(Friday, February 23, 2018)
[Andy]
I've always liked the way the buildings look in the evenings as the sun sets. Deep reds and oranges and pinks glisten off the skyscrapers in the distance—radiant fire dancing on glass in a waterfall of heat and color. Sometimes I even see the faint shapes of clouds reflected off the panes. The buildings here are made almost completely of windows. I guess they call this place the City of Glass for a reason.
The radiance of the buildings in the distance has always captivated me. But also, there is something about the buildings that are closer up, something that I can't get past—a fascination. Living on the 23rd floor of this skyscraper on Jervis Street, I'm surrounded by other skyscrapers. Even though my apartment is two hundred feet off the ground, I can gaze across the street and see right into someone else's living room.
I can watch.
And I can wonder about who they are. Why they are doing what they are doing. What's on their mind while they're doing the dishes? Do they really love this person they have brought home with them and are now pouring a drink for? Do they know them? What about this show they are watching on TV? Do they even like it? After they turn off the lights and go to bed, what will they dream about? When they wake up tomorrow, where will they go?
Who will they be?
It's funny—most of the shades on the windows of these buildings aren't drawn. Everyone leaves them wide open. Open so anyone can look in and see. But I guess that you don't really think about that when you are living two hundred feet off the ground. You get a false sense of security, a false sense of privacy, because surely the people on the street can't be looking in on you.
But I can.
And they won't see me. It's not that I have my blinds drawn—my windows are wide too—but no one will see me. They won't look.
No one ever does.
At least no one has yet.
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Author's Note:
Cover art by KarenElizabethZ
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The Intrusion
HorrorAre we really alone when we dream? From her apartment in downtown Vancouver, Jordan can see everything. But one evening, she observes a man in the apartment across the street and becomes convinced he is watching her. That night, she experiences a bi...
