Glancing out the window, she gazed at the ray of light reflecting into the room, and then at the photos on her desk.
The single room was littered with photos of different people, mostly men. Clamped to the walls. In some of the photos, a red cross sign was marked with red ink.
Her eyes searched her latest targets, at the cross sign, already etched on them.
She took a glance at the wall clock beside her and quickly stood up from the bed.
It was her day off work at the C I A, and she intends to accomplish a lot today. First, was going grocery shopping, and she needed to make a quick stop at the Assassin's lair.
She grabbed the little purse she always carries around, her specialized mobile phone, and then, her glasses.
The second she stepped out of her house, she bumped hard into something.
She looked up suddenly, as her gaze locked with that of a young man.
"Oh my God, I am so sorry," His voice was laced with apology with a hint of embarrassment coated in it.
"No, " she interjected in a low, calm voice. On a closer look, she discovered the man was her neighbor, Mike who lived on the down floor of the building.
She added, calmly, "I was not looking. I am sorry, Mike."
Mike stared at her for a few seconds and a little smile curled up on his lips. He had been standing at her doorstep for quite some time, eager to knock, but just couldn't bring himself to do it.
He stuttered, "It, it is fine, Emily. It is my fault. You did not realize I was standing at your doorway."
Emily nodded quickly. She muttered a silent Okay and made to walk past him. But he held back her hand.
Emily let out a sigh.
'Not again,' she muttered under her breath. He always does this, always trying to spark up a conversation, but only if he knew she was not interested. Hell, she doesn't think she would ever be.
She turned to face him, pulling her hands away from his.
Mike regarded her for a second and in a deep gentle voice, he asked, "You didn't even ask why I am here in the first place."
Emily shook her head, "I am sorry, Mike, but I need to leave."
He took a step toward her, "You always do this, Emily. You run away from everyone, you run away from conversations. You practically live ALONE on this floor and yet, you push everyone away. Why?"
His dark eyes searched hers, as he spoke and his tone was tinged with worry and concern. "You only live once, Emily. You should make the most of it."
Emily inhaled softly, her shoulders slumping, "I, I am not running,"
"Yes, you are," Mike countered, his hands instinctively reaching out to hold her arm. The little action made Emily take a step back.
She glanced at her watch, and she said hurriedly, "I need to go, Mike. I'm sorry."
With that, she turned sharply, and walked down the stairs, leaving a disappointed Mike standing at her doorway.
His shoulders slumped as he watched her leave. He couldn't understand why she was always like that. For months, ever since he moved into this building, he had observed her and tried every possible means to get close to her, but the little he had only gotten from her, were few words, always in a hurry.
His eyes lightened as a thought suddenly formed in his head. He rushed out of the building and was just lucky to catch up with her before she got into her car.
Zara heard his fast footsteps, as they quickly made their way to her. At that moment, she quickly opened her car door, hoping to get in before he came any closer. But Mike was faster. He caught up to her, holding her arms and stopping her in place.
"I am sorry. I think I forgot something," He said, with a mischievous smile playing at the corner of her lips.
"I know you are quite busy. Yeah?" He asked, and Zara nodded frantically, wanting nothing but to be out of there.
He nodded as well, "Yeah. I get it. You need to meet up with your daily activities. You need to go do some, grocery shopping, correct?"
Zara blinked, wondering what he was playing at. Slowly, she nodded, and he continued.
"Great. I forgot I was out of some basic items, and I needed to hit the mall. It is a good thing you are headed there right now, as my car had a breakdown last night, and is still under maintenance." He spoke all too fast, not giving her a chance to refuse him.
Before Zara could register his words, he had gone round to the other side of the car and got in.
Zara heaved a sigh. As someone who loves her personal space, there was not much she could do, in this scenario. She had no choice but to drive with him in the car.
********
In less than an hour, they had gotten to the mall, and she proceeded to the aisle, where her daily needs and supplements were.
At the far end of the aisle, there stood two ladies, laughing and chatting together, as they browsed through the mall.
One of them was Tricia. She lived in the same building as Zara. She has long blonde hair which cascaded down her shoulders in waves. Her light brown eyes shone ever so often as she conversed.
Suddenly, she glanced up, and she froze, her expression morphing into a frown immediately.
Her partner, Jessica, seemed to notice the change in mood and called her softly, "Tricia, Tricia what is wrong? Why are you suddenly quiet?"
Jessica traced her gaze down the aisle, discovering they were settled on a girl, a few meters away from them.
"Is that Emily?" She scrunched her nose upwards as she asked.
Tricia's fists clenched by her side as she remarked, "Who else could it be? I don't know how she does it, but merely looking at her face just ruined my day."
She groaned lowly and Jessica turned to stare at her, "But, I am curious though. What is wrong with her? Does she realize how, hideous and, ridiculous she looks?" Tricia said as she glared at Zara.
Jessica shook her head in disdain, "I don't know, but I think she needs to be taught a lesson"