Weeks passed. I finished my term paper, celebrated the end of the semester with my two best friends and gradually forgot what had happened. Only at night did the images of the accident sometimes haunt me. When that happened, I usually woke up in cold sweat and stood in front of the kitchen cupboard where the necklace was still lying. No one had ever contacted me again, so its owner didn't miss it. Why I still couldn't throw it away? I didn't know. Maybe a masochistic streak?
I was just trying to put together my schedule for the next semester, failing over and over again at the bad university catalogue, when the doorbell rang. With a curse I got up and stuck my tongue out at the computer. The little break might do me some good. I ran into the hallway and noticed that no one had rung the front doorbell, but instead rang it directly at the apartment door. Cautiously I peeked through the peephole, but discovered no one.
I pushed the handle down and looked out.
Nothing. Strange.
I was about to pull my apartment door shut again when I noticed a card someone had placed on my doormat. Was the mailman new or couldn't he find my mailbox? I shook my head and picked up the card. It was really ugly and advertised Meals on Wheels. Why would you put something like that on a student's doorstep? It would have been better off two floors up. I turned it over.
The back was white, broken only by a single word in spidery handwriting: Help.
I furrowed my brows. It couldn't have been more tasteless. Were the advertisers doing everything they could to get people to buy their product nowadays?
As I walked away, I threw the card into the paper trash and decided to open the door only if the guy standing outside made himself known.
My stomach growled. Time for lunch.
I had gathered all the ingredients for my sandwich when the doorbell rang again. Annoyed, I ran back into the hallway and yanked the door right open.
Still nothing.
Were some idiots having fun and playing a prank on me? At least this time they hadn't left a card. I sighed and returned to the kitchen. Had it really been the right decision to move to this neighborhood? I thought of the many times I had felt uncomfortable going home alone at night. On the other hand, the location of the apartment saved me a lot of money. Money I needed for my studies and living expenses.
Whatever.
I put the sandwich on a plate and walked over to the living room. There I set it down on my desk and reached for my pack of cigarettes. My hand was already on the door handle when I noticed movement directly in front of me. I lifted my head and shrieked.
There was a man standing on my balcony!
A strange, tall, muscular man and we were separated by nothing more than a bit of glass. I staggered back.
Damn addicts!
I had known it would happen sooner or later.
I grabbed the knife that was smeared with leftover cream cheese next to my lunch and waved it towards the intruder. At the same time, I yelled, "Get out of there, right now!"
On the inside, I didn't feel half as brave. Fear and terror clenched like a lump of ice in my stomach. What if he just sneered away my threat and then somehow gained entry to the apartment? I didn't take my eyes off him for one second. He actually seemed more amused than aggressive. Great, he was probably in the middle of a drug trip and had to live out his fantasies on my balcony of all places. I clutched the knife tighter. "If you don't leave right now, I'm calling the cops!"
All at once his features became serious, he shook his head and raised his hands up in a placating gesture. I was still staring at him angrily. What was that all about? No law enforcement but loitering on other people's balconies?
He made no attempt to leave. Well, if he didn't listen he would find out the hard way. I reached for my cell phone. While I was still doing that, my counterpart suddenly started to move. I flinched as he stepped close to the glass, breathed on it and began to clumsily draw something on it. Were we playing the telephone game now?
This was getting better and better.
He wasn't fast enough, but the grease from his fingers still left the desired message.
HELP.
I squinted my eyes and looked at him more closely. The sun was coming from behind, but I had to admit he didn't look homeless. His hair was neat and very long for a man. He was wearing sweatpants that were way too wide, white loafers and... A hospital gown?
I corrected myself. He didn't look homeless, no. But he did look like a dangerous psycho. How did he manage to keep his composure with such dignity?
I must have stared at him with my mouth open, because there was that arrogant expression on his face again. I bit my lips. He wanted help? Well, he could have it, but certainly not from me. I pulled out my cell phone.
While I tried to release the lock with one hand, without letting go of my knife, he drew signs on the glass again, now not clumsy at all. He must have had an insanely vivid imagination; the alphabet as I knew it looked different.
Something rattled behind me and I spun around. My heart missed a beat. Was there someone else in my apartment? I gazed at the psycho. It didn't look like he was going to try anything more than scrawling something on my window anytime soon. So I turned my back on him and crept in the direction from which the noise had come. First I took a look in the bathroom - empty, then in the bedroom - also empty. All that was left was the kitchen. Wouldn't it have been better to call the cops right away? But if the person was already in here, that wouldn't help me anymore. I mustered up my courage and pushed the door open.
Empty.
I felt incredibly relieved - and incredibly dumb to think there was a bigger threat than the strange man on my balcony. I wanted to turn around, but before I could, I noticed the change on the kitchen counter. Had I left one of my tea containers there? Open?
An icy hand tightened around my chest and I gulped when I saw the necklace lying on the kitchen floor. How had it gotten there? I had hidden it in the farthest corner of my cupboard. There was no one here but me and the stranger outside the door. So how...?
I turned on my heel and ran back to the living room. But the balcony was abandoned. Nothing indicated that the man had ever been there. Well, nothing except what he had smeared on my window with his fingers. I closed my eyes and clenched my hand into a fist. The necklace had to go. Right away. And then I had to call the cops.
Why hadn't I done that already?
The doorbell rang. Again.
He was kidding me. Did he really think I was going to open the door now? How about never?
I waited and it rang another time. Almost simultaneously, my cell phone started buzzing. I frowned and picked it up. "Yes?"
"I'm standing outside freezing my butt off. Would it be too much to ask to let me in?"
Oh. I slapped my hand to my forehead. "I'm sorry, Julia. I completely forgot about you."
"Well, that's what I like to hear."
I opened the door and shortly afterwards my friend was standing in front of me. Suspiciously, I looked behind her. "Come in quickly."
She looked at me. "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, but hurry up."
She was about to open her mouth when I grabbed her by the arm, pulled her into the apartment, and locked the door behind her. My breathing was still erratic and I knew I was scaring her because she didn't move. I ran back to the living room, but the balcony was still abandoned. I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God!
"Ina?" That was Julias' voice from the hallway. "Are you sure you're okay?"
I bit my lip, trying to regain my composure so my friend wouldn't turn around and run right back into the guy's hands. She had already taken off her shoes when I turned back to her. "I... I'm sorry, Julia. I just... there was some psycho standing on my balcony. You know, the house across the street..."
She nodded and peeked around the corner.
"He was suddenly there and started smearing stuff on my window."
"He did what?"
"With his fingers." I made an uncertain gesture in the direction of the scene.
"I don't see anything."
"You have to breathe on it. From the outside. But don't open the door, he might still be lurking around somewhere."
"Okay." Julia turned, "Now what?"
"He's gone."
She grinned at me. "I can see that, too. You're really all over the place, aren't you? Did you forget that it's Alex's birthday today and we're invited?"
I closed my eyes for the second time and took a deep breath. Yes, I had absolutely blocked it out, but who wouldn't have under the circumstances? "I'm sorry."
Julia smiled. "Never mind." She pointed to my sandwich. "Eat something, I'll make us some coffee while we wait."
