Chapter 2: A little nudge.

“Oof!” a woman falls on her behind as I accidentally bump into her, too wrapped in my own world to notice. She frantically scrambles to wipe up spilled coffee and pick up papers as they start to fly away. “I'm very sorry ma’am, I'm afraid I didn’t see you there.” I say, helping her to pick up the fallen papers, and catch the others as they fly away. I hand her the papers, and she takes them quickly, as if they might fly away again if she didn’t grab them in time. She then looked up at me from the ground and sighed deeply. “Thank you for helping, most people around here would have just kept on walking without so much as a sorry.” Her eyes focused in on me, as if seeing right through my disguise “but you’re not from around here, are you?” I quickly pull down on the brim of my hat, afraid that my mask is showing. I begin to feel wary of this woman’s perception, but something about the way she looked at me eased my fears. “I suppose one could say that, yes” She looked at me as if trying to decide if I was friendly or someone who would try to shank her the first chance I got. She obviously decided on the first saying, “Look, you’re obviously not from around here, and I get the feeling you don’t exactly have a place to stay either. It’s getting dark, and this is not the place either of us wants to be when that happens.” I finally noticed that the sun had indeed begun to set. Was I that far inside my head that I didn’t even notice the time? That could be dangerous for someone like me. “Why don’t you crash at my place tonight, and I can help you on your way in the morning.” I was almost speechless. Here I was, a hidden stranger in the most suspicious getup imaginable walking in the bad part of town (one that had just knocked her over nonetheless) and she still invited me to stay the night? She was either very kind or very foolish.

 “Are you sure that’s really a good idea? To invite a stranger into your home? Especially after I knocked you over like that. Sorry about that, by the way.” she smiled and said, “And that’s exactly why I'm inviting you. You’re much too kind to be like the crooks around here. Trust me; I grew up here, so I should know. Come on, wouldn’t you rather have a warm place to stay, rather than the cold streets or under a tree somewhere?” It was true that I did not get much sleep the nights I stayed in the city. Too much to watch for and too many noises. Sleeping under a tree on the other hand, now that I might enjoy a bit. “come on” she said, grabbing my sleeve. “I suppose there’s no getting out of this then, is there?” she smiled again and said “I think I’d be rather insulted if you did.” Her smile was contagious, and I chuckled a little, “Well I wouldn’t want that now, would I?” She pulled me along, down the streets towards the apartment complex she lived in.

 She unlocked the door and put her papers down on a counter in what I assumed acted as a living room of sorts. Her apartment was small, only two rooms. The main bedroom with its own bathroom/shower and a large room that acted as living room, dining room, and kitchen. “It’s not much, I know. But it’s home for now.” She said as she walked into another room. “Well, for what it’s worth, it’s a nicer home then what I’ve got” she walked back in, putting her long black hair up in a bun, “Where exactly is your home anyway? Like I said, you’re certainly not from around here.” “I’m afraid I don’t really have one. I’m a wanderer, doomed to ramble around till I die. If I die.” She looked at me quizzically and I realized there was a chance I was saying to much. “IF you die? Oh wait, I get it you’re one of those people who believe in reincarnation or whatever, right?” “Uh yes, that’s right. They say you only truly pass on once you’ve reached nirvana. I suppose I'm not quite there yet.” This answer seemed to satisfy her as her only reply was ‘huh’ as she walked back into the bathroom.

 I took this time to really take in my surroundings, which didn’t take long with my abilities and such a small space. It definitely had a very “lived-in” feel to it, and I had the feeling she’s lived here longer then she’d like to admit. If you could cut through the run down city apartment smell, you’d find that for the most part it smelled like shampoo, conditioners, and a third smell I assume could only be her own. Over the years I’ve become very good at pulling apart scents and tastes and such, just another plus side of being a walking slime pile. Yay me.

“So, you gunna take your coat off or just stand there all night?” I hadn’t even realized she had walked back into the room. She stood there before me, no longer in her work clothes, but wearing a loose wife-beater and shorts. “uh, hello? Earth to trench coat guy?” “uh I'm sorry, what were you asking?” Crap, I was staring, I hope she didn’t notice. I’m usually more alert than this, I can’t figure out why she’s got my guard down like this. I suppose it would help if I got out of my own head long enough to hold a conversation too. “I asked if you were going to take your coat off or stand there like a statue all night.” “If it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll take the statue route.” She laughed, and I almost laughed with her, but part of me was worried I was in too deep. What would she do if she saw me? What if she freaks out and hurts herself, or calls the police? “You’re funny. But really, it’s ok, you can take your coat off. You’re my company.” I begin to shift uncomfortably, my body beginning to tremble as it often does when I’m under extreme emotional or physical stress. One problem about not being solid, my body is unstable and it takes a great amount of focus to keep me from being a puddle on the floor. “I don’t mean to be rude; it’s simply that most people find me…unpleasant. I would simply prefer to remain hidden, if that’s alright with you.” She looked at me with a combination of pity and sympathy. “That’s wrong that people have made you feel that way just cause you have some physical deformity or whatever. But I don’t want to make you feel uncomfortable, so if it means that much to you, you can keep the coat on.”

I breathed a sigh of relief, and with the stress gone my body slowly regained composure and stopped shifting around. “Thank you for being so understanding.” She smiled that contagious smile again. “No problem. Why don’t you sit down on the couch over there and I’ll make something to eat?” “Oh I'm not hungry. Uh..thank you though” She laughed a little at my awkwardness and said, “Well I gotta eat, so just wait here I guess.”

She went into the small kitchen and heated up what smelled like leftovers, most likely from last night. “So…what is the name of the woman who has so generously let an odd looking stranger into her home? If you don’t mind my asking.” She turned to me and laughed again, “My you’re full of jokes for a man who’s so hard on himself. It’s Lee-Ann. And what is your name, oh suspicious stranger?” That got a small chuckle out of me. “I'm afraid I don’t have one of those either. A name I mean. I suppose I did once, but I don’t know it anymore. Not that I think it would matter much. No need for a name when you don’t talk to anyone, you know?” she frowned a little and played with her food. “That’s kinda sad…no name and no friends? What kind of life is that?” she paused, deep in thought about something. Maybe this hit more close to home then I realized, perhaps I wasn’t the only one in the room with few friends. “So, you said you can’t remember your name. Do you have amnesia or something?” That I could answer honestly. “Yes. All of my memories from the day I was born until about sixteen or seventeen are gone. I’ve no recollection of who I was, or where I was from. But that doesn’t really matter now. It’s not like finding out would make me that person again. I am who I am, and I'm okay with that I guess. There are things I’d like to change, but I suppose we all have things we’d like to change about ourselves, don’t we?” This too must have hit close to home, as she continued to look down at her plate, playing with her food. She didn’t say anything for a time, until she looked up and said to me, “ For what it’s worth…whoever you are seems like a nice guy.” If I had lips I would’ve smiled. Instead I simply stood up and said, “Thank you. That is incredibly kind of you.” She smiled slightly, and stood up. She walked over and dumped her plate into the garbage. I was worried I had upset her somehow, until she smiled at me and said, “I think I'm going to turn in early. You can stay on the couch for tonight, and head out in the morning to wander or whatever.” “Thank you for your hospitality.” “Don’t worry about it. Goodnight, oh nameless stranger.” We both laughed. “Goodnight Lee-Ann.”

As she shut the bedroom door behind her, I lay back down on the couch, careful to keep myself within the confines of my coat. I didn’t know if I could stain furniture, but after all she’d done for me I wasn’t about to find out tonight. I didn’t sleep much either though. This time it had nothing to do with the danger of the city, here I felt completely safe. That was the thing that kept me awake, why did I feel so comfortable around her? I'm usually so defensive around people, and yet she had made my guard as soft as my gelatinous body. I couldn’t understand it, and trying to make sense of it only served to confuse me more. I continued to think about her until I finally fell asleep…

Reviews

[BrynnaW.]

First I would like to say, Lee- Ann is foolish but maybe from her view she saw something different. Maybe Lee-Ann saw something in this 'thing' and suspected he truly would do her no harm or she felt some sort of connection. I like how the two of them are at ease with each other but one thing I would find to make this chapter more professional would be editing the format of your dialogue. After each person talks, enter and indent. It will clean it up more. You're doing the job of being a writer well so far because you are hitting all the key points for a reader. You added a layer of mystery and developed your character more AND you make the reader want to ask questions. I'm enjoying what you have written so far, all I suggest right now is that you clean up the dialogue a little. Great job and keep on writing!