The Smiler

when he saw me

i threw a piece of stale bread out of my window. it fell down, down, down, and crash landed on the crusty sidewalk. a gust of wind blew it into the street and in front of a car tire. it smashed into pieces while i walked away from the broken window. i walked past the dead rat on the floor and into the small, dirty kitchen. i opened the grey fridge took out the pizza from last night. i could hear the cars going by, along with a growl from the neighbourhood crazies. i ignored it, and slammed the fridge into the wall where it made a crack sound that i've heard many times before. i stepped into the creaky bedroom and sat on my rusty bed. the box of last night's pizza was grey tasting. no flavour. i grabbed my phone and started to text my friend if we should meet tonight. i put down my phone and moved into the kitchen, dropping the pizza on the floor. i heard a ring from the other room so i dashed to pick it up. 

"hey, sam?"

"hey crissy."

"i can't go out tonight, sorry. gonna hang out with lilac."

"alright whatever. bye."

"bye."

i hung up the phone and look out the window. without looking, i reached my hand to the table and snatched some lemonade. as i sipped the mediocre lemonade through the paper straw, i saw a man, putting a doll down next to a tree. he slipped away, and the doll sat there, just staring at me. i felt like it was looking into my soul. so i closed the window and put down my lemonade. i walked over to the tv and sat down on the stained couch. i took the remote and started to change the channel. i must have fallen asleep because when i woke up it was dark out. my eyes adjusted to the dark. i pushed myself off the couch and then to the lights. i pressed on the light switch and the light flickered, but finally stayed lit. i rubbed by eyes and trailed back to the kitchen window, like i do every night. i picked up the lemonade from the table and took a sip. it was warm, like the smile my mother gave be before she died. i shifted my eyes back to the tree with the broken doll sitting at the roots of it. but the dim street light's didn't allow me to see it. i squinted, but nothing happened. so i leaned out of the window and looked down below me. the broken flower pot was still there, along with the coffee that was spilled this morning from the man that got jumped. i looked next to the flower pot, and a figure had appeared. as i looked closer, i saw the doll that was lying next to the tree this morning. i just kept looking at it. 

finally, i moved myself to my bed and put my phone down on the floor. looking outside the window, i sat there. a gust of wind blew into my face from the open window. and then a brief sniff of smoke. i didn't think anything of it, until i saw a figure that was shaped like a man. his head tilted and his hands were holding his body up, but only enough for his head to be there. then, i saw a long smile, going all the way up his face. his white teeth showing. his hand waved at me. and i smelled smoke again.