"Oh, shit, I am late." Kenny hurried to cloth himself as he had forgotten to wake up on time. He had promised Marya to reach the flower shop at seven.
It was already six-thirty, and he had not even got out of his small rental room, which resembled a matchbox.
He quickly put on his new black shirt and hurried out.
Just when he walked out on the street, he noticed a stranger in a tight black t-shirt eyeing at him. "Huh? Who is that? I have never seen him around here." He could not see his face because the man wore a cotton mask.
Nevertheless, he did not ponder much upon it as he was getting late for his date.
Marya waited for him outside the flower shop. She wore a beautiful skirt which belonged to her mother from her youthful days.
"Thank you for waiting for me," Kenny said upon arriving. "I am sorry for being late."
She smiled and shook her head sideways. "It is fine. I have also come just a while ago."
"I see. So, shall we go?" He spotted the same strange man at the corner of the street.
They went in to a small park which was full of greenery and flowers. It was a good place for a breath of fresh air. All this time, they both had not uttered a word.
Kenny tried to find a topic to break the silence. "What should I say? It is not like I have not dated a girl before, but it has been a long time," he thought. Suddenly, blood flashed before his eyes. His expression changed as if he had seen a ghost.
Marya noticed his change of expression. "What happened?"
"Ah, nothing. I just remembered something." He tried to brush it off. "Forget it. How is your father?"
"He is alright now. I had told him to rest, but he insisted on going to work again," she replied with an unhappy face. "I tell him to rest sometimes, but he never listens."
"It is not about work," Kenny said. "It is about the time he spends with his co-workers. After he lost his wife, he has become lonely."
"I know that, and I feel sad for him."
Kenny never knew how nice she was. How would he know? He had always neglected her advances. Although he had all the right reasons to not commit himself with another person. What had happened seven years ago had left a scar on his soul.
He stared at her shining face and remembered something he had long forgotten.
"Kenny, live a good life. And do not cry for me."
He could hear her voice again. He could see himself holding her bloodied hand again. He could see those shadows again, which haunted him.
Marya could see his disturbed face. "I think you are not well. Shall we go home?"
Kenny recollected himself and reacted. "Ah. No. I just…" He scratched his cheek. "I just remembered something. Can I use the restroom?"
"Sure."
He quickly entered the public restroom and washed his face. His heart raced, and he wanted the cold water to calm him down. Just then, a man entered the restroom and Kenny could see in the mirror that it was the same man he saw outside his house and near the flower shop. Kenny had not realized it that his build was this large until he saw him from close.
The man took his place at a urinal.
"Why are you following me?" Kenny said to him. He expected an answer, but the man stayed silent and only focused on emptying his bladder. "Why do not you speak?"
"I am not sure what you are talking about. I think you mistook me for someone else," the man spoke, washing his hands in the sink after finishing his job.
"I saw you outside my house this morning and also at the flower shop. Now, you are here. What do you want from me?" Kenny said. "Who has sent you?"
The man calmly dried his hands and did not utter a word. Kenny was about to snap out, but suddenly, the man grabbed his neck and slammed him into the wall.
"Wha… what the…" Kenny reacted as he choked. It happened so fast that he had no time to react. He struggled to free himself, but the man was too strong to be affected by his struggles. "Who are y…"
The large man put off his mask from his other hand to show his face.
Kenny discovered it was the driver of the rich man who had assaulted Marya's father the previous day.
"I saw you yesterday, saving that girl from the accident," he said, tightening his grip around Kenny's neck. "You are not normal. You are an abomination. You must be wiped out. Come on now, show me what you did yesterday."
Kenny choked harder. He felt his energy drained out and his brain shutting down. His body felt weaker each second, and he wondered if it was the end.
His stomach gurgled all of a sudden and his knee smashed the jaw of the big man.
"Aw!" The man got pushed back a few steps and grabbed his jaw where he received the hit. Kenny was free from his grip and dropped to the floor. He held his neck and coughed badly.
"How the hell…" the man could not comprehend how Kenny's body hunched upwards when there was no muscle movement in those body parts. But there was something he had noticed - a sound. A familiar sound.
Kenny had farted just before his body propelled upward, causing his knee to kiss his jaw. Kenny adjusted his knee reflexively, according to the momentum of his body to deal maximum damage. It was strange and weird, but it was the only explanation that Kenny's fart had moved his body under these dire circumstances. Just like the combustion explosion sends a rocket upwards.
He fixed his jaw and grabbed Kenny's neck again. "Now that I have confirmed you to be an outlier. I can kill you without repercussions."
Kenny gasped for air one last time but could not get it. His eyes slowly were on the way to shut. "I am sorry I could not…" he spoke in his mind when suddenly, a man came out of the toilet room beside them casually. He wore a black hood covering him from head to toe.
"Aw, man, it felt so refreshing," he said. "Public restrooms are a blessing. You could satisfy yourself at any place." He glanced at the man choking Kenny. "That is a nice game you are playing." He washed his hands and dried them without showing any hint of astonishment.
Kenny hoped for some help, as it was time he was about to pass out.
"Just piss off without uttering a word," the large man warned the hooded person.
"Oh my god, how scary."
"What?" The large man reacted in shock when the hooded man suddenly grabbed his arm and twisted it. He could not comprehend what had just happened. The man was a few feet away from him and he could feel him blitzing towards him. "So, you are one of them, too."
The hooded man twisted his arm so strongly that he was forced to drop to his knees.
"How the hell…" the large man gritted his teeth as it was out of his wits that a man of such small build was dominating him in strength. He was even smaller than Kenny, who leaned unconscious against the wall.
The hooded guy removed the hood to show his face.
"Wait, you are…" the large man uttered in shock as he recognized the face.
"At least you should know who killed you," the hooded man said, and thrusted his whole arm into his chest.
The large man puked blood before he uttered his last words, "You all… will die. They will… be after… you." Then his soul left his body for eternity.
"Let them come." The hooded man turned his face to look at Kenny after he pulled his hand out. "Ah. You could not witness my instant kill, Kenny. Too bad."
Marya waited for Kenny in the park. She wondered if he had ditched her. "Kenny, where are you?" She constantly looked in the direction he had gone.