“... and the utilities bill's been spiking as if we have more than the three of us! I don't know if it's because of..”
Traces of Mrs Luden's voice filtered through the beige door and the loud rhythmic music playing in Hans Luden's room. He got a snatch or two of Mr Luden's response, something along the line of similar confusion. Whatever it was, Hans simply could not be bothered. He stretched and leaned against his chair, yawning and looking around his room. He rubbed his eyes tiredly; it was barely afternoon, the sun was still hiking its way up stoically into the bright blue sky, yet Hans was already tired and worn out. He put his hands back onto his keyboard and mouse, then stood up and left his computer. He had to rouse himself somehow. Hans punched the little buttons on his phone, asking his friends out and left his room, music still playing. He didn't notice the slight, humanoid-shaped indentation on his bed as he strode out, only making a mental note to ask Mrs Luden if she had used some sort of perfume on his room. The slight flowery scent in his room was quite appealing in his opinion, though he consistently forgot to ask her about it for at least two weeks now.
It was night. Hans walked into his room, shivering slightly in the cool night air. The night air brought with it the same aroma he had detected earlier in the day and he looked around to see if there were any perfume canisters about. There were none and he shrugged, reaching for his computer and then stopped. Hadn't he left it and the music on? The monitor was black, but it was still running. Hans powered up the monitor and saw that the music had been paused. That was weird. He had set it such that a password would be required if he let the screen-saver run. A password that Mr and Mrs Luden certainly did not know. He frowned in consideration. There was no one else in the house. Was there?
Abruptly, his head snapped around with the thought that perhaps there was someone else in his room. But no, there was nobody there, he was merely imagining things. Hans put the question aside for the time being, for he was tired and it was late. Lying down onto his bed, he did not realise that the bed was warm, comfortably so. Within moments, he lost consciousness and dreamed.
Hans didn't remember the curiosity of the night before when he woke. It only came back to him the following night, when he woke in the middle of the night abruptly, covered in sweat and exuding the stench of fear. It was a recurring nightmare, one of abandonment and confusion. But as his breathing slowed and his heart regained its tempo, he could have sworn that right at the end, there were a pair of arms holding him with all their strength and a voice, an angelically sweet voice, whispering to him that all was fine. Hans threw aside the blanket and walked down to the kitchen; he needed a glass of water and some fresh air. After a few minutes on the porch, Hans headed back in, ready to sleep again and, if need be, face his fears. Climbing up the stairs slowly, he stopped stiff just before the top. A chill came over him and a shiver ran down his spine. He hadn't turned the lights on. But there it was, the bright light of his room shone, spilling out into the corridor and illuminating the hallway. A shadow was there, right in the middle of the light, a feminine shadow cast by a feminine shape. Hans charged up the last few steps, tumbling towards his room with a sharp sense of fear. But just before he could see the entirety of his room, he caught sight of a slender hand reaching out and flicking the lights off. Hans stumbled into his room, unable to see anything and flailing wildly with a soft gasp. He quickly turned the lights on again, but by then, it was too late. There was no one there. Hans quickly moved to the window and looked below, but there was nobody. Had he been dreaming?
“Show yourself.” Hans whispered softly to his empty, silent room.
Nothing replied, nothing stirred but the gentle breeze, that sweet flowery smell in ascendancy.
If he dreamt the night before, Hans couldn't remember. All he could remember was that voice again, that soft, petite voice. It had said something, something that he only now half-remembered.
If only I could... His memory left out the next few words, ...show myself.
There was someone in his house, that much Hans was sure of. All that was left was to find out who, to find that who, to confront that who. Though thus far, all his encounters with this mysterious person had been by chance and Hans had no idea where to start fro-
There, there was that smell again. Hans desperately turned around, eyes searching all about his room. There! As he turned, he caught sight of someone lying down on his bed, but as he completed his revolution, that someone faded into translucency and out of sight within the time it took for him to turn about.
“No! Please, whoever you are, show yourself!” Hans pleaded to his now unoccupied bed as his eyes searched fruitlessly about. Spending a few more unsuccessful minutes, he finally gave a frustrated sigh and headed down.
Breakfast felt stale and tasteless to him. Avoiding Mr and Mrs Luden, he took the steps up to his room before stopping halfway. The thought came to him and Hans decided to sneak up, just in case whoever it was was there. Taking each step with a slight quiver, making not more than a slight creak on the aging staircase, he peered around the door frame into his room and nearly gave himself away with a shout of surprise.
There was someone there, a girl not much older than him, short blond hair framing her porcelain face, pink irises reading something on Hans' table, a baggy shirt that Hans recognised to be his own covering her thin, almost malnourished frame, delicate fingers flipping the page of his book, those same fingers he had seen turning off the lights that night. That perpetual flower-filled smell that suffused his room emanating from her.
Hans inhaled sharply and the girl looked up abruptly, glittering eyes widening in shock and surprise, her hands coming up to hide her face. He started to run in, started to open his mouth to tell her not to run, started to try to communicate with this mysterious, beautiful girl.
He never got the chance.
Even as he reached for her, her slim body started to fade away, fade as if someone was erasing her and for a moment he could see through her, before she disappeared completely and utterly. The last thing he saw of her was her lips mouthing a word, regret painted in those unnatural eyes. Sorry.
Unable to control his momentum, he crashed through empty space where she had been barely a moment ago. Pulling himself up, he felt the empty air as a blind man would, hoping to feel someone, feel something real.
But there was nothing.
A/N: My first ever completed story! I feel good about things :)
-agoraoptera the Homo Ludens
