After a long day of sailing, I finally tie my boat onto the dock. It’s about 11pm, and I’m the last person at the Royal Norwegian yacht club here in Oslo. Since it’s summer in Norway, the sun had just set only a mere 20 minutes ago. I had to run back onto my boat after I realized I left my Helly Hansen wind breaker on it. The wind is blowing steadily, and while I was tempted to untie my boat and go for another trip around the bay, something was stopping me. I felt like I was being watched. No one else was at the club now, so I didn’t think anything of it. “It’s probably just my imagination” I thought. As I step off my boat, I hear a voice behind me. “Hello Inga.” I quickly whip around to see a man.
He was just...standing there….but then I noticed. He was holding a knife. I have never seen this man before; and with a devious smile on his face, I could tell he was up to no good. He looked strange. A caucasian man maybe in his late thirties, wearing dark pants, black shoes and a black sweatshirt with his hood up.  Before I could even think, He starts to walk towards me. I then go into fight or flight mode, and I remember what my dad told me if anyone tries to attack me..”Use self defense.” I hear him say. But this is different. This guy is holding a knife. So quickly I run towards him, grab his arms and twist them. I then proceed to take his knife.  Confused with these new skills that have come out of nowhere, and a body filled with adrenaline, I close my eyes and swing. I hear a gasp of pain. I cut his throat. I then swing again. I cut his chest. I cut again and again until he collapses to the ground. I’m breathing heavily. However, there is still adrenaline pulsing through my body. As if I’m possessed by the devil himself, I drag his bleeding body onto my boat. The white floor beginning to be stained with red blood pulsing out of his body. I quickly untie the ropes holding my boat, throw my sail into the air, and sail out into the bay. I have gone about 4 miles out, and am now in the ocean. Farther out than most experienced sailors go. I just couldn’t bear the thought of anyone finding his body. The water is quite rough. However, with my radar, I could tell that the water was about 100 feet deep. Perfect. I quickly push him off with my foot, and throw my knife in, and with what little light I have, see his body sink down below, until I could no longer see him. In a state of shock, I sail my way back to the dock, and get to my parking spot. I then pull my sail down, and tie my ropes back onto the anchors of the dock. It’s now 11:30. I take the hose attached to the wall of the club house that’s meant for cleaning fish. I turn the hose on, and rinse everything. My boat, the dock, myself. As I see the bloody water pour into the bay, and pour between the wooden panels of the docks, it all hits me...I just killed a man. I turn the hose off, and run to my car with my belongings, and take a towel from the trunk of my BMW SUV I got for my 18th birthday. I then change into new clean clothes, and throw my now ruined blood stained clothes in my trunk, planning on discreetly throwing them in the outdoor fireplace when I get home. I then proceed to drive home, crying all the way. I remembered that my parents weren’t home, and were currently at a global climate change awareness gala in Iceland..of all places. I get home, and I greet my Bernese Mountain dog Hespen. I then start a fire on my back porch in my outdoor fireplace, and throw my clothes in it. I then sit down in a chair, as I watch the blood stained clothes go up in flames. I then go back inside, and take a shower, hoping to wash all of this sin I just committed off of myself, as easily as the blood did. This is an incident I will never forget… While I’m taking a shower however, I ask myself who was that man anyway?...How did he know my name?

As I hear birds chirping, I slowly open my eyes. I turn over on in my white and ivory silk sheets and duvet, to look at my Cartier clock on my bedside table. 9:00 am it says. I get up from my bed and look in my mirror. My blonde hair looks tousled from a rough night of sleep, and my normally sparkling blue eyes are looking fairly dull. I haven’t gotten much sleep lately, since the incident a few weeks ago. I also keep having dreams of the incident, and even though they’re bothering me, I refuse to tell anyone. So I take my silver brush and comb through my long “golden locks” as my friend referred to it as. I then proceed to throw it up into a ponytail, and change into my cream turtleneck, white shorts,leather sperrys and I grab my black Prada Saffiano bag. I then put on my Rolex and my tiffany diamond earrings. “Inga!!” My mother calls. I then walk down my staircase to go investigate as to what my mom wants. She looks at me and says “oh good you’re ready.” Before I can tell her I haven’t brushed my teeth, she proceeds to push me out the door, where my dad is waiting in the Porsche convertible.  We get in, and Immediately, I think they know. Somehow they found out, and they’re taking me away. Anxiety is filling up in me, but before I say a word my mother asks “why did you wake up so late honey? Did you forget about the sailing competition?” Immediately I breathe a sigh of relief “Oh no of course not! I was just up late studying.”.. That was a lie. I was writing in my journal about that hellish day wondering what I can do to forget that day forever.
When we get to the sailboating competition, I immediately start to panic. While I am not sailing today, many others are. Just the look of a sailboat now terrifies me. I walk to the bar to get a lemonade to cool my nerves. While I’m at the bar, I can’t help but overhear people talking. “Oh my daughter, she smoked some weed last night at a party with some friends and got caught. Fortunately because of how high we are up on the societal potum tole, nothing will happen hahaha!” They then proceed to talk about all the other crimes they and their relatives committed. This strangely comforted me since they were some pretty bad things, equal to murdering a man out of self defense. However, I knew this comfort wouldn’t last. So to be sure that I wouldn’t be put in jail I but in on their conversation. “Excuse me, I don’t mean to interrupt, but what if your daughter or son murdered someone out of self defense. Would they be excused from the law?” “Oh well as long as they don’t get caught, it’s alright..Even if they do get caught nothing would happen. I think if anyone who belongs to this club murdered someone they would be innocent.” It was in this moment when I almost slipped to them that I murdered a man at this club. However, I say nothing. I just nodded, got off my chair and walked away.
When I look over at dock holding my boat, I immediately get a feeling of nausea. Before I throw up everywhere I decide to run to the bathroom, I run to opened the white paneled glass doors, into the beautiful, nautical boat house with tables and a buffet set up on the side all placed together perfectly for the lunch buffet afterwards. I quickly however run to the bathroom where I proceed to throw up in a toilet. Luckily no one is in here. While I’m sitting on the edge of the toilet I ask myself once again..who was that man and how did he know my name. I guess I should have asked before I kill him. I then get a text from my mom. “Inga! Where did you go? They’re about to hand out the medals and trophy.” Oh right, I’m here to watch the sailing competition. I quickly get up and wipe the vomit off the side of my face. I then proceed to go outside and watch the winners getting medaled, and the first place winner receiving the trophy and a bottle of Dom Perignon.
When I got home from the competition, I got a text from my good friend Mark asking if I wanted to go sailing with him the next day. While feeling anxious and not wanting to, I say yes as to not seem suspicious. When morning comes I look outside. Its a rainy day. “Must be a sign” I thought. I’m not much of a suspicious person, but since the incident I have been quite nervous and have been over analyzing the tiniest things. I then proceed to throw on some white pants, a different pair of boat shoes, a striped shirt and a new yellow Helly Hansen rain jacket that I got after telling my parents I lost the last one. I then put on pearl earrings and grab my phone and keys. When I tell my parents I’m heading out to the club, they tell me to bring Hespen since he hadn’t gotten his daily walk. “Hespen come here buddy!” Gosh I love him. To be honest, he’s one of the only things keeping me from going into a full on breakdown. I think he can sense my anxiety and can tell when I’m having flashbacks. He comes towards me, and gives me a giant slobbery kiss. I then put his Hermes leather collar on him and take out his leash just in case. He’s a very well trained dog, but sometimes he sees a squirrel and just has to run after it. We then head out to my BMW where he jumps onto the leather passenger seat. Five minutes later we’re at the club. It has started to really pour. “Oh goodness another sign” I thought. I look around. I see a fair amount of sailors, but no Mark and his sailboat is still tied up. From the looks of it, I can tell Hespen has to pee. So, I let him out and put my hood up running to the nearest tree with him to try and dodge the rain. While Hespen is doing his business, I look over at the dock and my boat. I then hear someone say behind me…”Hello Inga.”
I quickly turn around. It’s the man...but this time he isn’t holding a knife… and he’s wearing nice clothes.. And smiling...sincerely and doesn’t look the slightest bit threatening. At this point I’m very confused. A bunch of emotions are flowing through me. I feel terrified, oddly relieved, and adrenaline is running through me as fast as it ever has. “Wwwhhoo arre you?”  I stutter. “I I thought I killed you?” “Oh goodness no!” He says. “I’m just a creation of your own imagination!” “But but this doesn’t make sense!” I tell him. “I stabbed you, and not just once multiple times! And there was blood, and there was a butcher knife, and..and.” Immediately I begin to fill with emotions. “For the past few months I thought you were a real person. I kicked your body off of my boat, I sailed out 4 miles to drop your dead body..how? just ...how?!” When I look up I see him looking at me. Innocently. “Oh Inga no. This is all a dream. I am a dream, a fantasy of yours. I’m not real. Now yes you did sail 4 miles out, but you didn’t kick anyone off a boat. There was no knife! There was no blood. All in your head.” I process this.. “I’m innocent then.” Immediately my eyes start to well up with tears. Tears of relief, joy, and happiness all over the fact that I never actually killed someone, and everything is right. However, when I look up to say thank you to this strange man, he’s gone. “Inga!” I hear. I turn around to see Mark call to me, but thought it may have been the man of my imagination once again. “Gah sorry I’m late!” “Wanna go out now?!” “Uhh sure.” I say hesitantly. “Are you okay?” Mark exclaims. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I think I just had a scary day-dream.” “Oh, don’t worry about that. Our imagination can be our biggest fear.” “Boy is that the truth!” I chuckle. “C’mon Hespen! I yell. By now, he’s sniffing some flowers. He runs over and we all get onto the sailboat. “How far do you want to go out?” Mark asks. “Doesn’t matter.” I say. We head out, and I breathe a sigh of relief knowing that no matter how far we go out, we will never find a dead body or a bloody knife..because it was all a creation of my imagination.