chapter five

He must have moved me in the middle of the night because he was no longer underneath me, and I was still naked under the blanket on the couch. But I wasn’t sticky so he must have cleaned me as well. The sunlight hitting the window was bright on my face, and I had to cover my eyes with the back of my hand.

He said there was a village nearby, but I needed to check. I need to leave. Using the blanket as a covering, I return to my designated room to get dressed.

I was dressed in another T-shirt that he had left for me. This T-shirt was so oversized this time that I was swimming inside it, which is ironic because I am not tiny. Whose shirt is this? Hemming is big but not this big. Whatever, I don’t care to find out whose this is, if they’re that big.

What am I doing for shoes?

Making up my mind to go barefoot, I take one last look in the room before heading out. I noticed he wasn’t around, which made me sigh in relief. At least I didn’t have to make an excuse for me leaving.

It was a beautiful day out. But what did I expect being on an island? So I decided the best route was to walk the path because it had to lead somewhere.

… Right?

It practically took me no time at all to get there. Hemming may have more red flags than your average serial killer, but at least he wasn’t lying to me. The village was small but like a tourist attraction, filled with shops that were more full of souvenirs than anything else.

I entered the first store I crossed, my steps turning more cautious once I realized how empty it was. It felt like I shouldn’t even be here, like it was forbidden. But why? The whole village was for tourists, and technically I was one. I mean, I was a tourist against my own will, but a tourist nonetheless.

It wasn’t much of a store, only a few racks of clothing full of dresses and novelty t-shirts. I walked up to the counter at the back of the store, and seeing a tiny bell, I tapped on it.
The bell chime alerted whoever was in the back that a customer was in the front because I could hear rustling behind the curtain. They peeked an eye in the crack between the two pieces of fabric before settling behind the curtains again.

I rang the bell again. This time, they threw the curtains open with a huff revealing a middle-aged woman with short black hair that curled around her ears, wearing an old T-shirt before harshly grabbing the bell and taking it to the back with them.

“What the fuck?!” I yelled at her, but she didn’t make a reappearance.

Well then…

If this woman was going to be a bitch, I guess I would just have to find help elsewhere. With anger widening my stride, I marched out of the store, slamming the door behind me. I didn’t even stop to decide which shop to try next; I just opened the door to the shop sharing the building.

This one was a convenience store, with aisles filled with junk food, and on the back wall, it was full of cold drinks. I quickly moved to the counter that had a glass wall with a slit at the bottom to protect the cashier from anyone unsavory. But no one was standing there, so I put my face next to the glass to see if they were sitting on the floor. No one was here.

“Hello?” I moved closer to the little window in the glass panel. Then, bellowing into the window, I called out again, “Hello! Anyone here?”

But no one answered me.

Huh… maybe they’re on a break? But wouldn’t there be a sign of letting customers know they would be back after a specific time?

Whatever. I guess the next store it is.

As I turned around to move back into the village, someone else opened the door, and I could feel the tension in my shoulders drop at finally seeing another living person.

Thank goodness.

“Hi! Do you have a second?” I asked, rubbing my hand at my arm to give myself something to do.

But it was almost as if they were looking through me; they didn’t answer my question or even acknowledge my presence.

“Hi! How can I help you?” a man asked from behind, startling me. I twirled around to face him. He was an older man with salt and pepper hair and prominent smile lines showing that he had a full life.

“There you are!” I gasped. “I need help. Can you tell me where I am?”

“Hi, yes, I need a pack of cigarettes, Marble Red,” the newcomer said, shoving me to the side.
“Hey man, what the fuck!” I yelled out as I caught myself on a nearby shelf.

The shop owner didn’t even blink an eye at my mistreatment. He just turned around and grabbed this man’s cigarettes.

“You guys are fucking assholes. Everyone is in this fucking village. What is wrong with all of you?” I yelled out. But again, they ignore me. It wasn’t my brightest moment, but I took the nearest item to me, which so happened to be a honey bun, and threw it at the customer’s head.
“Oh! This too!” the guy said as he picked up the honey bun I threw. I don’t know if they don’t like new people or maybe they’re just sexist or possibly xenophobic, but something is not right with these people. So where the fuck did I end up? Hemming said he found me on the beach. What beach?

I had no other option but to go back to the house, to Hemming. Did I?

Fuck me.

My intrusive thought couldn’t help but reply: Hemming already did.