The Life of Her

The Strange Man

My morning wasn’t that bad, that I ended up taking myself in getting rid of those marks Mrs. Jane had told me. I even bought liquid detergent and cleaning materials for it. Scrubbing it well, I was able to clean the wall. I jumped over the couch, breathing hard – sweats rushing, wetting my collars. I wiped them off and closed my eyes.

This is a hell journey for me, surely.

Afternoon came and so I decided to go out for a while and search for a school to enrol myself. I came into a street named Jovenile Street.

Most of the houses were painted light green and in every corner of their houses, there were thick, untrimmed bushes that served as their barricades. It was peaceful. Vehicles were neatly parked over the garages. I heard numerous, lenient laughter from a distance. I deliberately ambled myself and saw a thirtyish man nudging with his dog in his lawn.

They were enjoying each other. He stopped and suddenly threw a stick and his dog happily fetched it for him. He laughed, rubbing his hand on his pet’s head as it wagged its tail. I was passing his home when he suddenly called me.

“Aye, young lady. I’ve never seen you before.” He said and instructed me to go to him.

I passed the way and went to him directly. The sun was beaming straight to us, but thankfully his apple tree was able to give us some shades. The dog barked at me several times, but his owner stopped him by rubbing its back.

The dog sat beside him. The topmost right of his wooden, white stairs was filled with empty bottles of beers. His radio was lurid that I could clearly hear it from the outside. A squirrel just past over us, that it made the dog to chase for it.

His house was as old as ours. The windows were painted brown and they were opened wide, letting the dusty, thin grey curtains wavered with the arid wind. There was a hive at one of the corners.

The bees wandered around his plants – yellow roses and sunflowers. Bailey would love to see these. If she’s just here, she would probably ask some and planted them herself in their house.

“Hello.” I timidly said.

“I’m sorry. He’s not friendly to the new ones.” He chuckled a bit.

“It’s okay.”

“I’m Easton Nicholas Puller. Your face is new to me.” He said.

“I’m Amber Kate Madison. It’s nice to meet you, Sir. I just moved here.” I replied.

The dog was drooling in front of me. I didn’t stared to him longer enough to stop making things awkward. The man was a bit drowsy, rubbing his eyes and yawned. He smelt beer and I guessed his still in his hangover.

“Could you get the rake for me? Gabriel forgot to bring it inside my house again.” He calmly requested.

My eyes searched for it and found it beside his potted plants. His lawn was freshly trimmed and I could see a pile of those weeds that have been dried. I grabbed the rake and returned it to him.

The man placed it beside his rocking chair and continued to entertain me. He scratched his face, carefully not taking his nails over is round mole on his nose. He rubbed his back and slowly went to settle down on his chair, moving it back and forth. The man stared for me for a while. Seconds turned to minutes. He was just blinking.

Suddenly, a fervent, daunting wind came across us. His dog was barking harshly right through his owner as the heavens suddenly became murkier. The man didn’t say anything as soon as he closed his eyes and bowed his head.

He was snoring loud and clear. I took a step away, not until, in a sudden gaze, he moved just an inches away from me. His stare was callous that it gave me a burning sensation on my cheeks. I fretted.

An imperilling snare was plastered on his face as his fingers slowly brushed on my shirt. He smelt me.

I heard his dog glowered and growled coarsely and was about to dodge him in any moment. It was maddening. He suddenly talked with a woman’s voice.

“I see you have come. Since when, did you get there? I’ve been searching for you and now you’re just an inch away from me. I have called Ethan several times, but he’s not answering me. Have you found him?” He spoked.

My heart was beating loud. My feet was glued on the ground. I couldn’t move. I slowly shook my head as a response to him.

He was clearly not satisfied with my answer. His eyes went tempestuous, all black and his eyebrows met each other. He began to shout agitatedly.

“I’ve been looking for you?! Do you know how much I’ve been through just to find you?! You piece of trash. I died because of you. I should have let you come with me on that day. You should have died together with me! Allison!”

My eyes went wider. I screamed in fear when he gripped my shirt and started to pull it.

“L-Let go of me!”

I searched for help. I shouted several times, but it seemed that no one was around to lend me one. He was about to scratch me with his sharp nails, when I found the courage to kick him hard on his crotch. He wailed in pain, pulling himself away from me and gripped his pants.

His dog pounced at him. I didn’t wait for seconds to let him recover. I rushed myself away from the house and the man. I felt my eyes burned. I was running away as I cried in fear.

I wept my cold sweats. I didn’t look back. I just ran until I couldn’t see his house and himself. I still could feel the hard thumps of my chest. My shoulders were moving as I breathed fast. As I walked in the pavements, a group of men, clothed in their black leathered jackets, tight dark jeans and hoods, stood still and was talking to each other.

I turned around and saw no one expect myself taking the route to them, which in turned they have noticed my presence.

I bit my lower lip as I continued my pace, now became anxious and faster. I could feel how their senses heightened as their gaze were as sharp as the scavengers.

They were looking at me intently to my soul. I was about to completely pass them, when one of them blocked my way.

“Do you have any moment, pretty woman?” One of them with piercings on his nose and lip said. His brightly orange hair was sharp. He was smirking wide together with the others.

All of them smelt liquors and smoke. Their eyes were a bit red and I recognized their middle fingers with a bullet tattoo.

“She’s walking down the street, man.” The other huskily joked around. Slowly, I saw them surrounding me.

Why do I ended up into such bewildering, not-so-good situations? I just hate you, Amber.

I heard a whistle at the back of them. A man slowly clapped his hands from the dark alley, leaning his back on the wall. He raised his head and looked everyone with his keen eyes.

He pulled his cigarette from his mouth and threw it on the ground and eventually trampled it. His steps were shallow. It was dominance. As soon as the light hit him, I recognized his voice and his face.

“It’s nice to meet you again, lady.”