"You're the only one here?"
"Yes."
The person on the other end of the line was silent for two seconds, then offered a word of thanks and hung up.
The wind had turned a little chilly now that autumn had set in.
The college student, unsure of what to do with herself, sat in the cool wind and read for a while. When Mai Mingle started to feel cold, she stood up from her chair to close the window. As she did, she glanced down and saw a face looking up at her from beneath the windowsill.
The strange man's mouth was slightly agape, his eyes fixed on her, unblinking. He was panting, "Hah, hah..." His pants were pooled around his ankles, one hand busy while the other clutched a sharp knife.
Even knowing it was all just a phantom image, every hair on Mai Mingle's body stood on end. For a moment, she was so overcome with fear and disgust it felt as if she had just swallowed a beetle, its countless tiny legs scratching at the walls of her stomach and esophagus.
