Short Stories

Thirty-Five: Selfish

 You sit outside the coffee shop sipping your drink on the warm Saturday. The city is bustling with people rushing to and fro. Your eyes scan the titles of everybody rushing about. None of them are particularly interesting except for the occasional oddball. You had seen "The Murderer" several times, but you weren't a cop, and you didn't want to die confronting them. However, you always try to take a quick picture of them while they were at a cross sign. You anonymously slip the photos to the local police station a few hours later. You never see those people again, and you never find out if they were caught as you try to steer clear of the news.

You finish the last of your drink and stand up from your table. You toss the cup into the recycling bin and start heading home, checking your phone for the time. It read 7 in the evening. You pocket your phone and walk down the streets of the city. You go your usual way and read the titles of the people passing you.

"The Collector."

"The Student."

"The Worker."

"The Builder."

"The Salesperson."

"The Forgotten Hero."

"The-"

...Wait. You stop and turn around to look for the strange title. You spot a homeless woman huddled in the alleyway you passed by a few seconds ago. She's crouching over a piece of food she must have dropped. Her brown hair is matted, knotted, and filled with grime and her gray clothes are ratty and thin. You rub your eyes to make sure your eyes aren't deceiving you. They weren't. You walk up to her and held out a hand.

"Uh, hello. I can get you something." You kindly ask. She stares at you with broken and tired eyes. She shakes her head but smiles at you. "Thank you for the offer, but no thank you."

"No, really. I insist. You deserve it." She hesitantly holds onto my hand as you heave her surprisingly light body up. Her eyes are filled with tears and little wrinkles form around her face as she smiles.

"Thank you so much." You smile at her thanks.

"It's no problem. Just, uh, one question. What did you do that made you a hero?" You carefully ask. The woman flinches backward and tackles me into the alleyway and pushes you against the wall with surprising strength.

"How did you know?" She hisses. Her eyes are wide with fear. Her hands shook as she grips the front of your shirt tightly. Her shoulders are tense and her eyes darted around frantically as if someone might come out of the darkness and kill her.

"I-I-I-I just saw it in the title! Please don't hurt me!" You whimper.

"Titles?" She questions before letting go of your shirt and walks backward quickly. Her eyes dart around a bit more before she just disappears into thin air. Your mouth is agape and your body is shaking. You shakily peel yourself off the wall and walk out the alley. You head home with my hands deep in your pockets, head full of thoughts. You open the doorway to your apartment. The wooden door creaks open and reveals the dark living room. You flick on the lights and almost screamed when you find a man laying on the couch.

They appeared in front of you and clamped their hand over your mouth. They shut the door behind you with their other hand. Your heart pounds and your pupils are blown wide. Your hands start shaking again, and you could feel the blood drain from your face.

"Why hello there." They coo softly. You look up above their head and spot "The Villain."

"I believe you found something that belonged to me," they pushed their hand into your face until you could feel the nails digging into your face, "or they'll face the consequences."

You look over the villain's shoulder and spot your family kneeling on the floor, gags in their mouth, hands, and feet bound together. Your eyes widen, and you clench your fists and ready to punch him, but he lets go of you and walks towards your family. He pulls out a gun and presses the muzzle against your mom's head.

"Now, tell me, where did you see them last. I want my little doll back." They tighten their finger on the trigger.

"I saw them in the alleyway a block away." Your voice betrays your fear as it shakes wildly. Your hands shake, and you start picking at the loose skin around your thumb violently. It starts bleeding pretty soon as you tried to explain what she was wearing without breaking down.

The villain smiles at you. "You're cute too. Maybe I should keep you too." They shoot your mom in the head. The gunshot rings through the room as you scream. The rest of your family screams through their gags. The villain walks toward you as you try to run away. However, he teleports in front of you and grabs your hand, and you both disappear.

A few minutes later your neighbors come knocking at your door, yelling through the door worriedly. They knock down the door and see your dead mom and crying family. You were reported missing that day. However, you were never found again. Well, at least alive. The villain made sure of that. The police found your body a few years later. One of them puked as they stared at your mutilated and tortured body.

The homeless lady turned away from the scene of the crime and stalked away. Her title slowly turned from "The Forgotten Hero" to "The Selfish One."