Stern College for Women - Kochaviah Yearbook (New York, NY)

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► o o o o A story in the Ambrose Bierce vein ► ► ► ► z o ► ► ► ► o I FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN H.i.e you ever found yourself alone? 1 mean alone, on a dark night on a deserted train platform or on a dark street after midnight. If you have, you may have noticed that the mind can play funny tricks on you. Evelyn Albert visited her friend, Geraldine, who was quite ill. Evelyn was about to leave . . . Well, I have to run, honey, because it ' s past 12:30 and tomorrow I must go to work. She closed the door and walked down the steps. The nig ht seemed cool for the middle of July, but never- theless, it was a beautiful night. She felt very much relieved. Poor Geraldine, she said to herself as she turned the corner. Even in this beautiful weather she can ' t keep the windows open. It ' s so hot and stuffy in there. Evelyn walked down the block until she came to the subway. She stopped and fished for her token. She found it, de- posited it in the turnstile and started down the steps. Halfway down she sud- den ly remembered that she had forgotten to buy a newspaper. She went back up and at the top of the stairs she heard her train coming. Quickly she bought her newspaper and ran down the steps, but she missed the train. As she stood there, various thoughts ran through her mind. I won ' t be able to get up tomorrow morning. If I come late again, who knows what will happen. She started to count the stairs to pass the time, but her thouL ' lit returned to her job. Oh dear, you don ' t think the boss will fire me, do you ' ? He can ' t do that to me. After all, 1 diil hear him say that I was indispens- able and that I am the best secretary he has ever had. Poor Geraldine is always ' ' trm ' sick. What she needs is a change ol climate, because if she doesn ' t move, the doctor -aid she won ' t live long. How . .m -he ino e ? She i . 1 1 1 ' t afford it. By MARILYN SINGER Brooklyn Suddenly a chill came over her. She heard the train in the distance coming nearer and nearer. She moved up against the wall of the platform. I just got the funniest feeling. I feel as if someone is going to sneak up behind me and push me off the platform. Oh well, the only person on the platform is all the way down at the other end. I ' m just being silly. Ah, here comes the train. She got on, took a seat, looked around and saw only one other person in the car. She studied him. Her eyes met his. His eyes were glassy. Oh dear, I hope he isn ' t drunk. That ' s all I need. I hope he isn ' t a dope addict .Oh no! She turned away. She could feel his cold, glassy stare. It sent shivers up and down her spine. He got up and slowly walked towards her. She told herself to be calm. He stood right over her now. He stood there for a minute, just staring at her (after all, they had voted her the prettiest girl in the office). She was very frightened, but she didn ' t utter a sound or blink an eye. She just sat there, wait- ing, hoping that he would go away. They stared at each other. Then he said : Pardon me, ma ' am, but is that news- paper yours? He pointed to the seat with the newspaper on it. Her eyes fol- lowed his finger. She told him that it didn ' t belong to her. He took it and went back to his seat. She heaved a sigh ot relief. She got off at Stillwell Avenue to change to another train. She walked up the stairs, across and down to another platform. Not one person appeared on the platform. She found herself alone. She became frightened again. I ' ve got a funny feeling that something is going to happen to me. Evelyn Albert, how silly can oii be? Nothing is going to happen to you. I ' ve made this trip too main rimes for anything to happen. Just o o o o o o o I z o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o z o o o o o o 1 o o o z o z o o o

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► o z o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o $ o o o o o o o I o o ► o t o ► ► ► o ► o s ► o ► o o s o ► ► o t o ► ► o the same, I had better be careful. Oh, it ' s so deserted, dark and lonely. I ' m scared. Suddenly she heard loud footsteps slowly coming up the ramp. Her heart started to beat faster. She felt it pound- ing against her ribs. When is that train going to come? When? Oh, come on train, please hurry. The footsteps grew louder and came closer. She could make out the figure of a tall man with a large frame advancing towards her. Slowly but surely he came closer. Then she saw- that it was only a conductor and he just passed by. The train came. How she wished that she had already arrived home. She got on. She only had to go three short stops, but it seemed like an eternity. She got off at the middle of the platform. She started to walk down the platform towards the stairs. There was no one on the platform — at least no one she could see. She walked quickly. Sud- denly she saw a man lying on the plat- form. Dead or drunk — she didn ' t know. She wanted to scream, but nothing came out. She felt her stomach and her heart turning inside her. She trembled. She had only one thought. RUN ! She tried her best to run, but she froze. Then she ran. Scared stiff and pale as a ghost, she Hew down the stairs and out of the station. Luckily, a bus was there and she made it just in time. When she got off the bus, she started walking. She still trembled and kept glancing behind her. She thought she heard footstep s. She quickened her pace. Those footsteps seemed to go faster also. However, when she looked back, she saw nothing. She turned the corner and started to run. Faster, faster, she kept telling herself. She finally came to her house. She searched for her key, fumbled, and dropped it. She found it hard to see through the tears, but finally retrieved the key. She quickly opened the door, went inside and slammed the door shut. She put her arm against the door and her head on her arm. Between her laugh- ing, crying and sighing, she managed to say : There, Evelyn Albert, wasn ' t it all silly? You ' re home now, safe and sound. Nothing bad really happened. Now, calm j ' ourself and go upstairs and take a hot shower. You ' re trembling like a leaf. As she turned around, she found herself staring into the barrel of a revolver. o o o o o o