The Gentleman Stalker

The Gentleman Stalker

He watches her eat her lunch at the cafe, her dinner at her favorite Italian bistro. He sees her throw her garbage away, recycling her cans and water bottles; she's always so careful, mindful of the world around her and he loves that. She is thoughtful in a world full of  me, me, me, and a generation of gimme now (or I'll hold my breath).

Yes, she is special.  She is special to him. He loves her in a way he never thought possible.

He had been so empty before...just as empty as all the zombies of the world, all sitting in their cubicles doing nothing; shuffling along city streets, heading nowhere with the intent of the end of the world.

Then she came along. Beautiful, stunning, caring, aware, and he could have sworn she was not human, for she did not act like the rest of these animals, these selfish zombies.

She was so very special.

That was why he watched. He was waiting for the perfect time, the perfect moment, for they belonged together; she was his refuge and he would be her protector. He thinks of this often. It is now his every waking thought. He dreams of their perfect life together constantly.

He even got a ring, for tonight was the night, finally.

He has a telescope to watch her at night--never inappropriately or sexually, for he only wants her when she gives herself to him. And she will. She will be his lover, his partner, his wife, the mother of his children...He will give her ANYTHING she could ever want or desire. She will be his, for she is so very special.

In his loft are pictures of this perfect woman covering every wall, she is the screen saver on his PC, the wallpaper on his smartphone. He is surrounded by her visage, immersed in her beauty and perfection...if only she understood that they were meant to be. But he had the ring, he had a plan, oh yes, tonight... He would convince her tonight, he would spill his heart and guts, he would present the expensive ring, yes, it would have to work...or he would die trying.  The seconds were torture, the minutes' ticking agony...    

He had to DO something!

He walked the damp, dirty city streets, dusk falling over everything like some dark blue velvet. The lights still shining in office buildings like twinkling slave drivers, the zombies in their cubicles. Cars sped past him like bullets seemingly directionless.  He shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his well creased slacks, his suit immaculate, his every hair in place, and he fingered the ring, larger than he'd remembered. His loft apartment was also sparse and immaculate, save for all the pictures of her...He realized then that she was the mess in his life. The one thing he could not control, and that caused his palms to sweat despite the fresh autumn air, the drizzle of icy needles, and his brain began to freeze.

But finally, FINALLY, it was TIME...                                               

Walking casually to her apartment building, the brick and mortar monolith with glass entry, he rang the old lady's apartment above her's. 

The evening began with a buzz, not a bang... 

In he strolled, past the guard at the desk, to the elevators, whistling under his breath, still not one hair out of place. Of couse no one could notice the beaded sweat upon his brow, the way his hand, hidden in his pocket seemed to clench. He felt the ring. All was well. Up the elevator and he waltzed right into her apartment, where she was drying her hair, unable to hear anything amiss, until she felt it; a slight change in air pressure, a tingling sensation, like when someone's watching you and she turned to see him standing there, and she screamed at this stranger in her apartment, in her inner sanctuary... Millions of questions ran through her panic stricken mind. 

Overwhelmed, his jaw worked, yet no words would come out. Her reaction was so shocking and frightening, he found he had no clue as to what he should do next.

Fingers fumbling, he was bringing the ring out of his pocket as she first threw the blow dryer at him, then grabbed her phone in what seemed like one fluid motion you might see in a Hollywood movie. And as she brought the phone to her ear, he gasped, utterly incredulous.

This was not how it was supposed to go, dammit! This was NOT how it was SUPPOSED TO BE!

Horror and agony overtook him. She was rejecting him and she didn't even KNOW him, couldn't possibly know how much he loved her, how much she meant to him!

It was all too much, everything was going way too fast, and he fumbled for the ring, as though that would explain everything; as though it would magically make it all worth it, because everything would be all right, then, right?

But as quickly as these hopelessly hopeful romantic ideas ran through his head, something else took over. She was rejecting him, acting as if he were a derelict or rapist, thief, or whatever degenerate--how dare she? After all he'd put himself through for her? After losing his job, making his life a complete mess, and all because of HER!!

His terror and deep regret and a pain there was no word for suddenly became a monstrous rage and everything went black.

He found himself over her limp body, his hands wringing, throttling her already loose neck. Under his fingers, he could feel the tiny bones creak, could hear it crack as they shifted under his clenched hands, now aching from the pressure. Strange protrusions under his thumb, purple marks like bruises, and an complete limpness told him she was gone.

It made a gruesome sight, her thick tongue stuck out like some swollen parasite, blood dribbling from where she'd bitten it. 

He shook her, just a ragdoll of meat at this point, screaming and crying into her face, his tears, sweat, and saliva all raining down on her.

He did not totally come back to himself, as though he'd been hovering behind, watching all of this unfold. 

He yelled at her then, "I loved you! I wanted you to have my children! I'd have given you anything!! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO ACT LIKE THAT? WHY DID YOU GRAB THE PHONE?!" He screamed through tears of frustration, of utter loss and sadness and a lack of understanding. 

"You stupid bitch!! Don't you know we were meant to be?!" He shrieked at her until his voice was hoarse, cried until he thought there were no more tears left, sobs shaking him, his breathing so hard he sounded inhuman.

Everything was ruined now....she had ruined EVERYTHING!

But as he looked closer at what he'd done, he noticed the ring he had so carefully chosen at Tiffany's and suddenly the world swam before him.

Instead of a velvet box with a diamond ring, there was a garrote, still dangling from his pocket.