The stranger

The Stranger

She stepped back a bit as he rose to his feet. He couldn't have been more than five feet three, but his presence was somehow imposing and intimidating. He approached slowly with smooth movements, as if to avoid startling her, yet his stride towards her sent a shiver down her spine. Her eyes darted to the wide-open front door and back to him, feeling uneasy until he stopped two to three meters away from her. He continued to watch her for a moment while taking a long puff of his joint. The smell surprised her and broke the silence.

Lauri: It smells like skunk...

Stranger: You smelled like vomit.

She was surprised to hear a deep, gentle voice coming from him and sniffed herself, but she didn't understand what he meant until she remembered that this sweater didn't belong to her.

Lauri: This is not mine.

Stranger: No. It's mine. Your's is drying.

Lauri: You... changed me?

Stranger: You had vomit on your shirt.

Lauri: Why didn't you call the cops?

The man gave her a puzzled look. She repeated herself, but he didn’t seem to understand her. Maybe he was a foreigner; he did have this strange accent.

Lauri: Police...?

Stranger: Oh! Should I have called? You're all fixed now, you can go home. Why call the police?

She frowned as he headed towards the kitchen, still snapping his fingers with the lit joint between his lips. The Saint Bernard appeared in the doorway, wagging its tail upon seeing Lauri for the second time. The stranger grabbed the basket she had seen at the Alvarez's and filled it with eggs and an empty clean plastic dish before covering it with a towel. He placed the basket on the floor, and his hands began to dance towards the dog, as if he were having a conversation with him. She scrutinized his actions, feeling uneasy when he pointed in her direction. The dog emitted a growl. Not a hostile growl, it seemed more like an "Okay" kind of growl.

Stranger: This is Billy. He'll escort you safely through the forest and give this to the neighbor. After that he pretty much do whatever he wants. If he becomes clingy and you want him to leave you alone, do this.

He extended his flat hand, fingers together and palm facing up. Then he made the same gesture with his other hand, tapping it vertically in the center of his palm.

Stranger: That means "Stop". Go, now before it get dark.

Lauri: What did you do to me? I was sure I fractured my nose.

Stranger: You bumped into me pretty hard. After that, you vomited, passed out, and I brought you here to change your shirt, clean your face and heal your broken nose and your feet.

Lauri: My feet?

Stranger: I don't know what made you run like that, but you had glass under your left foot.

She moved her feet, surprised not to feel all the blisters she used to have from wearing such worn-out shoes. It felt great. She touched her nose again and noticed that the headache was also gone. She looked up to him. He seemed a bit anxious, fidgeting with that pen. "A pen?"

Lauri: How?

He suddenly seem annoyed and waved his hands at her to tell her to leave.

Strange: You can go home, now.

Suddenly, an idea popped into her mind, and she couldn't ignore it: "What if I stay here?" She would rather stay with this weird man than face the devil. That day had been exhausting, utterly draining. It was a crazy, nonsensical idea. She had never wanted to be a burden to anyone. Even that morning, she would have given anything to avoid having to beg so much just to get by.

But on the other hand, she thought about her brother, furious and deprived of drugs at home. She dreaded his reaction, knowing how violent he could be when angry. However, this man had taken her in and somehow healed her, yet there was this atmosphere, as if it were normal to do such a thing. And he didn't seem as intimidating as before. It was such a strange feeling; A peculiar comfort, unfamiliar yet oddly reassuring. For the first time in her tumultuous life, she felt a flicker of trust towards a stranger. It emboldened her to entertain the outrageous notion that had taken root in her mind. More over, this place was her sanctuary when she needed to be safe. She decided, upon meeting this stranger, that this place will remained her safe space.

She approached him, but he backed away. He kept retreating as she advanced, clapping one hand vertically against the other. "Stop," he commanded. She halted. “Is he scared of me?”

With a newfound determination, she squared her shoulders and faced the man, her voice steady despite the tremor in her heart. "No! I'm staying," she declared, surprising even herself with the resolve in her tone.

His facial expression suddenly changed; he seemed completely taken aback. He raised his eyebrows and, with his hand, pointed his other palm in a slicing motion. His mouth formed the word "What?" but no sound came out.

Firming her stance, she met his bewildered gaze with unwavering, but anxious, determination. "I said, I'm staying," she repeated.

Her legs were shaking, and she knew he saw it since he was still observing her every move. Upon seeing her anxiety, his face softened.

Lauri: Just... I did something bad and I'm scared of my brother if I go back now...

He continued to gesture with his hands, but she lost patience and exclaimed, "In English!" This startled him, his face expressing a mix of surprise and apology.

Stranger: What did you do?

She sigh. Thinking about this hellish day just to do one thing.

Lauri: The laundry...

She felt like he was about to say no, so she lifted a finger next to her head to grab his attention and interrupt any kind of answer.

Lauri: I can cook and clean and if you need my help for something, I'll help. Just... let me stay here for a while. I used to come sleep in the shed when I was scared and I never went into this house before... I like this place. It’s home and I was there way before you! Can I just go in the shed and stay there? I promise, you wont even know I’m here!

He slumped into a chair as he pondered. He gestured towards the dog, and it grabbed the basket before trotting off.

Unsure of what to do and feeling awkward in his long silence, she decided to slowly sit down with him at the other end of the table. She examined the old walls. He hadn't renovated the house, and all the lights were off, but the windows were large enough, and it was still fairly bright. There wasn't much crockery lying around, which was rather strange considering the messy condition of the other rooms. However, there were plenty of biscuits, cereal boxes, and snack packets adorning the shelves with a strange organization. His gentle voice drifted through the silence, bringing her attention softly.

Stranger: Is your brother going to be a problem?

Lauri: If he is, I'll leave, I promise.

He softly nodded.

Lauri: Yes? Really?

He nodded and pointed the kitchen.

Stranger: Help yourself to food, crash where you woke up or find a blanket. The shed's full of chickens.

She felt excited and relieved to know she wouldn't turn blue that day, but she didn’t dare to move since he had not moved an inch. He wasn’t even looking at her anymore. He simply seemed to get lost in his own thoughts.

Then, in a sudden burst of movement, he sprang up, his purpose unknown as he strode out of the house. A jolt of apprehension shot through her, wondering what he was doing, but after an hour of looking around the house, he didn't return. Curiosity tortured her until she went outside to find him. His hands were in the ground, mending the garden. The tomatoes were young, and he was planting a stick with wire to hold the plants straight. She kept watching him from afar until he lost patience, signaling her to come, and then showed her how to do what he was doing. She ended up having fun gardening with the stranger, who she found to be so silent. She had even forgotten to ask his name before she plopped comfortably in the pile of blankets in the art room.