The Phantom of the Night

Chapter 1 - An Unexpected Friend

It is a rather dark, gloomy, and stormy night today. Quite unusual for this time of year, I should say, but nothing particularly weird. Things like that happen. The clouds were gathering and blocking out the stars. The sky was this deep, dark shade of grey, almost black but not quite, as if it were about to unleash its fury at any moment. The rain was pummeling the ground, as though trying to crack it, causing the streets to become slick and shiny. There were flashes of lightning that were illuminating the city far better than the glowing billboards and the streetlights, which were followed by the deep and echoing rumble of thunder in the distance. But the rumbling wasn't the only noise present. The wind was howling and whistling through the trees. The force of the wind was swaying and cracking the trees and their branches. The rain was beating against the roof and the window, creating a noise so loud that, even though I find this sound rather calming, I had to turn up my music louder than usual.

I made the mistake of keeping my window open, which meant that when the storm hit some of the rain went inside my tiny studio apartment. Luckily though, I managed to close the window before any damage to my schoolwork or devices was done. But oh, the smell was something else. The dampness of the Earth was very easily distinguishable from the normal, urban dry air. It was also very heavy and oppressive and charged with electricity, which I absolutely loved.

Due to the size of my studio, or rather the lack of it, and my reasonably, in my opinion, picky taste when it comes to interior design, I positioned my desk right next to the window. Unfortunately, since I had left the window open during the storm, some of the items on my desk got slightly wet. But the damage wasn't great and was very easily fixable. The water that got onto my textbooks and the table could easily be wiped off as my textbooks are laminated and the table is... Well... A table. But at least my plant got watered!

I love storms. Especially when exams are near. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, the white noise that is created by the sound of the rain helps me focus on studying, meaning I perform better during exams. Secondly, if the storm is serious enough the exams get postponed, which means more studying time.

I do not like the exams themselves, though. I just don't like studying in general. It's way too tedious and it makes me way too anxious and overwhelmed. Due to this I always procrastinate until the last minute and when I eventually end up studying my stomach ties itself into a knot. Also, I hate disorder and mess, but that's exactly how my studio apartment is whenever I'm preparing for exams.

Just as I closed the window and was wiping the little puddles that formed on my desk, I heard a knock. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest because the closet is right next to the door to my studio and in my sleep-deprived state, I thought the knock came from inside the closet. So I came up to the door and opened it. On another note, why would anyone come to my studio so late in the evening? The fact that anyone was knocking on my door past 11 pm was slightly frightening to me. The worst part is that I don't even have a peeping hole to check who it was.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Merci Dieu! You aren't sleeping yet," a familiar voice said. "May I come in?"

"Uhh, yea sure," I replied as I reached for the door handle. I should probably get it replaced because I absolutely despise it; however, I do not have the time or the money to waste on simple aesthetic things like that.

"Kaitlyn! Surprised to see me?"

"Why wouldn't I be? You live all the way in Boston!" It was my old friend from high school, Sara. "I'm so happy to see you! It's been what, a year?"

"Almost." She was completely drenched.

"Jesus Sara, you look like you took a bath!"

"I can assure you that I did not. It's just drizzlin' a bit outside."