52 Week Project – Week 4 – Grotesque
I could see him sitting two seats away from me, looking down at his book. I’d say he was reading, but he hadn’t turned over the page for almost 40 minutes. He was gripping the book so tightly it was almost shaking. I could see his pointed fingernails curling around the front cover. They were full of dirt, hairs all over his fingers. My eyes slowly led up to his face, noticing a ripped shirt along the way. I spied something red which I can only guess was blood. His long beard was matted and was lost in his just as long dirty brown hair. It was then that I finally looked into his eyes. I’d avoided them for as long as I’d been sitting in this cold, damp library. I knew I wouldn’t like what I’d see but I could no longer resist. I had to know if this was the same man I’d seen in a coffee shop exactly two weeks ago from today, and then again in a restaurant one week ago. It was. I couldn’t mistake those red eyes staring back at me. As soon as we made eye contact he shifted his posture slightly but didn’t lose his gaze. He carried on staring and so did I. What did he want? Why was he following me? It was then that I noticed a tattoo starting from his right eye following down his cheek and neck. It was of a snake and it had the initials A.B.D. I wondered what A.B.D could stand for and made a mental note in my head to search it as soon as I returned home, if I ever returned home. I was starting to question my safety as this grotesque man turned his blank expression into a snarl. I stood up with my own book still in my hands and silently wished I’d took Diana’s advice and picked up the knife she’d ‘hidden’ in my bedroom draw. I saw the giant of a man stand up and follow me out of the door, and all I could do was hope I’d make it back home.
