Her
Rush back in, fast!
Heat creeps under my skin as I remember the handsome devil I just met. Why do you act like a total ass around anybody that interests you!
I pat my cheeks with my cold palms, like it is somehow going to lessen the red beneath it; hoping it wasn’t eminent before. But then it crosses my mind... I didn’t even ask for his name.
But he did save his number on my phone.
Wait! Where’s my phone? Shit!
I trace my path back to the temple, to no avail. No trace of anything, let alone a discarded mobile phone. But there are security cameras here.
I hurry back to the lobbyist, hoping that they could look for it via the security footage.
“Sorry ma’am, but we’re not supposed to share the footage. You can register a complaint here and we’ll get back to you if we get a lead.” She speaks before the landline shrieks on her desk.
A look of regret fills my eyes while I start scribbling my issue on the register. But then – she stops me.
Turns out the guard spotted it somewhere near the temple before I went around to look for it. But I did not spot anyone anywhere on my way... its odd.
On my way back to the apartment, I look for potential scratches or cracks, which surprisingly are none. Even though it’s not logically possible for it to fall without receiving any damage.
The sudden chill makes me jolt out into the corridor and I realize that the floor is eerily quiet. Too quiet for living breathing people to reside behind these doors. Curiosity gets the best of me and reasoning fades in the distance when I start knocking on the first door to my right.
No answer. They must not be home.
I proceed on to the next one. No answer, again.
Same on the next one. And on the next one, too. And it’s not even weekend.
Has everyone gone on a vacation? But this isn’t even the time of the year.
Clear you fucking doubt, Disha.I dart towards the floor entryway; my eyes widen as I reach my destination.
No names on any of the panels. Which means you live all alone on this floor, D. Have fun with your freedom! The bitch inside my mind taunts.
I’m not afraid. This is normal. I need to chill – I need to chill!
I scurry through the empty corridor back to the extreme end of it till I reach the front door to my flat.
On the cabinet beside the entrance, rests a red rose, with no name card anywhere in sight. It must be mistakenly put here. It has to be.
Just as I pick it, lightning strikes somewhere nearby; the thunder startling my already alarmed ass and I throw the flower on the floor, before shutting the door behind me.
A light sting radiates from my ring finger to the rest of my palm, and I suddenly realize I’ve hurt myself. Possibly from the thorny stem of the stupid flower.
That flower was meant for me – my instinct is screaming it in my face. All this must be just the anxiety talking. I need to distract myself. I need to – right away...
I SHOVE MY HAND AGAINinside the bag fishing for more popcorn. Bad timing for it to get over. The climax had just begun. When I get up to fetch some more, I do the next most stupid thing I can. I know I can be very brave when I watch horror flicks, but the idea crossing my mind is too tempting to ignore.
Removing the spare sheet I had put on the mirror after receiving the creepy text in the morning, I inhale deeply before whispering to it. “Mirror-mirror on the wall, do you know who left the rose on my door?”
Seconds pass... then minutes. Nothing. A sense of relief fills my head. But it wouldn’t be a lie to say that the horror craving part of my brain wanted a little fun.
A few movies later, I check my inbox for unread messages. A single message from Apeksha lies on top of my inbox. See, that’s what I thought. It’s just a mirror and that was just a coincidence. A bad one, though.
The rest of the evening goes by arranging documents and readying everything for Monday.
The harsh wind blowing outside, creating the chilly kind of music, is signaling an incoming storm. Dark clouds replace the gray ones that had been pouring gently the whole day.
When I close my tired eyes calling it a night, my mind drifts to a place I did not intend on visiting. A deep sense of dread fills my insides as a vague doubt laces the corners of my mind.
Why are you certain about being stalked even here?
Just because you have been followed half your life? But that was your hometown. This – this is another city...
Perhaps, I’ve told yourself falsely that there’s no escape.
And then there is darkness.
I wake up, frightened by a nightmare only to realize that a storm had broken and the door to my terrace is wide open. Steering to the door to slide it shut, I realize that I haven’t gotten those blinds yet.
With a bright flash of lightning and thunder, a movement on the floor above catches my eye.
Who could it be at this hour on the window of this creepy looking apartment? Completely dark, seemingly abandoned because I haven’t spotted anyone visiting the floor above in these twenty-four hours.
Do you need more problems than you already have? Just close the damned door before you spot a phantom there.
I look at the time; it’s already past midnight. I dunk my head in the pillow to go back to sleep before a ping from my phone startles me, shattering the silence of my room into a sinister stillness.
It could be Apeksha; her shift ends midnight anyways.
But my hands tremble from an unknown underlying fear as I unlock the phone. The text sits on top of my inbox.
This time, it can’t be a coincidence.
Unknown – Me.
I’ve lost my sleep at this point. Is this a ghost I’m talking to?
“Which world are you from?” I look in the mirror and ask.
The kind of daring I’m trying to be is exactly the type who dies first in a horror movie. The one that tries playing cool and then ends up screaming and running for their life to eventually die in a gruesome manner.
Another ping... No – this can’t be! My eyes widen as I read it in my mind.
Unknown – Yours.
All the air escapes my lungs as the response hits me like an icy wall. What happened to being brave? The bitch inside my head taunts again.
“Why do you answer in single words?” The words find their way out of my mouth before I try muffling it with the palm of my hand, cursing under my breath at my own stupidity. Stupid, stupid tongue!
I must have lost my mind to try my luck with a probable ghost...psychopath...murderer. God knows what or who.
Unknown – Wouldn’t you be scared if I answered in whole sentences?
WTF!My mouth is so dry at this point, I could drink an ocean and it’d still be dry. My hands are shaking and my legs paralyzed when another text pops up.
Unknown – Are you scared, muffin?
Scared? I am fucking terrified.
This is not a ghost. This is an actual psychopath.
“What do you want?” I whisper, gulping the fear down. Like he can’t hear it in your voice.
The phone lights up with another text... and by now I’m actually regretting arriving early to this place. I can’t dare to look at his response... but I do it anyway.
Unknown – You.
Shit! Just like in the murder documentaries; I’ve seen enough of them to understand this maniac’s mind. And I can’t settle on the running and dying eventually part so I’d better bargain. “Me? – Why do you want me?”
Unknown – I don’t think you’re ready to know that.
That’s it. I can’t do this anymore. With a thud, my phone meets the mattress and I narrow my eyes at the freaking mirror before pulling the covers over it.
When I lie down and look at the screen with no new messages, tears of relief finally make its way down the side of my cheeks, being one with the sweat from the dread before. Lying quietly, I stare at the ceiling contemplating the thoughts flooding my mind.
There’s no way I have been unlucky enough to find myself a new creep in this city the very first day. Or could it be him? No – he doesn’t know I’m here. How would he? There’s no way.
My eyes are sleepy but my mind isn’t. I don’t remember falling asleep or waking up either. All I know is that the night was long as I hopped in the slumber and woke up to another nightmare in a loop.
When will my mind find peace? Now – I really don’t know.