Dark Lines

Suspicion

The weather today is like a nice day in the spring, the birds are chirping like a symphony played with perfection, with a maestro that is intending to heal the souls with their performance, times like this make Peter feels alive in such hard period, where the person might feel encaged, but maybe it is the human’s turn to be in this position now whereas the animals are free as they have never been before, but they are generous enough to surround us with cheerful melodies, bringing the outside world to our home, let alone the view of the trees, it reminded Peter of the good choice he made, when he moved to this town.

The alarm went off at 9:10 a.m., but Peter has quickly turned it off, since he has been awake for an hour now, but still feeling lazy to get up, and enjoying the orchestra performance outside.

He finally got up, he hopped in the shower, and he finished fifteen minutes later, he grabbed his towel and wrapped it around his waist, then stood infront of the mirror so he can brush his teeth, without missing a spot, but then he noticed a weird fog only on the left side of the mirror, and something like resembles a handprint suddenly appeared, where the fingerprints are more visible than the palm. He blew a breath on it, then wiped it with his towel, he headed out and put on his clothes, then made his coffee before he starts imagining a whale in his living room.

He sipped his coffee slowly, while looking at the ceiling, he needed some meditation, some spirit lifting, so what’s better than day dreaming, and deeply breathing while sipping your favorite hot drink. One hour later, he went out to check his mail box, but it was empty, Peter thought that she maybe felt offended because he didn’t reply, or she is waiting for him to reply, so she doesn’t feel like she is talking to herself, or that he might not be interested in talking to her.

He entered his house a little disappointed, because there is no much interesting things to do except watching some movie, and finding a free friend to talk to, which is hard these days, they are either sleeping, working from home, or busy with their wives and children.

His best friend has fortunately replied after only one hour after Peter sent him a message, they chatted, talked about the important things, the health and what not, then started to act silly and remembering their hangouts, and their days at school, which how their conversations usually end.

Then the doorbell rang, it must be a confused delivery guy, or some extra bills that he forgot, he slowly got up off the couch and dragged himself towards the door while really wanting to just shout “go away” from his living room, he opened the door, and found a big box on his doorstep, there was a kitten inside, a white one with light blue eyes, his heart melted and quickly grabbed it because it was cold.

He gave her a bath, just to make sure that he can keep her with him, without worrying about the germs. The kitten was so adorable, even the sounds she makes is so soft, she keeps walking in circles around him, so he thought that she might be hungry, so she brought her some milk, then ordered some cat food online, and after she ate she slept in

Peter’s lap.

He turned on the television and settled on a cooking program, then the cat shivered in his lap, and opened her blue eyes for a second then fell into sleep again, so he decided to name her Crystal because of the color of her eyes, and half way through the program he rested his head back and closed his eyes.

*****************

A sound of the blender from the television woke Peter up, he looked at the clock, it was 8:20 a.m., he looked down at his lap, the sweet kitten was still sleeping, so he slowly tried to sit straight, but he felt an intense pain in his neck.

Then the kitten suddenly jumped off his lap, he started guessing who would have put that kitten on his doorstep, and why, he doesn’t usually receive gifts or have surprises, and there isn’t any occasion, he dismissed all the guesses, and the stressing thoughts, and headed to the kitchen to grab the kitten’s bowl and fill it with her breakfast.

Peter has already finished his exercise, and has showered, so now he grabbed his plate with his breakfast and sat in the living room, he checked his phone to see the emails from work, and the messages from friends or family, there were a few but those few were enough to cheer him up.

It is 3:10 in the afternoon now, it is tea time!, but there is another creature with him now, so he put milk for her, and prepared his tea. Suddenly he felt the curiosity to go out and check the mail box, before sipping his tea, so he does, and for his surprise, there was a third letter today, he got excited and snatched it from there, then went inside, and settled on his couch with the cup of tea next to him.

9/February/2021

Hello Peter,

How are you?, did you love the kitten?, it is a small souvenir that would remind you if me, she is the cutest one I could find. You know, I’m engaged since four months, he is a man that I have love, and he loves me too, a lot, I hope that you also have a soulmate, if you don’t yet, I’m sure that you will find it at the right time. We met while I was buying some groceries, he was buying some notebooks for his college, I can tell you that I felt old then, or lame, for I didn’t enroll in college, I only took the secondary degree, but I always wanted to experience the delightful events and moments of college, they also say that you develop your personality there, because you can choose whoever to be friends with, without fearing of the judgments, since there are diversity of personalities, religions and looks, so it is a chance of a lifetime to seize, in order to see what you can achieve there from the social connection to the educational knowledge. It done now, I can’t neither rewind time, nor disobey my dad.

-ENAJ-

Peter just finished reading it, so he took off his glasses, that has been using them a lot lately, he was excited at first, especially about the news of her engagement from the one she loved, even though he haven’t find a good partner yet, but he was thrilled for his old friend.

Then he felt bitter, when she started talking about college, her dreams, her anticipations, and her right of acquiring a high education, he hoped that her fiancé is treating her based on their personalities, brain and feelings, for not every educated individual is a sophisticated one, Peter hoped that her fiancé won’t play the role of the king and giving her the role of the peasant, or consider her just a housewife, Peter knows these type of guys.

Peter grabbed his headphones, put them on and turned the volume to it’s maximum level, then laid on the couch, his kitten jumped onto his belly and settled there. After half an hour, he unintentionally closed his eyes, and fell asleep for fifteen minutes, then he opened his eyes and noticed that the playlist has ended, so he decided to get up and have his dinner, and probably his kitten wants to eat too, so he removed the headphones and got up, but suddenly heard a loud inaudible music in his ear that lasted for two full seconds, so he checked his headphones but there wasn’t any sound coming through them, as his phone wasn’t even turned on because the battery has died. Peter thought that it was weird, but that what happens when one turns on the volume on that level, he stood up and rolled up his sleeves so he can begin preparing his dinner, but before that he put some cat cookies and some milk to Crystal.

“Crystal, come here!”, Peter said, but Crystal didn’t come to the living room, he saw her going to his room, so he followed her, but when he entered it, he couldn’t find her, so he started calling her, then she came from the living room, he was shocked of his eye sight, the quarantine will let him lose his abilities soon.

The clouds are looking grey, and a bolt of lightning struck, them the sound of thunder followed, which made the kitten jump out of fear, and ran towards Peter, he grabbed a blanket, closed all the windows and the curtains, then got his cup of coffee, and slid under the blanket bringing Crystal to his lap.

There was a football game on, it wasn’t his favorite team that is playing but that will do, it will keep him entertained and awake till his bedtime comes.

Three hours later, he placed his cup in the sink, and turned off the lights, and quickly headed to his room with Crystal that sleeps next to him, and while they were in the corridor, they heard another sound of thunder, so Crystal

accidentally scratched Peter while he was holding her in his arms, he was a bit angry, but it wasn’t her fault, the sound was strong and scary, and the scratch caused a bearable pain.

*****************

“What do you want Crystal?”, Peter said, while he was still closing his eyes in bed, with Crystal hitting his face with her tale, then she moved his hand and threw it out of the bed, so Peter thought that she must be hungry, he got up, yawned so loud, then entered his bathroom, that is the start of his daily morning routine.

When he got out he was a little annoyed, it is another day like the ones that passed, and the ones yet to come, with the same routine, exercising and showering everyday, preparing his special breakfast, lunch, dinner at the same fixed time everyday, with the fixed time of coffee in the morning and at the evening, and the time of tea in the after noon, and he do his chores and work quickly to enjoy the peaceful moment with his hot drink, but he doesn’t feel that way because he is busy, he also felt empty in some quality time that he has, the peace and happiness only lasts for a couple of hours, then what?, then the same thing will happen over and over again everyday, he felt like he was in a maze, that he already knew all the paths and corners in it, but he can't get out.

He still did all of it, but first he fed Crystal of course, and checked the mail box, that was totally empty. He decided to start a series maybe that consists of ten seasons, and that is really interesting, it shall keep him busy and positive for a while, he put the tea kettle on the stove, and grabbed a whole box of cookies, because he wants to forget his healthy diet tonight, he will just have good time and surround himself with positive vibes. He is already started episode ten, it has been three hours since he started watching, under his blanket with Crystal beside him, and the snacks in his lap, his cup of tea wasn’t finished yet.

He is sipping as slow as he can, but when he sips again he felt something between his teeth, he moved his tongue upwards, trying to make sure that there is something, then he felt a small piece of glass, and he injured his tongue a bit while feeling it, then he quickly got it out of his mouth, it was clean, without a drop of blood, then he checked the cup, to see if it was broken or something, but it was perfect, no cracks, so it must be from another cup or played that was broken and this piece settled in that cup while doing the dishes.

He wasn’t in the mood of getting up and throw the piece of glass, and check what is broken from the utensils, so he grabbed a napkin and placed the glass on it. He wasn’t going to let such silly things change his vibes, so he started to rewind the scenes from that episode, that he wasn’t paying attention to, and he was back on the ride, five episodes more, and one season is finished.

*****************

“I just wanna feel this moment,…”, Peter turned off the alarm, and got up of the bed, two hours later, he was sitting infront of his laptop with his cup of coffee, and when he finished three episodes, he went out to stretch a little and check the mail box as well, when he got out, he took s deep breath of the fresh air, and scanned the neighborhood, it was looking peaceful and cozy, then he opened the mail box, and there it was, another letter.

He put the letter next to his laptop, he grabbed a snack and was going to finish one more episode because it was an intense scene, then he would have his mind clear and ready to read that letter.

Even though, he was tempted to open the envelop, and read it, he resisted and took his mind off of it, and even put it away till he finishes that episode. As soon as he finished it, he ignored the suggestions of watching the next episodes, and turned the laptop off.

11/February/2021

Hello Peter,

Yesterday, I heard that the principle from our elementary school has died, I felt really sorry for him, because I knew him, you know, we used to see his face everyday then. They said that a burglar entered his house, and during his mission, the principle returned to his house, and disputed with him, then unfortunately was shot in his heart. You know I used to hate him back then, he wasn’t so friendly, he didn’t smile even once to us, and he used to hit us with his thick tall stick, even if our mistakes were worthless, he also banned us from wearing colorful things either jacket, pants or bandanas, plus he didn’t plan any trip except for the one field trip, and he planned it because his daughter registered in our school for only this year, he allowed her to dress however she wants, and do what she likes. He was terrible really, now that I said it at loud I really do think that I hated him, and still do, so I think he deserved to die, it is how I truly feel about this.

-ENAJ-

He folded the letter when he finished reading, and put it next to him, he was putting his hands on his cheeks, he felt something weird, that letter was gloomy indeed, the fact that their principle has died, and not just any death, with a bullet while he was resisting the thief and trying to defend his house and himself, it’s horrible!, he thought, just like that and the story of one’s life ends, everything ends.

The other thing is the way Jane had reacted, or wrote, she was being so negative, Peter do remember how horrible this principle was, and how he deprived them from the excitement and happiness there, but now that he is dead, he maybe has hated him, but that hatred slowly fades when the person dies, that person has already lost it all now, he can’t annoy other students, and he might have even changed since the last time he has heard of him, he doesn’t have any chances any more to be happy, or to fix everything that he has done, so it’s not right to talk bad about him, it’s just unethical, let alone to say that he deserves to die.

Peter sat on his couch after putting the letter in the drawer, and leaned back, he was thinking about that weird behavior of Jane, that wasn’t like her, she is nice and compassionate, and she seemed like it in her previous letters, maybe she was just angry, not paying attention to what she was saying, she was just remembering what she went through then, so she might overreacted and was frustrated.

The storm is coming in the evening as they said in the forecast, Peter kept looking through the window, it’s seems that they are right, the clouds are dark grey, and not a single beam of light is coming through them, and the wind is going to break the front door, all that and it wasn’t even 5:00 p.m..

Better prepare the heater and the blanket, maybe some candles too, in case the electricity went off, Crystal was too scared to wander in the house, so she settled on the couch that Peter usually sits in, and started drinking the hot milk that Peter put for her, to keep her warm during this freezing weather, Peter made himself a cup of warm hot chocolate too, and grabbed the thickest blanket and covered his entire body with it, then Crystal joined him too, he watched an action movie, that seemed interesting enough to keep his mind off the horrible weather.

As soon as the movie ended, he grabbed his stuff; the blanket and his cell phone, and both of them went straight to the room, and slid under the sheets, where the most cozy, comfortable and secured place is.

********************

Peter is getting dressed, he wanted to wear the outfit that he only wore once before this lockdown, it’s a black buttoned shirt with white strips on it, and a beige pants. He is going out because he needs to go buy some food, and stuff he needed too, the supermarket is near his house, but he decided to use his bicycle to feel the wind across his face, and do some exercise as well, plus he didn’t want anyone who he knew to talk to him if they bumped into each other, he wasn’t in the mood right now.

He put some food for Crystal, so she is occupied with it rather than jumping around the house, and breaking stuff, or hurting herself, then he got out, locked the door well, then jumped on his bicycle, and went off.

The supermarket was nearly empty, that’s was Peter’s anticipation when he chose to come so early, he didn’t want to squeeze himself through the crowd. It’s seemed so refreshing with the colorful foods, the lights and the air conditioners everywhere, he took a look of every kind of foods and observed every product in every shelf, even though he knew exactly what he needed, but he could use some entertainment, and maybe he does end up buying something interesting that could give him some joy at home, then he remembered Crystal, she must be bored too, so he grabbed an animal toy, and a box for her business, for the freezing days, when she can’t go outside.

He bought everything he wanted, it has been an hour since he went out, he thought that he must hurry, for god knows what Crystal is doing now, he rode the bicycle and was going fast but not so fast, for he wants to observe everything around him too, the green trees, the empty roads, the clear sky, the flying birds and the quiet houses, then he saw his friend’s house, he stopped and starts remembering how he used to come over his friend’s house without any invitation or hesitation, he is a nurse so he can’t visit him any time soon, not during all this madness.

Then he saw a newly built church besides his friend’s house, although the windows seemed so dusty, but everything else look new, it looks fresh, the whole building, but there was something that caught his gaze, someone on the roof, he couldn’t tell if it was a woman or a man, because he or she is standing in an opposing direction of Peter and the main street, he just saw someone who is covered from head to toe with black fabric, he wondered if he should go and see what’s happening, it maybe a suicide attempt, but then he realized that it maybe a nun, or a priest, so of course they wouldn’t do that, not on top of a church, that it also new, without any past, that may cause them to do such thing.

He continued his way, but hoping that he hadn’t done the wrong thing, and suddenly some black fabric flew onto his face, blinding his vision, so he was losing control over the bike, while trying to remove it, before he crashed into a sidewalk, and he was thrown off his bike and landed on some neighbors’ lawn, he hit the ground hard.

After two minutes he managed to stand up, and check on his bike that had a punctured tire, so he had to walk on his feet to get home, it was two minutes from here. So when he arrived, he saw Crystal sleeping on the couch, so he was relieved, then he took a quick shower and saw some bruises on his knees and elbows, and a small one on his forehead.

He sanitized all the products as usual, and started preparing lunch, he was excited for the things he bought, because he needed a lot of vegetables and fruits, but he kept respiting this chore till today, then he went to check his mail box for a quick second, but he didn’t find a thing, so he went inside, continued cutting the tomatoes for the pizza, and twenty minutes later it was done.

He sat with Crystal on the couch, both eating their lunch,

Peter was really enjoying his plate, that he wasn’t able to raise his head away from it. When he finished it, he put the plate in the sink, washed his hands, then headed towards the couch again with some ice bags, he recalled what happened while putting the ice bags on the bruises, someone has accidentally threw the fabric, but what a stupid person he is, Peter thought that he could have been seriously injured, or even dead, if there were cars infront of him.

“Hey catch!”, Peter said to Crystal, he was glad that he bought her these toys including something like a ball, that both of them can have fun with, he put some cheerful yet calm songs on the playlist and play it, with a medium sound, he was singing along while playing with Crystal, the ball was thrown back and forth between them for two hours.

At 8:10 p.m. Peter as he is doing these days having dinner with his laptop in his lap, and Crystal is watching too, he has finished two seasons already, and just this night he finished six episodes in two hours, so he thought that it would be crazy if he continued any further, he might finish them all tonight, and his sight won’t be there when he does that.

He got up and added this plate to the dirty dishes in the sink, turned off the laptop, the lights and went to brush his teeth before heading to bed, the bathroom was small, but clean, he forces himself to clean it once a month, because it would be too much to have a disgusting bathroom, then he wouldn’t enjoy showering there, which is a special thing for him, baths and showers.

He grabbed his white toothbrush, and squeezed some toothpaste on it, then started brushing with his eyes half closed, he spat it from his mouth, it was a black fluid, he thought that it surely wasn’t some tooth decay, he looked inside his mouth, he found small black particles, like a pieces of a chip or something like that, he spat them, and swished with water well, they were looking disgusting in the sink, he cleaned it with water.

Then went to his bed, Crystal was waiting for him, he laid on his bed with the blanket covering both of them, and was thinking about it, he thought that he might be sick, but what type of disease is it?, or he might be hallucinating, but with what type of hallucinations?, to the point that it lasts for more than a moment, and it is linked to other details, he was tired of thinking, he has already much things on his mind, with negative mood almost all the time, so he closed his eyes, and fell into sleep.