the girl, we know the facts of the case, that she is being followed etc., but who is she, what kind of life has she got, is she a loner as well, is she secretly flattered by his attentions at some level? I don't think we get much sense of the girl as a person. Finally the ending is a bit unsatisfactory, it might be more powerful if the stalker at this point turned into a determined killer and decided to go after her murderer. I think it's potentially an excellent framework for a story and you are certainly able to write but you do it in a way that is too "straight" and concentrate too much on externals. Hope this is helpful. " -- David Gardiner, London, England.
"IT IS A GOOD STORY" -- CHUANEE TANCHUAN, singapore, singapore, singPORE.
"It is a very nice and interresting story." -- Sheryl Yap, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
"It is a nice and sad story !!!" -- Sheryl Yap, Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
"It's a touching and a rather realistic story" -- Joanne, jb, malaysia, johor.
TO DELETE UNWANTED REVIEWS CLICK HERE! (SELECT "MANAGE TITLE REVIEWS" ACTION) |
|
Submit Your Review for The Secret Admirer
Required fields are marked with (*).
Your e-mail address will not be displayed.
|
|
Submit Your Rating for The Secret Admirer
|
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
© 2001 Yolanda Sfetsos |
STORYMANIA PUBLICATION DATE
July 2001 |
NUMBER OF TIMES TITLE VIEWED
2164
|
|
