By Jay Nystrom
Matthew South sat down on the dirty, stained park bench. It had, in it’s many years served as a bed, a meeting place for lovers, a rest stop, and in the beginning a tribute to a person whose name had long ago been scratched from the brass memorial plaque affixed to the back. Today it served as a dead drop, a small watertight compartment had been carved into one of the wooden planks that served as a seat. Matthew discreetly slipped a small tube that contained a micro SD card into the hidden cubby, he sat for another ten minutes at that bench before he left for home. Along the way he would walk by a foreclosed house that now was succumbing to the vines and weeds in the yard that surrounded it. He quickly glanced to see if anybody was around, satisfied that he hadn’t been followed he placed the tiny red flag on the mailbox in the upward position.
Once home Matthew sat at the edge of his bed, he looked around the cramped space. He lived in a studio apartment that was barely big enough for his few possessions, he could literally piss from his kitchen counter into his toilet. The depressing place was made tolerable by the fact that as soon as he earned a degree he could find a high paying job and leave this shithole far behind him. He lay back on his bed and closed his eyes, he hoped that when next he walked by the derelict house the flag would be down. If it was he would walk to the corner market after dark and crack open a loose brick in the alleyway behind it. Inside the hole would be a wad of non-sequential small bills and maybe another card, a big payday for the simple task of placing memory cards into a park bench.
How he had stumbled into such a money making endeavor was pure happenstance and luck. At his lowest point, jobless and drowning in student loan debt, he was contacted by one of the men who worked in the student cafeteria. He was offered the simple job and he accepted immediately, easiest money he had ever made. He kept a job at a grocer just to help pay bills but without the money on the side he would have starved long ago.
The next morning Matthew walked by the house and sure enough the flag was down, he walked the three blocks to the corner store and retrieved his payment. He went inside and bought a basket full of ramen noodles, an eighteen pack of the cheapest beer, and a pack of Light 100’s. As he left the market he nearly ran right into a woman turning the corner, she apologized for the incident but Matthew’s eyes had muted his hearing. In front of him stood the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen, and that can be said without exaggeration. She was tall and lean, her hair was a natural brunette cut in that pixie style that Matthew loved so much. Her face had barely any makeup on it, just a little eye shadow tastefully placed around big brown eyes, and tangerine lipstick, but it was absolutely flawless.
Matthew stumbled through an apology and started to walk away, she grabbed his arm and stopped him. “You nearly run me over and don’t even offer to take me to dinner in apology?” Her voiced dripped like honey, thick and smooth from her lips, a slight accent elongating the ’A’ sounds. He somehow managed to muster enough courage to agree and exchange numbers with her, after she walked away he looked at the scrap of a paper, above the numbers was the name Chloe.
The night of their date Matthew showered and put on his best clothes, a pair of high end jeans and a black button up shirt. He waited outside the café where they had agreed to meet, when he saw her walking up the street his heart filled his throat. She was wearing a simple blue sundress, her sway caused the bottom hem to swish hypnotically, he barely noticed that she had drawn close. He was about to offer his hand when she stepped in and with her hands gently on his shoulders she kissed his cheek, he got lightheaded but regained focus quickly.
They spent the evening talking and laughing, he did his best to play the smooth talker, the suave gentleman. After their cups had nothing but drops left she offered to walk home with him, he didn’t know if it meant what he hoped it meant but any time spent in her presence was time well spent. The walked slowly back towards his apartment, there was no rush and the two of them enjoyed the cool breeze on the warm autumn night. Halfway home she looped her arm in the crook of his elbow and placed her head on his shoulder, the sweet floral notes of her perfume swam in his head.
At the entrance to his building he stopped, his hands started to sweat and his heart pounded in his ears. Should he kiss her? Invite her up? What signals had she thrown his way? He was no good at this sort of thing, he had had a few girlfriends here and there but nothing like her, nothing like this. She interrupted his frantic inner monologue by grabbing his hand, she stepped ahead of him leading him up the stairs to his place. The night was intense and passionate, he had never felt like this before, instant love he thought.
The dawn came through the open blinds, they hadn’t slept all night. Her naked leg was tossed over his lower body, she was tracing imaginary things on his bare chest. Chloe asked him what he did for a living and he told her about his job, not his real job but the crappy cashier job he had at the grocery store. She kissed neck, then his chest, then up to his lips. She asked what he wanted to be, what he was going to school for, how he could afford his bills and tuition. He told her about his side job, the little thing he did for extra cash, he didn’t know why but he couldn’t help but let her know.
After a few more hours spent blissfully in her presence she started to dress, her lacy black panties and bra went on first, then the dress she left her house in. “Will I ever see you again Chloe?” he asked nervously, afraid to break the spell the perfect night had cast. She climbed on top of him and whispered “Yes” into his ear, then she put on her heels and left.
The rest of the day was spent as usual except for the afterglow of an exceptional evening, he picked up another SD card from the brick wall and placed it in the park bench. He went by the broken down house and placed the little red flag back up and headed home. In the evening he went home, at the door he fumbled and patted himself looking for his keys. He looked up and saw a woman with long blonde hair walking down the sidewalk towards him, for a second he was confused, she looked eerily familiar, as she got closer he noticed her rhythmic strides. She took off her glasses to reveal big beautiful brown eyes, three sharp cracks shattered the calm night air.
Matthew fell to the ground, his mind unable to comprehend what was happening, the concrete quickly became soaked and sticky with his blood. He choked and the red spittle splashed from his mouth to the ground, soon he stopped moving all together. He died never knowing why, and he left nothing behind but a strawberry stain on the sidewalk.
End
