…
For some unknown reason, Annie’s heart was beating faster than normal. One would not say the drama that unfolded during the party had a toil on her.
She didn’t even care about what was going on. While minding her business, her mind was only on the phone call which never came again.
She tossed on the bed for a while before her eyelids became heavy. Suppressing a yawn, she wondered why she was fighting the sleep.
All of a sudden, the room felt unfamiliar. Her hand wandered to the empty space beside her and the coldness sipped into her bones.
Whatever was happening, she didn’t like it. On the girl’s face was a tired look and the frown on her face didn’t dissipate.
She left the bedroom and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Not a sound could be heard in the apartment building.
The silence was deafening and the night was still.
On her way back to her bedroom, she thought she heard movements. But due to her disorientated mind, she attributed it to only a fragment of her imagination.
When she entered the bedroom, she sat on her bed and faced the window, staring at the round moon through the transparent curtains.
Slowly, she sipped on the warm water, hoping it would miraculously work magic and put her to sleep.
Her eyes lingered on the moon for longer than she intended and she found herself spacing out, thinking about even the unnecessary things.
She didn’t know how many minutes had passed as she remained in that posture. The beeping sound of her phone broke her out of her reverie and her eyes left the moon.
Staring at the incoming phone call and the contact display name, Annie frowned a bit. She hesitated before picking up the phone and answering it.
“Aren’t you sleeping?” His voice was grumpy again.
“What do you want, Mr. Lim?” Annie sounded tired.
The man scoffed from the other end and said, “Good.”
Annie wondered if he was happy that she wasn’t asleep or if he was just mad. She shook her head and wanted to laugh, then his voice came again.
“Come down. I’m waiting.” With that said, he hung up.
Annie’s frown deepened and she stared at her phone. His last words confused her and she dialed his number to clear her doubts.
“Mr. Lim-“
“I told you to come down, Annie. I’m waiting outside.”
“You’re at X District?”
The man grunted in reply.
Annie stood up and walked towards the window. She pulled the curtains aside, staring down the tall building.
The streetlights flickered and she couldn’t make out his figure properly. But surely, she could sense he was there.
“What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” She glanced at the small clock on the bedside table.
It was 2 P.M.
“Are you going to come down or what?” His voice became grumpier.
Annie shook her head and went back to the bed. “Mr. Lim, everyone in the neighborhood is asleep. Whatever you want to say to me, wait until we meet after the weekend. Even better, tell me on the phone.”
“Who said I wanted to tell you something?”
Her lips curled into a subtle smile and she glanced at the window. “Should I believe Mr. Lim suddenly misses me and can’t wait to see me?”
“Just come down, Annie.”
Annie found it ridiculous. She wanted to believe she was dreaming about this.
“Otherwise” he went on. “Don’t blame me for barging into the apartment building.”
The man didn’t sound as if he was joking. Annie’s smile was replaced again with a frown. She stood up and approached the window again to make sure she hadn’t seen wrong.
“Mr. Lim, is this a prank?”
“You can take it as whatever you want. I give you two minutes.”
Annie held her forehead, putting on an exasperated look. What was wrong with him? Was he planning to land her in trouble? Had she angered him that much?
“I’ll come down.” She grabbed a shawl from a rack after hanging up and she quickly put on her shoes.
Her eyes went to the door and she shook her head. Leaving the apartment would surely alert Mrs. Lin.
And if she safely made it out of the door, she couldn’t tell if one of the neighbors wouldn’t sense her movement.
Annie put on a helpless look and headed to the window. She stared down at the tall ladder that extended down the building.
Because the water tanker was sitting directly at the top of her room, the ladder was installed there to make it easy for the workers to have access in case there was a problem with the tanker.
She took in a deep breath then sat on the window frame and climbed down the ladder, oblivious to the tiny noise coming from behind her.
Minutes ago, Dylan had thought he heard noises from his sister’s room. He just came in to check on her, finding it odd.
Eh? Who knew he would walk in only to see her figure disappearing down the window?
‘Ha! Big Sis, what are you up to?’ He tiptoed toward the window and peeked through it. On the guy’s face was a mischievous smile and he watched amusingly as she carefully climbed down the ladder.
‘Haha. I always knew you had a mischievous side.’
Who said his sister was boring and emotionless? Dylan had a feeling that the fading light was in fact glinting nowadays.
By the way, where was she running off to?
He lingered beside the window to see if she would return. Then he soon got tired and walked back into his room with an amused smile.
…
Annie’s feet touched the ground and she dusted her dress with both hands. She looked around the almost dark neighborhood, convinced that the man’s figure had been standing on this spot moments ago.
She put on a tired look and shook her head. Wasn’t it childish of him to play this kind of prank on her?