text: Just as she opened the door to leave, she realized that she had almost left home without her sunglasses. Walking back to her bedroom to fetch them, she took one last look at the weather outside. Stormy grey clouds hungrily swallowed every piece of blue in the sky. It's not an ideal day for her to go out, but she has been starving ever since her last meal two nights ago. With her Ray-Bans on, red rain coat, and black rain boots, she made her way out. Who her next meal is did not matter to her; she just needed to feed, and she needed it soon. &#x200B; "Dude, can you please cover my shift after tomorrow? I have a final exam I gotta study for." asked Greg as he was refilling the coffee machine with milk. On the wall opposite to the counter was a mounted TV that showed breaking news of a guy who was reported missing two nights ago. I caught a phrase or two from the closed captioning. "Body has been found floating in the lake... petrified ... skin as pale as milk. Friends claimed that he was on a Tinder date...red haired girl. Investigations are still ongoing as to what ended Jason's life." I looked back at Greg, and I saw him trying to puppy-eye me into covering his shift. "Listen, kid. I've worked my ass off this week and I need the weekend off. Sorry, but can't do. Now, I gotta ring up that customer". I straightened my name tag, which now says "Brando" since the last letter "n" has failed the test of time. "Bro! It's that blonde chick again! Are you gonna grow a pair and get her number this time?" giggled Greg. Greg doesn't know what he's talking about. I tossed her bait a few times, but she never showed any interest. Were my pick-up lines too cheesy? Maybe my biceps are not big enough for her. Or is it the fact that I am 35 and look like I'm 25 with a patchy beard growing on? Or ... I think she's just playing hard to get. Although, I don't blame her; she does have a lot going on for her. Her blond hair drop down like drapes to her shoulders. Her glossy full lips, the color of cherry-blossom leaves, collected by a chiseled jawline. I'd say that her face has it all, but I can never get a glimpse of her eyes. She is always wearing sunglasses. I am not sure what's more weird: wearing shades indoors, or wearing shades on a rainy day. She left the cold sandwich she picked up on the counter as I approached. "Would you like me to heat up that sandwich?" I asked as I tried to bury any signs of interest under my obligatory smile. She nodded. "Not in the talkative mood today." I thought to myself. I went to toss the ham-n-cheese sandwich into the micro-oven, and set the timer to 60 seconds. 59...58...57... "Ok, here goes my last attempt." I whispered to myself. It has been a year since I last dated anyone, and this rainy weather amplifies my loneliness. I grabbed a napkin and wrote my name and number. "Whoaaaa! I see you making moves buddy!" Greg teased. Trying to keep my features composed, I looked back at him and winked. 3...2..1..Ding! I opened the oven and the scent of melted cheese welcomed itself into my nostrils. I took her sandwich out, wrapped it, and placed it in our 100% recycled "LuLu's Cafe" brown paper bag. Her head was glued to the TV, still showing that news report. I took that opportunity to sneak the napkin in. "That'll be $8.50." "Thank you." she said as she shoved 10 bucks on the counter, grabbed the bag, and zoomed straight off. Her voice was wheezing, dampened by a congested throat. It might be just a cold she caught. As she left the cafe, I noticed her hair again. I could have sworn that it was a few inches shorter and a shade or two darker the other day she came in here. "Shift's over, kiddo. Good luck with that exam." Greg went back into his puppy form, "Please think about covering me after tomorrow." "Yeah, yeah!" I said as I rolled my eyes, took my apron off, and waved him goodbye. &#x200B; Lightning slithered like snakes in the skies, and the thunder claps shortly followed. It is going to be one wet walk home. As I slammed the front door of my apartment shut, the echoes dispersed in waves towards the living room. "What a week." I sighed. I treated myself to a long, steamy shower, then headed straight to bed. That night, I had a weird nightmare. It started in an ample room with walls, floors, and ceilings all paper-white. There was a girl standing on one corner of the room with her head facing the wall. "Hello!" I called. Yet she was as still as a statue, still facing the wall. I cautiously started walking towards her. "Who are you? Where am I?!" I yelled nervously. Her head was still fixed towards the wall. I moved my hand closer to her shoulder. Closer, and slowly closer. Just as I was a hair away from touching her, she abruptly turned towards me. The whole room went from sheer white to pitch black. My heart skipped a beat as I was trying to fathom what I was seeing. Her face was an empty slate. Where one would have lips, a nose, and eyebrows, she had skin and nothing but pale skin. The only feature that was in its place was her eyes. Big black bold eyes staring right into mine. Her gaze magnetized my head and fixed it towards her. She had no mouth, but her ink-black eyes roared all the words. They spoke of agony that slowly drains the soul out of its body. They spoke of anguish that steals one's breath. They spoke of despair that would make one rather choose death over life. "No! No, no, no!" I screeched. &#x200B; ... &#x200B; "NO!" My eyes opened wide as a pool of sweat traced my body on my sheets. "What a weird nightmare." I thought to myself. I was face up on my bed, staring at the ceiling trying to make sense of that dream. My phone then pinged and I looked at the text. "Hey Brando ;)" Given how she spelled my name, I knew it was the blonde girl from the cafe. "Hey, good morning. I never got your name." "Oh. Excuse my manners. It's Karen." "Beautiful name. Would you like to go grab coffee sometime today? I have the day off." "I'd love to but I'm feeling under the weather lately. Is it too forward to ask you to come over for a coffee?" Ah. It's that kind of date, then. Well, it's been weeks since I've gotten any. Wouldn't mind if I did! "Sure, I'd love to. Drop a pin and I'll be over in a few hours." I ordered an Uber while I showered, then slipped into jeans and a polo shirt. As soon as my Uber dropped me off, I got a text from Greg, "Have you thought about covering my shift tomorrow? I seriously need to ace that exam!" This darn kid. He's breaking my heart. "Fine! You owe me! Btw, at the blonde chick's place. I'll tell ya all about it next time I see you at work." I replied. "Whoaaa! Look at you! " I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Alright. 5th floor. Apartment 5C." I approached the elevator. &#x200B; OUT OF ORDER. &#x200B; Great! Stairs it is. I groped my pockets to make sure that the condoms were in there. As soon as my feet landed on the 5th floor, the door to apartment 5C creaked opened. "Come on in! I'll be with you in a sec!" I heard Karen say. Her voice still wheezing. I looked around her apartment. She has an odd collection of antiques that I can swear date back to 400 years ago. A set of urns on top of her fireplace. Five ragged dolls stacked on a shelf. A collection of wigs displayed on a book shelf: one brunette, one red, and one blond. I helped myself sitting on her antique French couch, a little too stiff for my taste. She popped out of the kitchen and handed me a cup of coffee. I got to see her eyes for the first time, but the sight of them seemed familiar. I sipped my coffee as I kept admiring her eyes. Protected by long, wavy lashes. The color of a moonless night. I tried to not stare too much, but I was paralyzed. Actually, I was trying to look away now, but I was unable. My whole body has been paralyzed. Her gaze held me there for 3 minutes, and she never blinked. Not even once. "They say that the eyes are the mirror of the soul. Look at me, let me see your soul. Let me feed on it. Let me drain the life out of you." My grip on the coffee cup loosened, and it dropped to the ground shattering to pieces. That broke her eye contact and restored my mobility. I need to get out of here! She abruptly grabbed a shard of the cup, and stabbed me in the chest. Laying on the floor, she locked her gaze on me again. My eyes involuntarily gushed with sanguine blood. The air around be became more viscous. It struggled to find its way to my lungs. Gasping, my vision slowly started turning black. "Now, time to get rid of this body." she said with a wide grin.