Today, I'll have "it". She thought while she looked at the inside of her purse. There were large amount of cash she had taken from her bank account before she went here.645Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡltqhzXSsIK
She was sitting in front of a computer inside the small booth of the net cafe. Somehow she felt secured inside a cramped space rather than outside with a crowd of people. Why? Because she felt safe if she was alone. With so many people around, she just couldn't stop thinking that he could be among one of them.
Inbox: 0
She felt angered by the number shown on the monitor. Damn! Where is everyone when I need them? She had sent many mail to some people she knew concerning him. But, the number zero meant that no one replied.
It was her distress signal. She was asking for help. She tried to tell people close to her about him. But no one believed her.
She had told the police about it. She told them how she got mysterious knocks at night when she was on her apartment. Even though there was a button to ring the bell, the knocks happened for a number of times. And when she opened the door, no one was there.
She told the police about how she felt she was being followed all the time. When going to work or even going home after it. The presence was almost everywhere.
But the police just told her to stay alert and called them when something happen.
Damn it! I went to you to prevent something from happening!
She ranted inside her head. Her anger now equally spread to everybody. Useless! She thought. But she knew that the police could not be her "bodyguard" for 24-hour a day. Just because she happened to feel that she was being followed by a stalker everywhere.
She had tried to contact her ex-boyfriend which she broke up 5 months ago. But, even her ex couldn't do anything about it, because now he had his girlfriend.
All her friends were mostly women. And she couldn't risk another person getting hurt because of her.
She had some of male friends. But she was not that close with them, so when she tried to tell them her situation, all of them also said what the police did. Just call me when something happen.
SOMETHING IS ALREADY STARTED! IT IS NOW CURRENTLY HAPPENING! AND SOMETHING NEW ABOUT TO HAPPEN SOON, DAMN IT!
She kept ranting inside her mind. She wanted to scream but she knew she couldn't. Because there might be a chance that he could be inside one of the booth here in this cafe. He could be on the booth next to this. On the left? Or the right? Or he could be the one that keep making the faint sound of the footsteps beyond the door. It's not people passing by the booth. It could be him. Her mind was busy with many trains of thoughts running along the rails of her consciousness.
Re: I love you
Re: I love you so much
Re: Hey, I saw you today again. You look beautiful as always
Re: Where are you now? Wait, I know, don't tell.
Re: Looking forward to tomorrow :D
Re: You like to jog in the morning? Me too!
Spam: 1876
It was disgust at first when he sent that first message. But now it was more. It was fear. All the things he sent on the email were getting more and more unbearable to her. She thought of changing her email address but she didn't because all her business clients were on it.
Every time she opened her mail, she kept seeing the number of spam increasing. It was 3 mails a day at first. Then, 8 a day. Then 21. Then 35. To even 50 mails a day.
Re: I love you. I couldn't stand us not being together. I want to see you!
Today, 05.40 A.M
That was the last mail he sent two weeks ago. And after that mail, the spam from him stopped. And all the presence she felt was also gone for the past two weeks. But instead of feeling relaxed, she got more and more tenses. Her fear increased two times more than ever before. It was because of those two last sentences he wrote.
I couldn't stand us not being together. I want to see you.
When she first read that, she felt scared to death. Her blood ran faster inside her body. Her white face turned pale while it covered in sweats generated only by the fear stimulated from her brain.
She didn't know what to do. She was just as hopeless as a deer whom about to get eaten by a running lion. What to do? What to do? She thought time knowing that something might happen to her.
Her little glimpse of hope came to her one week ago when one of her friend mail her something.
Re: I know someone
Hey, sorry I can't help you. I am out of town until next year. But listen to this. You just need to protect yourself. I know someone who can get you "something" to protect yourself.
It was one of her male friend. Obviously, in that situation, she could use any help. So, she thanked her friend and took his advice. She contacted this "someone" two days ago and now about to meet this person today.
***
She sat in the chair, waiting with patient. Though the restaurant seat was made to be comfortable, she could not feel even the slightest of ease. All she hoped was for this "someone" to come quick and give her the "thing" to protect herself.
While any other table was full many of foods and colorful drinks, the only thing on her table was just a transparent half-empty glass with clear water. She knew now was not the time to drink a refreshing juice as much as she was thirsty as hell.
Then the sliding door of the restaurant opened. From there came a man with a hat and sunglasses covering his face. As soon as he saw a table with only glass of water, he walked straight to it. It was just as he instructed her to.
He sat on the other side of the table in front of her. He wore a loose black jacket and a dark blue jean.
"Are you--"
"You got the money?" He cut her when she tried to asked a question
"Y-yes" She showed him an envelope she took out from her purse.
The moon looked around for seconds until then he talked.
"Now listen. Here how's we gonna do this."
He spoke with a sound only she could hear.
"There is a trash bin just in front of this restaurant's restroom. You're going to go there and put that envelope in the bin. Then, you come inside the bathroom. Wait there until I give you the sign, then come out and check the bin again. Got it?
She nodded at the simple instruction that was given to her.
"Go."
She stood up from the chair and started walking her way to restroom of the family restaurant.
When she arrived at the front of the door, she saw the bin. It filled with dry thrashes and wrinkled used tissues. She put that envelope on top of it and then she went inside the restroom.
She waited. There was no slight of suspicion in her mind, because her friend told her to trust this "someone". And she knew she could trust this friend of her, ergo she could also trust this "someone".
After few minutes, she heard a man coughing outside the door. Is it the signal? She thought. She came out of the restroom after doing nothing at all but waiting.
She walked to the bin and checked it. Her envelope with the money inside was gone. Instead a small white box with a red wrapping ribbon was there.
She picked up the box and then opened it. She found the thing she had wanted. The "thing" to protect her. It was a small gun with a rounded chamber containing six bullets. And came along with the gun was a smaller box consist of spare bullets.
But she knew that she wouldn't need any other of those bullets. When the time comes, she knew that she only need to get one bullet inside his left chest.
She put the gun and the bullets inside her purse. She walked out of the restaurant with a little bit of peace in her mind as she started to find the bus to get her home.
***
She woke up and looked at the clock on the wall. 10.53 pm.
Her head felt a little bit heavy because of that long sleep. She slept for 7 hours. After she got off from the bus, she rushed to her apartment. She closed and locked the door tightly, and then went straight to her bed.
It had been so long since she had a quite relaxing sleep. After all, she could only sleep for few hours before. The longest before this was only 4 hour. Not to mention the quality.
So, just after she got hold of the gun, she had been thinking of getting some rest. Even inside the bus on the way home, all she could ever think was getting a good sleep, even though the sun was still up there.
That's why when the bus stopped, she rushed in a hurry to her apartment because she couldn't wait anymore to get her head on that soft bed she had on her place.
Now she woke up, and found the moon instead of the sun when she looked up outside of her window.
It was quiet. In fact it's too quiet. She didn't realize this before but it was to quite. For the past weeks she didn't turn on the TV. And she didn't use a phone anymore because if she did, he would keep making those endless anonymous calls.
Maybe because her mind was in frantic state, she thought. Her mind was too frantic to notice that everything was actually quite here on her apartment. No TV, no phone, nothing. All the loud noises were only happening on her mind, caused by the restless trains of thoughts.
She tried to get rid of the uneasy quietness by turning on the TV. She switched between channels trying to find one that could interest her. But she failed. None of them was interesting. Game show. Reality show. News. Nothing. Event the recently popular TV show could not make her want to watch the TV.
So instead she switched to a music channel and turned the volumes up, while she lied in her couch with her eyes open. She stared at the ceiling with an empty gaze.
It's still day off tomorrow. What should I do tomorrow?
She thought while the music from her TV playing its loud sound. She didn't pay any attention to the loud music from the TV. She just wanted some noises. She knew right now that loudness might be best instead of peacefulness which could only eat her up inside, because she was fully awake.
Then in the middle of the sounds of thunderous drum and robust electric guitar that came out from the TV, she heard some other sound.
It was the doorbell. It was ringing once. She quickly thought that it must be some neighbor trying to complain about the sound from her TV. So she decided to ignore it.
The bell was rung again for the second times. It was sounded as if the ringer pushed the button rapidly. She ignored it again.
Finally, the bell rang for the third time. This time, she complied by turning down the volumes. She felt kind of bit assurance in her, because it was actually her intention to wake up people at this time of hour.
After that, she went back to the couch and threw her body at it.
Hours passed after that until she saw the clock showing her the current time. 01.27 am.
She heard a knocking sound from the door.
What was that? I turned down the volume already.
Indeed. The TV was still on, and the 24-hour music channel was still showing music videos one after another. But the volumes were not loud enough to be heard outside.
She stood up from the couch, and walked to the front door. Just before her finger pressed the intercom to talk to person outside, the knocks were happening again.
The knocks were only three times but now the intensity of the sound also multiplied three times more.
Then in a second, she realized that the knocks were something she had heard before.
It was the knocks that disappeared few weeks ago. The disturbing sounds that kept bothering her many times which she always ignored.
The knocks came again with more and more intensity.
She was still, frozen, behind that door. And beyond that door was him.
Fear ran through her blood again as she shivered in cold sweat. All the brief peace she had before was gone in an instant.
Where the hell are you people? There's a freak outside my door right now!!!
The knocks just wouldn't stop, and she was still shocked and immobilized behind the door.
"Go away you freak!!!" She screamed on impulse to the door.
The sound of the knocks stopped. She hoped that maybe by screaming, she could wake someone up.
She decided to wait there for a minute. She thought that he could still be out there, and if she moved away from the door, he would try to break his way in. This way she could block it when it happens.
5 seconds passed. 15 seconds passed. And then 59 seconds passed. A minute passed and the sound of the knocks was no more heard.
Then when she looked away from the door, she heard a sound. It was neither the bell nor the knocks, but it was a new sound. The sound of the doorknob rattled.
It rattled, rattled, and rattled. It wouldn't stop. She knew he was trying to get in, and she knew nothing would stop him from breaking in.
He is crazy. He is a freak. He is a psycho.
Then, she remembered something. Before, all of the sudden panic had rendered her memory from functioning.
She ran with quick feet from the door. She went to her bedroom and tried to get that gun which was now the only thing she needed.
With all the panting she had, she looked around inside her bedroom trying to find her purse with the gun inside.
But she couldn't find it. She looked at the messy bed she slept on hours ago, but found nothing. She looked under the pillow and then threw it because nothing was under it. She took the sheet off of the bed and still the purse was not there.
Where is it? I went straight to bed when I arrived here. But why is the purse isn't here? Damn!
She stopped searching and started thinking for a while. But knowing that time was not on her side, she started looking again after few seconds of thinking.
She looked under the bed, inside the closet, on her drawers. She went to the bathroom and looked on the shelves, cabinet behind the mirror and on the tub.
Could it be? Could it be?
She ran to find the couch thinking that maybe it was there, her purse. Only it was not. Then she ransacked every nook and cranny of her apartment and to her frustration she did not find her purse.
Damn it! Where is it? Where is it? What I am gonna do now?
Did I? Did I drop it before I came back here?
On the way? When I ran from the bus to here?
Or did I lose it on the bus?
Damn it. So stupid! I am so stupid!
Her heart beat very fast. Her breath getting shorter. It was not because of the energy she had spent on searching the purse, but from the fear of the incoming danger.
Wait. I couldn't have lose it outside. It must be here.
Think! I had all my IDs inside my purse. And there was a gun in it too.
Let's say I lost it out in the public. Then, someone must have found it.
If that's the case, then right now I would be at the police station getting questioned by the police.
But it's been hours and no police came to my door. So what's all that mean?
Someone took it? But who?
Then, the sound of the rattles stopped. After few seconds of silence, she heard the sound of a door opening.
She ran as fast as she could to her bedroom. She closed and locked it. She moved her drawer, desk, and everything she could physically move to block the door.
She stood behind all the objects that were blocking the door with her hand trembling. Her eyes wide opened and her breath was heavy.
She was so afraid.
She afraid because the gun wasn't there.645Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzqyBMkbQ6l
