Part 1

One man, who was sitting right up front, had his arms folded across his chest and his teeth clenched so tightly that the veins in his neck were popping out.  Every three or four minutes he’d shift in his seat, roll his eyes and sigh louder than she had ever heard anyone sigh.

It was so loud that she barely comfortable calling it a sigh. It was more like a ‘humph!’ It was so bad that the people next to him were visibly mortified by his behaviour. Her eyes lingered on that smoky eyes allured by the tighten jaw and white smooth skin. Well, typical European indeed. ‘ugh! Wake up, Sarah! This is not the time for daydreaming!’.

The man finally noticed the small figures that were looking at him caused his eyes averted to hers. Gulp! She grimaced and grinned with her exaggerated excitement. She almost bolted from her chair, thank God she managed to control her abrupt-small-swing-jump. Well, she did it for so many times whenever she saw an attractive man. But fortunately, this man exactly not her type because of his big tempered and tantrums however she still could not define this kind of feeling. Furthermore, all he gave was an only sharp gaze and the 'look-at-me-or-you’ll-die' like expression. She didn’t get any nod or a slight grin or anything. ‘What an arrogant person, not gentleman at all but still…’ she thought while sighing, she still can’t get rid of her habits after all.

After the bus stopped, she immediately grabbed her stuff and ran-walked to her class. As she walked into a basement, her face was growing hotter remembering that person earlier. She felt small and her heart was racing rapidly. Sarah tried to push back the instant replay of her acting crazy, but she couldn’t stop thinking about it. The shame storm was brewing. She went right into the bad self-talk of “God, I’m such an idiot. Why did I do that?! It’s so embarrassing!! ”. Good thing no one saw her situation right now. Little did she know that her life will change at the moment she saw him. (Well, only the autho…I mean the fate knows!.)

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Dealing with 4 hours of classes and tutors gave Sarah back pain and aches yet she had another 2 hours of class before she calls it a day, the life of a students is hard after all. Seeing her friends with their partner and her one and only stick friend been busy with her programs left her no choice. She had to take lunch by herself. For multiple times. There was an empty chair in the café and the place that she loved the most.

Sarah spent most of her time at that cozy place which she found was like her second room. She marched to the counter to order the drink and dessert. Hot cappuccino and two slices of strawberry cake is a must, and it is enough to fuel her stomach. Besides, Sarah did not want to take any heavy meal dreaded she would fall asleep in her next class, Philosophy subject that kills her throat and most mundane lecturer she’d ever met. (E/N:yes!! agree!!! I always fall asleep too!)

Finished her order, she mumbled to her targeted place. Saapppp!! She came to an abrupt stop. Her stomach twisted. Her jaw fell. She felt like to drown herself in the aquarium statically beside so that she could rest in peace right away.

‘How can this man be in here? At my place! And most of all, on my chair?!’ Flames of rage mounted all over her yet she had no courage to go there. Not even a step. Without thinking twice, she made a small run hid her behind the seated man. Shhhhh!! With peculiar eyes, the seated man left her with ignorance. Sarah threw a micro glance to her just-now-enemy with her narrow eyes express herself that she was in greatly catastrophic and she could throw her youth tantrums anytime she wants.  

'Errrgghhhh!! You are a lucky man because I am in a good mood today so I give you the chance to conquer my place'. 'But just for today!' she thought while she left the café with her lunch in her hand along with her burning redhead.

Meanwhile, Shark was watching the slender figure that was leaving the cafeteria. He knew that the girl was extremely angry with him about what had happened on the bus and the fact that he took this place from her. He knew that this place was the accustomed place where she spends her every lunch hour with her bunch of friends.

However, a grudge towards her family barricaded his tenderness. At least he has the courtesy to apologize to her but he would not be doing so as he promised his grandmother to do whatever it takes to make sure her family feels what he had felt all this time. Ever since his mother died, he has no compassion towards any woman and has no feelings for them unless dissenting and fear. He vowed to himself that he will give no chance of happiness to whoever made him suffers. And there is one girl who will bear his grudge.

If only he understand those feeling deep inside him. He hates her yet he always worried about her. He keeps denying the tiny sound that keeps echoed in his mind every time he saw her. It was 3 months ago he started spying that little girl. He still remembers their first encounter at the traffic light.

In his mind, she was a bad girl inherited by her bygone ancestor. They are a devil that devastated his happiness. But later, he realize little by little that she was innocent girl that did not know how to cross the road, she took a long time to get a meals and drinks, she is so clumsy during the first day of class, she walks too slow even she run-walk, she is short, she has a round innocent grey eyes, she knows how to use her puppy face to bargain things and everything that he saw on her was a good side of her.

Luckily he put a mask on to keep his identity from her.  He quickly seizes her hand when she crossed the road without waiting for the light to turn to red. “Are you blind? Wait till the light turn red first!” Sarah’s mouth gawking. 'Where on earth did he come from?' she thought while her eyes still remain unblinking toward the masked man. Then she realizes that there's a lot of peoples are still watching both of them and she has not realized that her hand was in his grips until now.

 “Ehem, do you mind?” while squinting her eyes on her hand.

Shark yanked his hand realized that he has gone too far. Actually, that was impeccable time to see her die in front of his eyes but he did not know where he mustered his strength to save her life.

She was short that burdened everyone in giving her a hand when she tries to grasp a book on top of a racks. Albeit, only Shark feeling it that way and only him who gave her his hand. He came out of nowhere made Sarah almost did a kangaroo-jump the day she was dealing with giant racks.

 “Thanks” Sarah almost lost her voice because of the abrupt emergence of phantom mask. No, because Sarah was infatuated by his mannerism. It took several minutes for squeezing her and marched to her seat.

 By the time they back to reality, Shark realized that once again that he is the saviour of the little girl. Everything that he did not end up as he planned instead he did it to make sure Sarah knows his appearance(im not sure about changing this part or not cuz did he do that to make her know about her appearances or existence? Or something? I highlight it just incase you didn’t see this haha ) . But for Sarah, the mishaps between mystery man and her only lead to catastrophe embarrassment. It wasn’t like she exaggerates her weakness, in fact, she wanted to stand on her own feet.

That was her purpose of being far away from home even though her mom strictly against her to choose university miles away from their hometown. Sarah has her own principles and she successfully reached the truce over the debate with her mother. The mysterious man could not make Sarah trust him 100% as she still remembers what her mother told her “do not easily trust people even if they did a good deed to you. People can be in the form of evil”.

That is why every time she’s been saved by the masked man, she said nothing but Thanks and sometimes threw a tantrums when he has thrown him too. And that was the reason why Shark keeps showing himself as his mind disturbed by Sarah’s ignorance. As he saw Sarah left him with only one syllable, his mind was in turmoil.

At night, Sarah could not swipe him from his mind. Who was that man on the bus? His eyes seem familiar but she could not remember anything about him. His resemblance to someone she vaguely remembers made Sarah potently believed that she has seen him somewhere. Those smoky eyes told her something. “Those eyes are telling me an anecdote. He is sad and he is missing someone. He must be hurt or been hurt”. ‘You have to sleep now Sarah or you will mess up tomorrow morning. That man is not your concern, he got nothing to do with your life, let it all go’.

It was not Sarah advertently put herself in jeopardy wherever she goes but it turned to happen without her sought to and every time the circumstances lead to an imminent mishap, the masked man always there for her. Sometimes she wonders was that happened due to his plans that she thought mask man wanted to flirt with her in a different kind of way. Often the assumption crosses over her head but she ended feeling nausea of how shit she was.

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It is common that the city park full of visitors on Sundays, a weekend where parents take their children for a family bonding; a couple of old spend time with their spouses and a bunch of teenagers is skating and skateboarding.

Sarah gave a little giggle when she saw a toddler failed to stable themselves instead of having a small cute legs, the effort of showing off their talent of standing still never fails their parent in giving them support and reflect the slight of happiness in the eyes of parents. Sarah caught a glimpse of black-figure behind the giant Christmas tree and there he was, black jeans, black sneaker, black jacket and a black mask on covered half of his face, the only style that he knows in Sarah thought since the first day he met this masked man.

‘This guy is really something eh, Think you will be my knight again? You are absolutely wrong mask man because I won’t give any minute for you to be near me’. Sarah figure out a little escape of her to disappear from his sight because she did not want to be saved by him any longer, for the first step she strode to mask man bluntly asked “Are you a stalker?  Why you have to be anywhere I go. Just please stop following me because I am not a 5 years old kid who needs to be watched for 24 hours!”

Mask man tries hard not to raise his voice. It was at his fault purposely showing himself. “I am here for something else not for you, kid. Maybe you should learn how to stay humble not being full of yourself of all time”. Mask man end his words nonchalantly, strode to the escalator without hesitant. He could sense Sarah’s furious eyes over him even her sigh lucidly could be heard in his ears, well he did not care as he used to that.

At that time, mask man has not realized yet that at the back of his mask there was a slight grin concealed, sincerely curved at the corner of his mouth, his heart also could not stop pounding just like always, every time those shining eyes lingered on him.

By the time the masked man left her, Sarah already stepped through the lift with protest feeling annoyed, her heart soothing and murmuring unintelligible syllables that some of the people around vicinity gave her bizarre look that they did not phantom over her words and she was acting so weird.

The gaze from escalator keep watching her, he was enjoying the view, the view of Sarah acting crazy with her mouth move non-stop like a duck in the pond. To make it hilarious, Sarah also did the gestures over their little scuffle which he found it amused him enough to make him laugh – one of all things that he did not get as long as he can remember. Easy said, he never had a laugh since his mother passed away.

Now, with Sarah to argue with, he knows how to live a life even though he keeps denying the bliss and joy that he made throughout these four-month, or he did realize but scared to accept the fact that his heart racing because of a daughter of a murder. “Sarah, what have you done to me to feel this way? Why it has to be your father?” He throws rhetorical question towards the back of Sarah hoping for the right answer she would give him despite that he knows Sarah have no idea for what was happened between their families last 4 years. His eyes drenched with hot tears restraining it from oozing, feared he gone weak in front of his enemy.

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Death finds us all. Yet she was impatient and had gone looking for it, now she was on the height of the rooftop. She welcomed the feeling. Cold and humid, the wind whipped her dress around her legs, sucking it close to her body, then ripping it away like a flag unfurled-a white flag. The breeze that slapped her face slowly surrender her fears and anger as for right now her heart feels free that she did not notice for how long she has been sitting there. And now 3 hours, thirty minutes of exile. She emitted another sigh she did not count for how many sighs that had. ‘Ok, Sarah, it is time to go home and finish your assignment’.

Shark could not find his little duck anywhere as he was searching for everywhere. This mall was so big giving him a hard time to get to her. He had been searching for her in every stall but she was nowhere to be found. She better be home. That would be the only acceptable explanation for her loss. Somehow he regrets not being … about and if anything happened to her, he could not forgive himself. Losing her mean losing his chance of killing her, his first aim of approaching this girl.

Maybe I should find her on the road. She loves to walk alone in the middle of the night. On the halfway across the main entrance, a foreboding imagination came to his mind. She might be on the rooftop trying to commit suicide. Without a doubt, he opened a massive pave through the exit stairs because he was certain the lift must be shut down by the guard. It nearly 12 midnights, the visitor should have been home by now only some merchant left to close their store.

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Sarah made huge yawning and ducked her head over her hand-watches. She was startled by the tickling clock that twinkled towards 12 o’clock. Oh God, I must be crazy to sit here till late at night. She rummaged her phone haphazardly in her pocket, unfortunately, her phone was dead. Forgot to charge her phone last morning gave her another level of regret, regret of coming here on the rooftop and regret of escaping from mask man.

Sarah bolted from the balcony marched to the small exit door. The door seemed locked behind. She could not manage to open the door even she twisted hard too many times. She exasperated, sweating all over her face. “Hello, anybody here? Please, I am locked outside” she rattled the door. “Help me! I need to go home. It’s cold out here. Anybody, please call the guard! Sarah gave up with her forlorn attempt.

Tears dropped heavily on her cheeks, feared she would be locked up forever. She sat leaning her back on the door, curled her knees and bumped her face with her sobbing sound. Almost 15 minutes Sarah with her tears, she heard someone back door rattled the door. “Hey! Are you there?” Sarah was startled by that voice, the similar voice she had heard this evening behind the Christmas tree and a voice she had been heard over the last six months.

“Please open the door. I am scared”.

 “Step backward”. The door hardly bumped against the wall with a solid kicked of a masked man. He was breathless and sweating too. Sarah scared him out of life dreaded anything happens to her which he was willing to climb a hundred stairs just in half in minutes. Sarah should have been fall for him. Sarah could not speak a word like she was glued, all she could do was gave him a shock dry gaze. There was a solemn silence between them.

Mask man exhaled heavily squeezing his body facing the dark in front of him. He looked Sarah again, her face was drenched with tears, her face was pale like no blood in her skin and she was shaking, she must be cold. Mask man opened her jacket gave it to her. “Take this”. Sarah tilted her head and down to the jacket interval. She hesitates of his generosity but finally, she took it anyway. “Thanks”. Sarah almost lost her voice. Seeing he left her without words, she followed him down the stairs, they downed the floor slowly without a word came from their mouth for about half of hour.

“Why?” Silent.

“Why you save me?” Silent. Sarah getting annoyed when her questions were answered with silence.

“Don’t tell me that you were in this building since this evening”. Mask man stop her pace. Within minutes, he continued.

“Everyone should not be in this building at this hour, and why are you still here?”. Nothing would stop Sarah from being a curiosity. By this time, she wants the answer from him.

“Hmmm… I am talking to the ghost”.

“Watch your mouth! You are not that brave! ”. Mask man furiously reciprocated. Sarah was a stunt.

“Sorry,

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 12.02.2020

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