13 WINDOWS

Chapter 11 Part 1: The STALKER

CONTENT WARNING: The following chapter includes scenes of violence and assault that may be disturbing to some readers.

Rupert was uncomfortable in the guest room of his mother's house and all of its clutter so he stayed in his old bedroom - memories haunting him. It had been a long night. He had sat up with his mother in the living room amongst the boxes of garbage drinking tea. He had listened patiently as his mother had told him about the strange German she had met back in 1980. He was a man who went by the name of Hans Schiller.

Hans Schiller was 25 years old when Sandra had met him. He had straight blond hair swept to one side, a thin straight nose and cold grey eyes that kept unnerving her when she was teaching her English as a Second Language class. On his right cheek was a small mole.

His English was broken at first, but he was a good student and he was picking up the language quickly. However, Sandra found his accent to be very peculiar. Her mother, Isabelle, was German so she was used to the German accent. When she asked him what region of Germany he was from he just grinned strangely and said, "East!"

Every time Sandra looked up towards her class she would see Hans just sitting there staring back at her with his odd half grin on his face. She was used to attention from men - and sometimes women too. But this man's leering was different somehow. And it was unwelcome.

During breaks Hans would inevitably try to corner her in the hallway. He would often compliment her telling her she was a pure German beauty. This made her uncomfortable. What did he mean by that? He kept enquiring about her German heritage. And he wanted to know where her family was from and when they had moved to Canada. "Was it after the war?" he asked.

He did not seem to mix well with the other students, most of whom were not of European descent.

Sandra would cross the Sherbourne Street Bridge every day from Rosedale to get to work. Sometimes she would notice Hans standing outside the building as if he was waiting for her to arrive. She wondered if he was taking mental notes about her schedule. One time he told her he wished he could have private tutoring from her so he wouldn't have to be in a class with "those animals." He laughed this off as a joke when he saw Sandra react with disgust.

From that point on she knew her instincts were right. He was a scumbag. He was everything she hated about her own people. And his questions began to become more personal and unsettling. One night he asked her if her husband was of German origin.

"Don't take this the wrong way, Hans. But I like to keep my personal life separate," she said firmly. After she said that he just stared at her, and this time the strange grin had left his mouth. He glared at her with his empty mask of a face.

She tried to call Andrew that night. He was up at the cottage getting the boats out for the summer season. But she was unable to reach him.

One night after class, Hans followed her down the stairs towards the street. He was about six steps behind her. She moved quickly. After she exited the building, Hans stayed in the doorway. She crossed Bloor Street and when she had crossed the Sherbourne Street Bridge she turned and looked back. Hans was still standing outside the building - staring at her. She quickly walked home looking behind her to see to see if she was being followed.

And he was gone.

The next time she arrived to teach the class his seat was empty. And the next night he was gone as well. And also on the third night. 'Good riddance,' she thought to herself. She asked the class if anyone knew what had happened to him. None of them seemed to know anything about him.

She went to see Katie Lawrence, the owner of the school. She had known Katie since university. Katie also didn't know what had happened to Hans. But she had caught him in the office one night looking through a filing cabinet. Sandra felt a shiver go up her spine when she heard this.