Chapter 4
Darkness. Smooth inky blackness pooled in velvety puddles and splashed up in dark shadows. And I was one of them. I knew the darkness, knew where to stand, knew where it would hide me and make me invisible. My dark clothes made it even easier to slip down the street and into the alley unnoticed. Nimbly, just like my shadow friends that followed me, I leapt and grabbed the bottom rung of the fire escape. It creaked but the wind was blowing, and wind made things that couldn't talk speak volumes. Silently, just like I'd practiced, I crept up the stairs until I was in the position that made me a shadow, and gave me a view directly into her living room.
All the lights were on in the little apartment across the street from my position. I could see her moving through the rooms, batting at curtains and looking under things.
Yes, I had made a mistake. I hadn't meant to leave any trace of my visit to her home. The window just off the bathroom had been stiff and noisy to open but I'd easily slipped in and powered the alarm down. Then I'd stood, breathing in her air. There was something so sacred about a person's home - like some part of them still moved in the room even when they weren't there. I could see her sparse but distinct traces of daily activity. A rumbled dish towel over the back of a chair and half a cup of cold coffee on the counter, the slightly mussed blanket hung over the back of the couch, that I had run my hand over, smoothing and feeling how soft and cozy it was. In the bathroom, her toothbrush and toothpaste had been left on the sink. I'd opened her shampoo bottle and inhaled. This is what her shiny red hair must smell like.
I made my mistake by staying too long. I had carefully slit open a few boxes, looking for a proper souvenir when the outer apartment door buzzed open. Time was up. Quickly and silently I'd moved back to the bathroom. That's when I spied it. With daring, I'd stolen across her room and snatched a soft, blue scarf from her open closet.
Now, from my place on the opposite buildings fire escape, I watched her as she scouted her apartment. She must have seen the open boxes and knew I'd, no, someone had been there. I didn't mean to scare her, I never wanted to scare My Catherine. All I wanted was to be in her place, wanted to feel her presence again.
Putting the blue scarf to my face, I breathed in, catching her sent.