Is He Dead? [Complete/Editing]

Chapter 3-Decides To Stay

Jennifer quickly runs back to entrance hall and sees the man shouting at someone who is not visible for her.

His face has turned pale with beads of sweat on forehead. Eyes staring at an imaginary person in disbelieve, rage and disappointment.

He gives gaps in his sentences in which he imagines the other person to talk.

Looks like he has been harshly heart broken by the imaginary person who is now pleading for forgiveness.

"No I'm not gonna stop" he says while a tear rolls down his cheek.

Then he raises his hand straight in air and act like if he shoots at someone.
His breath starts to accelerate and then he puts his invisible gun on his temple and shoots himself, and falls on the ground.

Jennifer darts to him lean on her posture towards him, "What are you doing?Are you okay?"with a concern in her tone.

His pale face starts to become pink again and he abruptly opens his eyes wide and breath heavily, frightening the girl again.

Stands up straight and again ask, "Are you not scared of me?"

Jennifer gets angry, "seriously!!! You put all that to scare me?!"

He walks away without responding again.

She can't believe him. That acting was very real.
She rolls her eyes, "yeah!! Whatever!" and walks towards the kitchen. Opens the refrigerator which has fresh fruits, jams, bread and lunch boxes of prepared food which is also fresh.
"Yeah! Since when wandering souls have started eating food" she talks to herself in disgust she just felt because of that man.
She takes bread and jam out of the refrigerator and just as she closes the door, she again jumps at the man unexpectedly standing behind it.
"Is that a hobby or what?!"she exclaims.

The man says sternly,"I don't eat."

She puts the bread and jam on the dining table and looks at him.

He takes two apples out from the refrigerator, washes them in the basin. Takes a knife and plate, and sit on a chair of the dining table, starts cutting through the apple.

Jennifer watches him putting a piece of apple in his mouth and chop it shamelessly in front of her eyes.
She is completely flabbergasted. She becomes speechless at how stupid he is to eat an apple a few moments after saying that he doesn't eat.

But her astonished expressions put no effect on him and he continues eating the apple.

Something is really wrong with this person. Either he himself is too stupid or think of Jennifer to be too stupid but his actions doesn't matches his words.

Jennifer feels a little bit of sympathy for the guy and sits beside him in a chair, "whats your name?" She asks.

He looks at her and before he repeats 'he is dead' and 'everyone should be scared of him' stuff again, Jennifer quickly recorrects her question, "Yeah I know you are dead. Did that dead person has a name or something?"

He stares at her for a moment and then answers, "Ryan"

"Just Ryan. No second name?"
Again her question remains neglected.

"Okay. Look Ryan, I am so grateful to you for letting me stay in your house. I am so sorry you had to clean the mess I made in your foyer and thanks for this bread too but please open the door I have to go back" she talks while keeping her manners sound.

Ryan refuses, "no I cannot open the door in daytime. It's dangerous for me"

"But.." before she continues convincing, she suddenly thinks of her missing car.
"Wait... where's my car then?" she starts to get panic.

"I parked it beside my car in my car garrage" Ryan reassures her that her car is safe.

Jennifer gets embarrased because she had lied about the car broken and now he knows that, but surprisingly he pays no attention to it.

When he is done with eating apples he stands up, throws the fruit wastes in the dustbin, washes up the plate and knife and put them in their places.
The way he cleaned up the mud, keeping everything in place and the house clean and organized, it looks like he has been from a royal family.
But what is he doing here?
Where is the rest of his family?
And most importantly, what's wrong with his behavior?

Jennifer knows she can't go out like this but his house needs maintenance from the city. So, all now she requires is to wait until he himself will go out and open the door.

She sits on the couch in the foyer waiting for the moment he will leave but time is running and it doesn't look like he is going to leave.

2:00 p.m. Jennifer has fallen asleep in the couch.
Violin music wakes her up which is played beautifully with an heartaching emotional tone.
Jennifer gets up thinking it must be Ryan. He played piano with the same delicacy.

She walks into the drawing room and as expected Ryan is sitting on a chair playing the violin.

Jennifer is mesmerized at his skills of playing music. She sits beside him on another chair and feel the music, eyes closed and a smile on face.

He plays the song "See You Again" by Charlie Puth.

"And I'll tell you all about it when see you again. When I see you agaaiinn .. aahh ahh ahhh oh oooh", Jennifer sings the main lyric along which goes in a perfect synch with the violin music.

Ryan puts his violin down as he completes. Jennifer opens her eyes and see the man looking at the window lost in sorrow.

"Where is your family?" Jennifer asks a heart piercing question which again remains unnoticed.

She looks down and nods, " I know how it feels to Lack family" and sighs.
She doesn't want to hurt him more so she changes the topic and asks with a less hope to be answered, "where do you get water from?"

Luckily he does reply, "I have a tube well in the backyard"

Stands up and walks out of the door without further conversation.
Jennifer becomes gloomy. She feels sorry for the yesterday met stranger.

Suddenly, she thinks if he has locked himself from inside he must have kept the key somewhere in the house.
She gets up and after checking the drawing room thoroughly she walks out and sees the man sitting in the couch straight staring blankly at the locked door.
She gets a little reluctant to look for the key but as he doesn't pay any attention to the girl, Jennifer starts searching the key in the entrance hall.

"Ahaa", she screams as she finds the key in a drawer beside the door along with her car keys.
She looks at the man who doesn't seem to be responding and staring at the door.
She inserts the key into the lock looking at the man for response which is still none.
Clicks open the door and sees the open sky, feel the breeze on her face that enters the house as the door opens. She is free to go out.

She looks back at the man sitting in same posture with same facial expressions, which are blank.

Jennifer stares at the man for a moment and then lock the door again, puts the keys into the drawer and sits beside him in the couch, stares at the door with same blank face.

"Are you not scared of me?" The man asks, stare still on the door.
"I don't know", Jennifer replies with eyes glued to the locked door.