Cassette - z.m.

ten.

"He likes ships."

• • •

The wind was blowing softly but I still pulled my coat tighter around my body. It was quite cold out here. The sky was a dark crimson colour, like it would rain any minute now.

I stepped forward slowly, not caring about the weather. The houses were smaller around this part of the city. The streets dirty and full of potholes. I took a left turn and then a right, walking aimlessly around. I didn't have a destination in mind. I just wanted solitude. I didn't want to go back to the loud and noisy main road with lots of people around. I wanted peace and this place was peaceful, wherever this place was.

I continued walking, not looking at anyone or anything, just walking at a slow and steady pace, utterly lost in my thoughts. There was a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. The kind of feeling you get when you're nervous, a kind of heaviness weighing me down.

Suddenly I heard a loud thump and came back to my senses. I looked around and saw that I was at a crossroad. I could see the main road a few streets to the right of me, the vehicles whirring past at a fast pace, honking, screeching. To my left side was an isolated neighbourhood, well, mostly if you count the black cat sitting on the trashcan. Maybe the thump sound was made by the cat landing on the can.

Without thinking, I walked towards that empty street. I know I should get back and it was quite dark now but I just acted on impulse and continued going forward.

As I walked through the street, I finally started paying attention to my surroundings. Most of the houses here were broken down and in a sad condition. Blank holes, which should've been windows, stared back at me, devoid of any life. The street lamps broken, another reason why the street looked so dark.

A shiver ran down my spine. The wind was picking up fast now, indicating the onset of an impending storm.

Warning bells were ringing loudly in my head. I shouldn't be here at this time of the night. It was dangerous. But when I looked around at the desolate place, I couldn't even think of one dangerous thing it may hold within. It was merely a sad place. It was as if I was the first person to come here in over a million years.

Feeling a bit confident, I continued walking, even though the nervous feeling wouldn't go away. I felt like something bad was going to happen and I won't be able to control it.

I came across a familiar park. It was quite a small park and most of the swings were broken. A merry-go-round screeched loudly as the wind made it turn around.

I don't know why but I could almost imagine myself playing on that same merry-go-round. The sun shining down brightly, cackles of laughter and picnics outside.

Just across the park, to my right, was a red brick house. It stood alone there, in a condition quite similar to the houses I just saw - broken and lonely. A few feet away from me was a broken street lamp, it's faint light flickering on and off, not providing much illumination. I was surprised that it worked, even if it's light didn't make much difference.

I stood in the middle of the street as the house held me captivated. It wasn't a special house nor was it beautiful but I still couldn't take my eyes off of it. I could see faint traces of graffiti on the outer walls, a few broken pots lined the garden wall, a wind chime hanging out from a window making a tinkling sound.

As I stood there looking at the house, I noticed a faint light in the attic. It was a kind of glow, lighting up the walls, pulling me to the house. Involuntarily I took a few steps in the direction of the house. There was a flash of lightning and it lit up the whole street for a second.