Athena
After the fulfilment of all the orders and finishing the work till the last bit, all the workers have begun to leave for their homes one by one. Even though today was one of those days where we had the most amount of work to be done, somehow, like some unmistakable sorcery it was also the day when we got all packed up within the least amount of time. Perhaps, it was our luck or just a bit more labour done than actually needed.
So it was kind of true that some people actually thrive under pressure— And every one of my co-workers could profusely relate to that.
Bidding goodbye to Shelly and being reminded for the umpteenth time of the pepper spray and knife she'd placed in my bag for the sake of my safety, I headed out of the bakery and proceeded to my apartment. It wasn't even night and still Shelly was concerned about my safety though the people here were as harmless as pigeons— Calm and quiet, minding their own business.
When I'd first moved to this small town, I did not have a place to stay for weeks and my first month was spent in Shelly's guestroom. But eventually, after getting a job in her bakery, I managed to rent a place to stay. It was small and not overly decorated or something too fancy with tons of extra facilities that many would prefer, but it was overall a good and comfortable place; At least, it was a safe zone for me where I wouldn't have to worry about anyone invading my privacy, or any unwanted arrival to deal with.
Things were at the right place for now. But the losses I'd endured in the past were so huge that I couldn't really say, I was happy— I was okay. Just okay. I didn't have any idea if I truly was content with staying just okay, or if I wished to be happy. But even if I wanted happiness, what was the place where I could find it?
Could I ever find it? Perhaps not. So taking off for a meaningless search would be foolishness and I wasn't going to repeat the same mistake and give the cruel cycle of life another chance to snatch everything away from me....even the last hope.
Shaking my thoughts away, I emitted a low sigh; Walking on the concrete footpath and hearing the sound of my heels clicking each time as I took quick steps, just to distract myself from getting dragged into the permanent darkness that existed somewhere deep in my mind.
The road wasn't that empty. There were numerous people around, and many of them included lovely old couples who were most likely to be out for an evening walk and enjoy the view of the sunset that has displayed itself like a canopy over the beautiful sky that blushed pink as everyone raved about its beauty.
So many things to get engaged in and forget the sorrow that lived somewhere, tying itself into knots I didn't have the power to undo but had the power to not feel, consider it invisible and walk ahead in life, yet I felt so alone in this crowd that didn't even surround me or asked me to stay submerged in it.
I proceeded walking, a bit faster than prior.
But soon as I crossed the bigger crowds, I felt something strange. Very faint footsteps follow me from afar.
Realization crossed my mind in the flash of a second — I knew who was it since it was happening for nearly three months; He was following me everywhere; Literally, everywhere I go at any hour of the day or night— From the bakery to grocery shopping, he was not leaving one single spot.
Indeed it has become a regular, and of course, it was not every day when he'd follow me, but he was there most of the time. And until today, I hadn't decided to confront him because all I wanted was to stay away from my dreadful past; his place too belonged to my past just like every other person.
But....
Now, I was unaware why I no longer wanted to keep acting oblivion about it. Perhaps I was tired of him following me every day and leaving me with the same question all over again— What did he want?
I kept waking up acting as if I hadn't noticed his presence just like all the other times, but today waiting for the correct moment to make the move. As I passed a row of cars, in the rearview mirror I saw the half view of his face that he failed to cover with the black hat he'd worn with his long black coat.
Indeed he was calm and taking slow steps that anyone would fail to hear if not paid the correct amount of attention. However, cautiousness was not there at all, and overconfidence was kind of sound.
He did not seem to doubt his skills of being a stalker, as he ironically failed to notice me looking at his reflection from the corner of my eyes.
Speaking to him was the last thing I wanted to do but again, I had to confront him. All these three months he'd been doing the same thing over and over again. And having someone watch each of your movements was certainly not the best thing in the world.
I wanted peace— Not distractions.
Soon as I reached the quieter side of the road, I slowed my steps little by little until I was standing still and as expected the sound of footsteps seized and just the moment I turned around, he took off in the opposite direction, turning his back to me soon as he could.
"Wait!" I spoke up, loud enough so that he hears me and judging by the way his legs were suddenly screeched to a halt and he froze on the spot, it went without saying that he heard me.
Even though he was partially locked at his spot, seemingly trapped, there was still no response that came from him.
I took a few steps towards him, fighting off my urge to skip all of these and head home straight but it was needed. I needed to know why was he following me and was for the fulfilment of an order from that one particular person I did not wish to face ever again in this life and maybe...even after death.
For a momentary period yet profusely, I had thought that I'd be needing to ask him to turn around judging by the way he made no sign of movement and stood dead still like ice.
The last thing I wanted was to wait for him to run away and from the next day do this regular duty of his in silence and too cautious for me to notice; If that happened, all I'd have left to do was to stress about it all day long and ruin the slight control I have gained over my mental state.
Ultimately it turned out that I didn't have to ask him for anything at all. He did the honours by himself and taking off his hat, he slowly spun around to face me.
His eyes were wary, I could catch the light rush in his breathing and see the barely noticeable tremble of his lips as he fought to say something. God knew what he wanted to say, but I didn't really wish to hear anything else than the answer to my question.
Just like he had done me a favour on me by turning around by himself without having to ask for it, I did one on him too and that was by letting the next question roll off my tongue, saving him from suffering under my judgemental gaze and fight the silence all alone.
"What are you doing here, Aaron?"