The Face In The Window

A face in a window provokes different reactions from passers-by.

The Face In The Window.

The face in the window is one which has become familiar to the neighbours. All the doors and other windows on the street are very close. When the curtains are drawn, as they are a good part of the time. you can hardly tell if anyone was living there. No light escapes the heavy cloth. You would think  there would a shadow or a chink in the wall of the building. This is also true on sunny days when, even if a ray of light should happen to get out, it is lost in the glare.

 

But the face when it comes it leaves no doubt to its existence. The woman walking along with her boyfriend sees the face very clearly. The office worker on his way to work looks at the face sideways as he walks along. He quickly shrugs his shoulder. The arty looing girl gets the shivers, she tells her friends on her mobile. Marcus the painter who lives nearby has painted it several times already this year. The face has become more abstract but sinister.

 

The face continues to appear. It cannot hide for much of the day. It cannot help looking. It cannot distinguish the people walking to and fro beneath the window or sense the effect of its presence. One day a little boy in a brown puffa jacket stared at the face for almost three minutes before looking away. No one else has ever done this. Later, his mother called the police.