Words Collide

2 - Eye of the Tiger

The trail to her destination took a little less than fifteen minutes while pedaling like a madwoman over an inclined hill, which made the trek upward with a bicycle quite a workout.

The small town during nightfall provided little street lighting for the unpaved, dirt road, making it even more challenging but she made it.

And there it is - the biggest and only house on the lot just before the lake.

She stopped and stood on her bike, staring at the water ripples of the small, quaint lake just up ahead.

Without context, the darkness made the house appear slightly eerie, but the calmness of the reservoir and the chirping critters reminded her of the humble simplicity of ordinary life that was a stark contrast to her loud and chaotic existence in the crowded city.

Seri switched her attention back to the house, admiring its magnificence in size and beauty. It looked to be a hybrid of a coach house and a barndominium; smaller than an average manor, but bigger than a single-family home. It was multistory with wide windows on each floor, painted white on the outside walls with dark window panes, and two large columns holding the overhang of the front door.

From what she could make out with most of the house being covered by tall hedges and gates, it looked slightly weathered and untidy, which made sense considering the owner's rumpled appearance.

The lights on the top floor were on, so she at least knew he was home. Her heart beated in a rhythm that sat between nervous and excited, a sensation she hadn't felt in a long time. It felt like a wild, rebellious act she didn't want her parents knowing about.

Clutching the pack of white shirts in her hands, she parked her bike against the only tree by the road next to the house and walked towards the intimidating iron gates.

Everything about the property was screaming keep away, but she wasn't a child and knew there were no monsters living there. Only a peculiar, seemingly lonely man whose belonging she mistakenly took and thus, she should give back.

Stopping just before the iron bars, she first peered inside like a curious, nosy cat, but it was much too dark to really see anything.

Finally, she looked at the intercom on the right of the gates and saw that there was a screen above the buttons. A video screen, and one she would bet her life savings that would not turn on.

Biting her lower lips, she combed her hair and straightened her shirt before nervously reaching for the call button.

It was laughably ironic how much she cared about how she looked to a stranger who didn't give a hoot about his own presentation.

There was a continuous ring tone through the speaker, and she thought that he wouldn't answer until it picked up. The screen, of course, remained blank. Expected.

Her nerves hiked, but she didn't hear anything from the other line.

He can't talk, remember!

Clearing her throat, she spoke into what she thought was a microphone, unsure if he could actually hear her if he was in fact, deaf, or if he had a system that could translate her words into something intelligible.

"H-Hi!" She stuttered. "We met earlier, at the parking lot of the minimart...."

Then, it occurred to her how egregious she must look coming to his house uninvited.

"Um, I really didn't mean to stalk you or anything! But my aunt knew where you live after my description of you... turns out you're pretty well known here," she gave out a nervous laugh in between, "Uh, anyway. I accidentally grabbed your shirts! So I thought I'd bring this back to you. I live very close by so it wasn't much trouble..."