The woman is still there. Now she’s looking at me.
“Hi,” I say, stepping closer. My voice feels too loud. I pull the paper from my pocket and point at the address. “I’m sorry to bother you, but do you know how to get here?”
Her dry and pale lips part. “The house is thirty minutes by foot,” she says. “You’ll find the path at the end of the road.”
Her finger lifts, pointing to the right.
“Thank you,” I say.
I turn away, folding the paper and slipping it back into my pocket.
A hand clamps around my wrist, drawing a sharp gasp from me. Her grip is cold as she leans in, eyes locked on something across the street, her finger lifting again, and trembling now.
“He’s watching you,” she whispers.
My heart stutters, then starts racing.
I try to pull my hand free, my breath turning shallow as I follow where she’s pointing.
Across the street stands a tall man in a black suit, smoking a cigarette. I can’t see his face, only thick smoke curling around him as he watches us.
As he watches me.
My chest tightens.
I blink and he’s gone.
The woman’s grip loosens, and my hand slips back to my side.
“Where did he go?” I ask, stepping away from her.
“Who?”
“The man.” I point toward the street.
“What man?” Her brows pull together in confusion.
She stands, then lifts the white rose toward me.
“Rose?”
My throat tightens. Slowly, I take the rose from her. The moment I do, she turns and walks away.
I look behind me. Then left, and right.
No one is here anymore.
The street is empty.
The man is gone.
Clutching the rose, I hurry toward the path in front of me. I forget that hours ago I could barely walk.
Now the rush carries me forward. Still, every few steps, I glance over my shoulder. The feeling won’t leave me. Like eyes pressed against my back, following each step I take.
A shiver crawls up my spine, goosebumps rising along my arms as I try to make sense of it. My breathing turns uneven, grows fast and too loud in my ears. Time slips somewhere behind me, direction with it, yet somehow, I find a narrow path.
At the very start of it, I see a house waiting at the end.
