The Man In A Fedora

Chapter 2: Brooklyn Ghost

03/02/2019

I hardly opened my eyes.
Although it was sunday I had to wake up really early cause I gave myself a mission.
My first mission was to find this fedora guy again.
After spending the night trying to think of the ways he could escape from that dead end street, I really ended up thinking he was a magician.
I made sure to check every single corner there.
There were two ways he could've possibly escaped but none of them seemed possible to me.
He had either found a hole or climbed up. There were no holes around and even if he did try to climb up I would've seen him before he reached the top cause no one could climb up fast like that. Especially if that person wears weird clothing that could possibly make the whole process harder.
I even considered studying quantum physics to find out the mystery behind.
Even teleportation made more sense than climbing up at that particular moment.
The voice inside me was telling me to dig deeper. My thirst for knowing the truth was growing.
Another thing that I felt growing in me was my obsession with him.
He got stuck in my head.
His eyes. Those deep green eyes staring away with such sorrow.
Lips curling into a grin. Fake smile that covers everything like a thick blanket.
These images circulated in my head making me feel as if I was stuck in that moment forever.
He really did something to me.
I was sure I heard him warning me not to touch him. But after a big night of thinking, I wasn't sure anymore.
I didn't even remember the moment I grabbed the hat.
Maybe he was an illusionist.
This way he fooled me into thinking he took the turn but he went somewhere else.
This theory of mine was the best I could ever came up with but it couldn't make me feel relieved at all.
I decided to do whatever the hell I did yesterday all over again.
If he uses that street often like he claimed to ,he would be there this evening too.
He didn't even claim anything but he said that he was trying to go home.
All that I could ever do was to hope he was being honest.
I listed the things I had done the previous day.
I put a tick on texting Alison.
I used subway again but he wasn't there.
This made me lose hope but giving up wasn't my style.
I met Alison at Starbucks.
Two grande chai tea lattes, check.

"Now tell me, why did you want to see me today?" asked Alison.

"Cause I love you." I said,cackling.

"All jokes aside, something weird is happening." I continued, seriously staring at her.

"Tell me all about it." she said, looking directly in my eyes showing she is ready to listen.

"I was walking through one of those forgotten streets and..."

"How many times do I have to warn you not to use those streets. It is not safe." she shouted.

"Oh come on, we are not in St. Louis. Anyways you are not gonna believe who did just pass by me there." I said, smiling.

"Can't be the guy in a fedora,right?" she shouted, as she opened her eyes widely.

"It was him. We even had a small conversation." I said.

"What type of conversation?" she asked, taking a sip of her coffee.

"I may have asked if he was following me and apparently, he wasn't." I said, staring away.

"What was he doing there then?" she asked, frowning.

"That's exactly what I asked afterwards. He was just going home. But this is not the strange part." I said, changing my voice into a deep tone "I grabbed his hat. But then something happened and the hat went back to where it was. I mean his head."

"Don't make things up Stella. You have such a good imagination though." she said.

"I am not making a single thing up, I swear. Then he took the turn. I followed him but he was gone which is impossible cause it was a dead end street." I said, getting pissed because she thought I was joking.