The Fairbrook Butcher

The Angler is The Bait

Most nights in Fairbrook were quiet, just like this admirable one. I was working late in this lacklustre office to catch up on a little extra paperwork so my boss wouldn't have a cow the next day.

Fairbrook is different than the other 'big cities', less crowded, and jobs seemed easier to find. That's why I'm here, in an office, alone, with the delicate sounds of few cars passing by, and the faint click of my keyboard. I could almost imagine a tumbleweed bouncing across the hallway.

I paused to take a breath, with the sound of a ticking clock, almost hypnotizing. I almost fell asleep, with my eyes, droopy and drowsy.   

"I need more coffee." I thought out loud.

Walking over to the coffee machine, I realized the office was truly ghoulish at night. The hallways, empty of light, and I not knowing what lurks at the end of them. Spooky. But, that's just my drained mind being paranoid. I need to tone down on horror movies.

After at most a half-hour of pressing my fingers against the buttons of my keyboard, I was successfully finished with the truckloads of work, and a sigh of relief was released from me.

As I turned off my computer, a smirk appeared on my face. I was ready to run home and pull on some cozy pyjamas and sip some creamy hot chocolate with fluffy marshmallows floating in a mug. Ah, the nostalgia. Curled up in a blanket, eagerly waiting for the classic cartoons to come on, those were the days.

I locked the golden latches on my briefcase, lifted myself, off my chair, and viewed the other empty cubicles.

Being alone at night in the office was boring. I did this often as I wasn't too busy having children, or a husband, like other co-workers. Kimberly was full of that, always bragging about how amazing her family is, always talking about how lovely her husband was, and it truly made me jealous. Her life was obviously more fabulous than mine. I ignored her. Though I was jealous, I ignored her.

I took the last sip of coffee and laid it in the office's kitchen sink. I looked through the window and a man was in front of the office. He seemed to have tripped on a rock in the parking lot with sheets of paper scattered across the ground from the busted open briefcase he was holding. I dashed downstairs, willing to help this man in good timing because I was going to leave after anyway. I pushed open the front door, and sprinted to the man and began collecting the sheets of paper in stacks.

"Thank you, ma'am." He said.

I could hear the frustration in his voice, and I would be the same way if I tripped on a rock. I'm sure he felt some amount of embarrassment, thinking nobody saw him being clumsy.

"No problem," I giggled, "I was just leaving anyway."

All of the papers were picked up and returned inside the briefcase. I thought for a moment, I never saw this man before, I never knew his name, and in general, I never heard anything about him.

He rose off the ground and glanced into my eyes. My heart felt like it skipped a beat. A strapping and handsome man was standing in front of me. My face became warmer.   

"My name's Andrew." He greeted.

His voice sounded different for some reason, as I thought something ridiculous, love, at first sight? No, that's crazy. He lifted a hand signalling a handshake. I grabbed his hand and shook it, up and down.

"My--," I coughed awkwardly, "My name is Joan."

Andrew grinned. We looked at each other, but for some reason, I could see the love in his eyes, and I believed he thought it as well, love at first sight! Like a princess movie, accept Cinderella didn't work in an office.