— 𝐌. | THE SUN SETS EARLIER THESE DAYS, its rays dimming and billowing to a cool warmth by mid - noon. it is in this dimming, billowing warmth where they meet, apartment complex gate sliding open in a smooth and calming frenzy; the woman steps through the gate first, a glance thrown back at who she assumes is a new neighbor; his appearance is taken in, soft spots of his body pinpointed and memorized. you never know when you must be prepared, when there's need for fresh meat. ❝ oh, are you new in the building ? ❞ asks she, curiosity lacing her tongue like a barbed wire. she watches him, memorizes the freckle and fat that sits on his face, pads his form; the vampiristic woman imagines braised meat in stew.... new neighbor fois gras....
HE DOES NOT ANSWER AS QUICK AS SHE WOULD LIKE, but her face remains cheerful as they both walk back into the building, him at a considerably slower pace. the woman presses the button lodged into the wall, calls the elevator from its hiding place above. ❝ are you moved in alone ? ( SILENCE. A SHORT NO. ) well, why don't i have you and ... whoever over for dinner ? i've been cultivating something in my garden, i'd love to show it off. ❞
silence fills the room. the elevator dings, the silver doors opening with a glide and she steps inside. So ?
the man [ @deluder ] fixes his mouth one way, and then another. as he steps into the elevator, words leave his mouth as a quiet omen, a quieter threat: “ i’ve been cultivating unkindness... ” the woman nods, feels the corners of her mouth turn upwards. the man continues: “ i’ve been cultivating a lot of things — i’m a fertile field, it turns out — but unkindness is the most interesting..”
the elevator halts at the first stop.
the woman exits first, then wedges her hand between
the closing doors, pries them open with a dazzling grin.
❝ tell your wife to come to dinner. saturday night, 8PM. i'm just down this hall, at the very end. I THINK WE COULD BE GOOD FRIENDS. ❞
