~What if you find your soulmate but he's already dead?~
Charlotte is a last year Psychology student, hating the dorm-life she moves into an apartment. She considers it a blessing that she got such a quiet and decent place in such a cheap rent. And...
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"It's okay, Linda," Charlotte insisted, she smiled at her with consolation. "As you've seen, I was not alone on the balcony, just as you're not alone but with me right now."
Linda's eyes widened to the size of golf balls.
Charlotte's smile wavered seeing her react this way.
Linda opened her mouth to say something but then it seemed she saw something from the corner of her eyes to the right of the corridor. She slowly turned to the right and did a double take, at the same time as the corridor suddenly drowned in darkness.
All lights outside Charlotte's apartment went out at once and it stayed that way.
Charlotte gasped as Linda suddenly backed away towards the elevator at the left.
It was hard to decipher anything in such dark where Linda stood now, backing out of the doorway and out of the light that spilled out of Charlotte's apartment.
But as Charlotte's eyes adjusted to the black she could see the outlines.
She saw the poor girl shrieking and tripping on her own feet while scampering towards the brightly lit elevator like this floor had been set on fire.
Charlotte called after her, halfway coming out into the doorway.
But Linda didn't stop.
Most of the corridor was swallowed by inky black as the elevator doors dinged closed.
Charlotte stood still for a couple of minutes taken aback by what all had transpired just now. But then she herself began feeling a bit antsy. There was a feeling of something prickling her skin— like a piercing gaze was scalding her from the darkness.
It was that very moment she became aware that except for her and Alex there was not another soul on this floor.
She turned and looked to the right. Nothing could be seen. She still kept on staring. Waiting for something unknown. But nothing happened. No shadows moved. No whispers hissed. It was just the stagnant black and her own steady breaths in her ear.
And then another noise broke out from the direction of her kitchen. It was just the noise of droplets of water falling on the stainless steel of the sink. But this wasn't happening before, not before a minute even.
Charlotte sighed.
She went inside and closed the door.
Going into the kitchen she tightly closed the kitchen tap. She stood there for a few moments.
"Did you come here in the kitchen, Alex?" she asked aloud. But no reply came from the direction of her bedroom.
There was no Alex when she went to check.
Her shoulders sagged.
He could have at least said bye before leaving.
With a little sadness, Charlotte retired for the night. Numerous thoughts poured upon her. Linda, Alex—the mysteries of both and her new apartment. She didn't know when sleep overtook her.
