RedEyes
1383 Words
Isolde Mercer stood at her father’s funeral knowing one thing. Something with red eyes had taken him on the night of her birthday.
It was three days ago, and Ashen Mercer had finally kept his promise. For years, he had told Isolde he would take her to see an NBA game live. And for years, something had always come up. A meeting. A flight. A contract that couldn’t wait. Work had a way of stealing him from her at the worst possible moments. But not this time.
This time, he cleared his schedule. No interruptions. No last-minute calls. Just him and his daughter. It was her eighteenth birthday, and she was getting whatever she wanted. He was a busy man—always traveling, always chasing something bigger than himself—but that evening, he chose her. And Isolde had never smiled so brightly.
But everything ended in tragedy. If she had known… if she had known what that night would become, perhaps she would have stayed home. Perhaps her father would still be alive. She had blamed herself, and for three days, Isolde barely left her room. She paced. She thought. She replayed fragments over and over, trying to force them into something that made sense.
It was a bear. She told herself that for the hundredth time.
That was what made sense. That was what people would believe. But bears didn’t have eyes like that. This one had been massive. Too tall. Too dark. Its presence had felt… intentional. Angry.
Maybe she had imagined it. Maybe it had been shock. Trauma. A dream. A very bad dream.
Everything blurred after the crash. The police had found her unconscious in the passenger seat. They said they couldn’t find Ashen anywhere near the vehicle. They took her to the hospital. For hours, her mind had been blank.
Until the screams came back in her mind.
“There’s a bear on the road!” she had yelled, panic flooding her voice as her father drove them to the game.
The creature stood in the middle of the road, unmoving. Watching. Its eyes glowed red in the headlights, and Ashen swerved sharply, turning the wheel away from it.
“Daddy, what are you doing?” she screamed.
“Saving us both!”
The car slammed into a tree. The windshield exploded. Glass sprayed everywhere. Pain burst through her skull as her head struck the dashboard.
“Daddy…” she gasped, reaching for him. Then she saw it through blurred vision. The creature moved closer. “Da–” She reached for him but she was too weak. A massive claw punched through what remained of the window, and glass shattered again. Her father’s body was yanked from the driver’s seat like he weighed nothing.
His scream tore through the night. And then, the creature’s back was the last thing she saw before her eyes closed. When she woke up, she was in a hospital bed. Her body was weak. Her head throbbed with a dull, relentless ache. It had been a dream, she told herself. Perhaps a little accident?
Until the detectives her mother sent to investigate returned. Ashen Mercer’s body had been found in the woods. There had been no sign of animal consumption. No scattered remains. Just one detail the detective struggled to say aloud—
His heart was missing.
The world had gone quiet after that.
Isolde hadn’t told anyone about the creature she saw. It was a bear. It had to be. That was the only explanation that didn’t make her sound insane. But she was a bright student. She knew bears didn’t surgically remove hearts. They didn’t take one thing and leave the rest.
Nothing made sense. And now, the rain fell without mercy, soaking the cemetery until the ground turned soft and treacherous beneath her heels. Black umbrellas crowded together like vultures, shielding murmured condolences and lowered heads
The coffin was closed.
Isolde stared at it, her fingers curling slowly at her sides. Her mother and two sisters stood beside her, stiff and silent, dressed in mourning black. Celine’s hand rested briefly on Isolde’s shoulder lightly before slipping away.
“Go on,” her mother said quietly. “Place the flowers.”
Isolde stepped forward. Each movement felt delayed, as though she were waiting to wake up from her nightmares. The bouquet trembled in her grasp as she bent and laid it atop the polished wood. White lilies. Her father had loved lilies.
“Make sure you say something to him. He is listening and resting in heaven,” her mother had said to her before the ceremony started.
Isolde opened her mouth—but no words came.
She straightened and stepped back, returning to her place as the priest began to speak. His voice washed over her. It was distant and hollow, every word sounding like it didn't come from his heart, instead, he had rehearsed it. Around her, people wept openly. Isolde did not.
She hadn’t cried since the police came. Since the detectives brought in the body bag. Since she learned her father’s heart was missing.
People brushed past her. Arms squeezed her shoulders. Soft condolences filled the air. She didn’t hear any of it. Her gaze remained fixed on the coffin. Waiting. Half-expecting it to creak open. Imagining him sitting up, brushing dirt from his suit, laughing and telling her it was all a prank.
But the wood remained still. And so did he.
When it was over, she slipped away before anyone could stop her. Her mother stayed behind, speaking quietly with her in-laws, accepting hugs and pity she didn’t have the strength to refuse.
Isolde walked to the car alone. The air felt heavier there. Quieter. She opened the passenger door, slid inside, and shut it firmly—as if she could seal the world out. Her body sagged into the seat. She let out a long breath and closed her eyes.
For a moment, there was nothing. No rain. No voices. No priest. Just darkness.
Then—
Knock. Knock.
Her eyes flew open. A shadow stood in front of the window. She rolled it down slowly.
Two familiar faces stared back at her—worried eyes, forced smiles trying to be strong for her. Her two best friends. Vesper and Cordelia. They had also attended the funeral and had already been whispering about how to distract her.
Cordelia pushed Vesper forward. “Isolde. Corderlia and I talked. We decided to relieve your stress. There’s a party tonight at Tucker’s. We want to get your mind off all this sadness.”
Cordelia nodded. “Please… don’t say no.”
Isolde scoffed. She let out a long, heavy breath she’d been holding since leaving the mansion that afternoon. “Distraction? How can you even say that?”
“We just thought—”
“He was my best friend, guys! My dad died!” she interrupted, voice sharp.
“We know, Iso—”
She slammed the car door before Vesper could finish. Leaning back, she clutched her necklace. It was the first birthday gift he had given her three days ago. She had worn it every day since. Now… it was all she had left. No hugs from him anymore. No presents. No words of comfort.
But was she being harsh on them? They were only trying to help. Maybe she needed a distraction. Maybe if she went to this party, the pain would dull for a few hours. Maybe she could pretend life was normal again.
She craved anything—anything—other than the memories of what had happened three days ago. She didn’t want to see those red eyes behind her mind.
She texted her friends, asking if the invitation still stood. Then, there was a low knock on the window. She rolled it down.
“I don’t have any clothes,” Isolde said. “I’ll have to go back to the mansion.”
Cordelia stretched out a bag. “You don’t have to. Vesper and I picked this one out for you. We knew you’d need help.”
Isolde forced a smile. She hoped she was doing the right thing. Fingers tightening on her necklace, she whispered, “I’m sorry, Daddy… I guess it’s time to let you go.”
- Writer
