Wants, Tightrope, Spilt Milk

Part Three #39: Kasper Returns to his Apartment

He strode through the main entrance of his apartment block and, as was his habit, looked toward a small space in the building's lobby that was often littered with various things people had left behind after moving. His building was ten stories high and populated by zombie like workers who he heard but never saw; people who came and went, locking themselves away in tiny worlds just like his own, worlds lit by computer lights in cluttered rooms. There was little on offer today from those that had moved and so he passed the alcove by, heading to the solid concrete steps that led up to the first level where his apartment, 101, was located.

When he had first moved into the building a year or so before, he had been far more social and as such not filled with his current hatred toward the world around him. With the acquisition of a new home, he had decided that he would also try and work on a new Casper, doing so mainly through exercise. Part of this new regime was to run up and down the building's stairs. He had not maintained this new initiative for long, but from it a memory remained, one that often returned to him, that of how painful it would be if he were to slip backward or even forward on the steps. He could almost feel the pain as his head hit one of the sharp edges. He was thinking this over as he turned the corner of his landing and saw the door to his apartment was open.

He froze, his blood turning cold as he sank back around the corner and into the stairwell, his first thought being that the police must have found him somehow.

He listened and, though his heart seemed to be the only sound he could hear, a faint mummer of voices drifted to him from his apartment and he fled quickly down the stairs and out of the building, any notion of playing it cool lost in fear. Once outside he turned toward the car park, expecting to see police cars parked haphazardly as they had rushed to arrest him, dumping their vehicles before charging down his door to find Anna surrounded by guns.

But there were no cars, none that could even belong to a tenant. He walked over to the wall that ran along the far side of the car park. The road beneath was on hill and so the wall overlooked it from a height of ten or so metres. He looked down onto the road but again there was no sign of police.

By this time the panic that had led him to flee had mostly dissipated and in its place arose a clear logic.

Surely if the police had come and not found him inside, then they would have been waiting somewhere nearby in order to grab him? Maybe they were, he reasoned, but they hadn't recognised me? Then again if they were here to arrest me, then they'd of seen right through my current disguise, which after all his old Uni friend had just done. Why then, was his door open? Perhaps Anna had opened it for some reason? To let in some air? She didn't smoke but she may have tried to cook something.

Marginally removed now from his fear he thus walked back toward his apartment, first, however, stopping at a place in the car park that allowed him to look at his balcony and the windows that ran along one of his walls. Surely if Anna had opened the door to let out smoke or let in air then she would have done the same with the windows that he had shut that morning.

None were open.

This confused him somewhat and he decided simply to go up and see what was going on. After all he had seen no police cars on his way down from North Sydney and, to further protect himself, he would simply walk up the stairs as if he was going to another apartment. At least then, if there was anyone outside his place he could possibly still escape.

He entered via a back entrance that took him past the laundry and into the lobby. Climbing the stairs he listened but heard nothing till he reached the landing. The faint talking he had heard before had vanished and was replaced now by soft music that it took him a few moments to recognise. Once he did however he quickly rushed into the apartment.

He saw the television with some show just finishing and he turned it off.

The apartment was empty. Anna was gone.