I'm thinking about making a collection of short stories always ending with a punchline but without a sequel (in French, we call that a Nouvelle Litttéraire). I have a few ideas of turning classic stories into stories featuring our two favorite characters (Misaki and Usui). This one is the first. It's short, so be sure to read every word to fully understand the punchline.
The Outsider
« O-Oh, I wasn't expecting you! » Misaki stuttered, thrown off by Usui's visit. She never liked surprises, especially from him.
«And how did you get my new address anyway! » She gestured, but was gently shoved aside by the improvised visitor. Usui then walked casually to the other room -like it would have been his own apartment. Misaki skeptically followed him to the living room.
«An alien never reveals his tricks. » He smirked as he proceeded to enter a DVD into her television. «It's movie night, have you forgot? »
Misaki's nostrils flared, remembering vaguely the bet she lost.
«I still have things to unpack, cleaning to do, walls to paint…»
«And those can all wait until tomorrow morning. » Usui explained while he walked toward her. «Besides, I told you that I was going to help you…isn't that what boyfriends do?»
Misaki automatically blushed. She never got used to the expression.
«But I can't ask you to come back tomorrow to help me…by the time the movie ends, it will be so late! I don't think it's a…» She started but was interrupted by Usui's swift action. In just three seconds, he managed to gather up in his arms and then forced her to sit on the couch beside him. Possibly afraid that she would try to escape, he secured his hold with one arm wrapped firmly around her waist.
«So why don't I stay over then ?» He asked, oddly humorous and honest at the same time.
Misaki's breathing altered by the sudden proposition. She tried to act like she didn't hear. Even though they have been going out for five months, she still wasn't ready to let him stay over. Just the thought of it gave her shivers. She knew it was just a question of time but it didn't have to be tonight. So might as well give in to one of his demands.
«Fine, let's watch your stupid movie. But once it's done, you go. » She dealt, trying to look strict but one smile betrayed her. The truth was that her new apartment was scaring her. It will be her first night away from the family's house, completely alone. She was somehow glad that Usui was here.
«Ok, boss.» He laughed before pressing the start button on the remote control.
«What is the movie? »
«Titanic »
«Why? Every one knows how it ends. »
«I don't. » Usui lied while giving her a wink.
The movie was pleasantly interesting, even though she already knew the dramatic end. She looked at the hour and was shocked to know that two hours have gone by.
«How much time there's left to it?»
«The movie is over three hours»
Three hours!
«Well, you'll have to pause it. I'm going to the bathroom. »
Usui obeyed and reluctantly loosened his hold. He watched her taking the spiral staircase located behind the couch in order to go to the bathroom that was upstairs. He had to admit that her new apartment was kind of great for the small budget she had. He wasn't very fond of her neighborhood which was probably the reason why she could afford a two stories apartment and couldn't in a district that wasn't a slum.
Just when he rationalized her choice to live here, he saw a man walking outside though the window in front of him.
Probably another tenant of the building, but still.
Usui didn't like that Misaki chose to be on the ground floor. Every madman could break into her apartment through a window and steal something or worse. He wasn't alone to have these dark thoughts. Misaki's mother was more than happy to give him her new address.
Just when he was starting to wonder why Misaki still wasn't back from upstairs, a vague shadow appeared in the window. Usui recognized the man he saw earlier, only this time, he was walking from the opposite direction while carrying a garbage bag over his shoulder.
That's weird.
Friday wasn't garbage day. Usui shook his head, thinking that no matter what Misaki would say, he had to stay overnight. Just for the first night. With all these weirdoes walking outside, it was a mere question of surveillance.
Talking about Misaki, why wasn't she back yet? Usui decided to go upstairs, just to see if everything was okay. Maybe it was an indigestion.
"Are you almost done? You're forcing me to stay over. it's getting late." He said as he walked up the spiral staircase. He knocked on the bathroom door, wondering why she didn't answer.
"Hey, you're okay? I'm starting to get anxious about whether or not the ship will sink at the end." He joked even though he was nervous about a whole other reason.
No answer.
«Misaki? »
One knock, two knocks.
«You don't have to be embarrassed if it's an indigestion you know. Just tell me.»
Still no answer.
"Ok, I'm entering so now would be a good time to answer." He said as he put his hand on the knob. Curiously, it wasn't locked.
When he opened the door, the scene he witnessed left him speechless. His brain was running at full speed.
She's not there.
He pulled the shower's curtain just to see if she would be there. She was not.
He ran to her bedroom, looked every corner, opened the wardrobe but there was still no sign of her. He went downstairs to see if she returned in the living room at the same time he was searching through her bedroom. But she was not there. He looked in the kitchen.
But she was not there.
She was nowhere.
He searched the apartment three times,
but she was still nowhere.
If she was trying to be funny, now was not the time.
Usui opened her front door that was leading directly outside. Maybe she went to buy popcorn even though the normal thing to do would have been to inform Usui of her intentions.
Suddenly, he remembered the man that was walking outside. Maybe he saw her leaving. Quickly, he ran to the living room in order to see by the window if the man was still there
But as he walked toward the window, Usui felt an intense shiver passing through his body even if he couldn't fully understand what just happened. As he was getting closer to the window, the face of a man appeared in the window and slowly widened.
By the time he was three inches away from the window, and the face of the other man was also three inches away, in a perfect symmetry, Usui's heart stopped.
He couldn't believe it. There were no words precise enough to encapsulate the distress he suddenly felt.
As he brought his hands to his face and the other man proceeded to imitate him, Usui stared blankly - almost lifeless- at his own reflection.
The stranger he saw was never outside.
The garbage he carried over his shoulder wasn't regular trash.
And the window has never been a window.
It was a mirror. A simple mirror that reflected a stranger taking away the love of his life in a garbage bag.
All this time, while Usui was too busy worrying about the people outside, he should have paid attention to intruders coming inside.
END
So what do you guys think ? Don't tell me it's short, it's the purpose ;) Like I said, I'm turning classic stories so I heard this horror story when I was a kid and it featured on a TV show that broadcasted mini-horror stories. It's the only one I remembered because I found the punchline very scary! Just imagine yourself looking through something that you think is a window but is actually a mirror. It meant that all this time, the killer was behind you. So scary..
I still have few ideas of short stories featuring Usui and Misaki (not necessarily horror stories), I might add them to this story in order to make a collection of short stories. Let me know if this idea is worth pursuing ;)
Also, for those of you who might know me from my previous stories, I recently deleted A Political Secret Affair from Fanfiction. The reason is simple : I published it into a book and for copyrights, I had to delete it ;) So of course I changed the names (Misaki is now Audrey Tucker and Usui is Damien Russell) and had to change some details but the story remains the same. It's about 10 years after high school and Misaki has to work for Usui who is now the Prime Minister of UK. A lot of you liked it and I always wanted to publish a book so I saw this as my chance :) So if you want to encourage me (and even for those of you who never read it and have no clue of what I'm talking about), it's available on iBooks and Lulu. The book name is A Matter of Appearances and is only 5$ :)