Strange wholesomeness

Chapter four: The beauty sleep

She was speed walking towards her rented apartment being even more looked at than usual. This time though, she couldn’t blame anyone. She looked like a very tall weirdo that just encountered bloody rain on her trousers. Teenage boys passing here were giggling. That made her laugh. It’s the same in every part of the world. 

She crossed 3 streets before reaching her building. And right before she entered the entry code she felt a buzz in her pocket. 

Never mind she thought: spam or some social media notification she had zero curiosity about and her priority now was to try to save the trousers. She took away her coat and undressed it from the stained clothes. Pushed them to the corner. Not that anything could save them anyways- she thought after a while- and reminded herself how surprisingly cool she was about losing those trousers at the cafe. Don’t overthink it, you are just tired of the resting b***h face you wear every day. She poured herself a glass of wine and sat on the couch only in the expensive lingerie that she had no one to show to. But she kept buying those things as if to remind herself that she’s still a woman and she could be desired. Soon the wine did its work and she covered herself in a fluffy blanket and fell asleep. 

Abruptly waking up from the cold she realized that she fell asleep without a shower and with full makeup that right now more resembled a cartoon than a woman she painted on her face in the morning. She forced herself to the bathroom anxiously searching for her phone to check the hour. It was 3.30 as she saw with her eyes half-opened. 

I will be a ghost tomorrow- she thought and started the evening routing she should have done hours ago. 

Now almost fully awake she climbed the huge bed and checked the time last time as if to calculate the amazing number of hours of sleep she still had left. Like 2 or something. But she noticed something that she missed checking her phone last time. It was a message from an unknown number. 

> Were you serious about English conversations?

Without the second thought she answered

> As long as you promise to quit strawberries. I really like my clothes. 

She pushed send and realized what time it was. 

Pathetic old woman. 

She got so excited about the smallest friendly interaction she had that she forgot all the rules and even a basic courtesy couldn’t reach out to her mind. 

> You’ve got it. - said the reply message she really wasn’t expecting to receive. Not at this hour. And not in general to be really honest. 

> As you don’t seem to care about the beauty sleep too much, perhaps you are free now? - she couldn’t really believe the text that came almost right after the previous answer. It was 4.20 am and the guy just proposed the English conversation. He was either a psycho killer or a freak. 

> I’m not a psycho stalker, just couldn’t sleep and would really enjoy some company that doesn’t judge city walks at 4 am. 

> Where? - she answered, putting on her really, really cosy clothes. If that’s what it is, she won’t bother. At least she’s clean now, she thought and tied her hair in a ponytail. Without the makeup and formal clothes, she looked way younger but her eyes looked older than her actual age. 

He sent her back a pin on the map. It was less than a kilometre from her place. She put on the running shoes and left the flat leaving the abruptly woken up porter really doubtful. 

You are crazy- she thought and headed towards the spot. 

If you get killed today at least you felt alive for a second.