Short Story Competition Runner-up, School Years 4 to 5: Anna Sofia Medici Serfaty with ‘The Hooded Figure’
In the dark and misty night, I found myself standing in the middle of an eerie city. I thought I was alone, but then, I saw a shadowy figure move through the empty alleyways; his hood pulled low, covering his face. Slowly, the figure walked towards me but stopped under the lonely flickering streetlight. I could now see his clothes, a green hoodie and black trousers. Suddenly, the figure sprinted towards me. I felt a shiver run down my spine. I thought he was going to harm me, but all he said was, ’I’ll be back...’ No one has seen him since - rumors spread but soon the story was forgotten and everyone moved on.
Five weeks later...
I returned to that same place, feeling regretful. What if the man had something important to tell me? When I met him previously, he was unarmed ‘But this time, will he be?’ I asked myself. ‘What am I doing?’ Then I remembered I was here for what he had to tell me. Could it be that something was wrong, but he couldn't tell me the first time, because it just wouldn’t come out? I was about to find out, or so I hoped. I was unsure whether he would come out or not. All of a sudden, I felt something inside of me pulling me, like it was guiding me so I followed it with hesitation. It took me to an abandoned town. I turned around but all I could see was black...I was scared. I felt the same inside tug again but this time it was stronger. While I was following it came to a sudden stop ...to a graffiti wall? In the blink of an eye the man jumped over the wall wrote a message and left once again. The message read ‘‘Love one another.’’
Judge’s Comments: A moody and atmospheric scene is set in this story through the use of vocabulary and figurative language, From the ‘lonely streetlight’ to the sprinting, hooded figure the reader is engaged and eager to follow on to what seems an inevitable outcome. A pleasant surprise then when the shadowy figure’s message turns out to be to ‘love one another’. A fitting message for the ages.
