The Cobbler

~1~

Knock. Knock.

And I wait.

I cannot hear any sounds emerging from the other side of the door and with every second of unanswered wait, I grow more and more impatient. My foot begins to tap on the stone floor in an uneven rhythm and my arms swing from side to side, the polythene bag in my left hand rustling from the movement. Anything to keep me busy, really, just so I will not get frustrated by the wait.

Wait, wait, wait. Sigh, I do not think I am made for waiting.

The tempo of my foot and arms only keep increasing every second.

I would not stand here if it had not been for a strange impulse in my heart. The moment the brown matte-finish business card appeared on my desk, it had my attention. There were only three words inscribed into it in a curvy writing:

Cordwainer

Find you.

I scoffed at it and naturally tossed it away to one corner of the desk... only to pick it back up and look it over again.

"Find you," I mouthed and paused. "What? You're going to stalk me or something?" I murmured and rolled my eyes. Even if I kept repeating the phrase, it sounded more and more ridiculous. I crumpled it again and this time, made a definite aim for the waste basket.

I slogged on my work for another hour, my face engulfed in the brightness emitting from the computer screen and not nearly as far away from it as is clinically recommended. The only sound I could hear in that moment was the tip-tap of my fingers on the keyboard or click-click on the mouse. If I stopped it for even one second, I could not perceive even the breathing of anyone else. In fact, the whole office was so quiet, it could make the graveyard seem noisy, and that thought simply raised alarms in my mind.

Unable to concentrate anymore, I leaned away from the monitor and stretched out my arms. I checked the time on my wristwatch and stood up, pushing my chair back.

I tapped at the divider of my cubicle right behind the computer, and suggested in a lazy tone, "Hey, let's get some lunch." When no one responded, I stood on my tiptoes and gazed over the wall.

"Hey –!" I began but soon as I saw who sat at the desk, my voice choked and got thrust back down the gullet.

A green, slimy creature with huge, transparent glass eyeballs looked up at me, its pupils darted quickly all around their cage and it did not seem pleased at all.

I was frozen on spot, I could not comprehend how to react. The pupils suddenly came to a rest, focussed on me. I could clearly see my scared countenance in them.

But nothing broke my catatonic state until the creature spoke in an ethereal, booming voice that seemed to capture the place entirely, "Hey, woman, you do not work here anymore. Get lost!"

With a sudden jerk, I stumbled back in a hurry to land on my heels before I screamed and rushed out of my cubicle. To my utter disbelief, only pitch black darkness greeted me. Turning around over and over again, I could no longer find even a semblance of what I thought to be my office.

Instead, a crumpled piece glittered in the corner, three feet away. Even without picking it up, I could guess what it was and what would be written inside – the three words that made no sense.

Goodness, what horror movie scenario have I landed myself into?

~

A/N: Well, here's a short story for you guys! It has limited chapters, and will be updated on a schedule of a chapter per two days!

I wrote this for some competition some day. Did not win it - I never do! Eternal curse of my life, lol! :P

Let me know your thoughts on the chapter, the setting and what you suppose would happen next!! Please do vote, comment and share! It means a lot!!

See you in the next chapter!! <3