Pound

I.

The crisp leaves spilled out onto the ground like pencil shavings. Every step, I heard the crunch of a colorful leaf. It was fall, and I was coming back from a failed Job Interview. It sucked not being able to get a job, not being charming enough for everyone in the eye-can-see. I focused my sight on my feet, slowly getting smaller and smaller steps, until I ran into a stranger on the street. "My bad! I'm so sorry!" I apologize, making unnecessary hand gestures towards him.

"That's uh.. quite alright." The man lent out his hand, hinting for a handshake. I took his hand in mine, and continued walking. That was strange I thought. What kind of person shakes someone's hand after they ran into each-other? The thoughts slowly trickled out of my mind as I felt my steps grow louder with the leaves crunching under me.  I realized, it wasn't my footsteps that were getting louder. It were the ones behind me.

You see, i'm a very petite female. 18 years old, 5'4". Ive never really been the type to grow, because all of the females have some sort of stunted growth. I also have never been put into self defense classes, so i have no idea how to defend myself whenever something would happen. So, my paranoia caused me to breathe faster, heavier. And my medium steps grew into a speed walking. The ones behind me followed my lead, careful to stay behind at least a few meters or so.

I finally made it to my home, unlocking my door and rushing inside to slam it in a mans face. I locked it, and stepped away, turning on most of the lights in the house.

I slowly made my way back to the front door after around 10 minutes of locking all my windows and entry points. Maybe I was just being paranoid, i'm not sure. But the paranoia soon turned to reality when I looked out the window and spotted the man a few feet from the glass. He was looking in, and it was hypnotizing. I stood there, dumbfounded and flabbergasted.

He raised his fist slowly to the glass, and let a small bang erupt from the clear surface. He pounded harder. And harder. Until all i could hear, was the shattering sounds of the cracks growing larger. Alas, all I could do was stare, until the cracks in the glass were no longer there, just like the surface separating us.

TO BE CONTINUED