The White Mask: Part Five
Dylan is in shock to find out that he killed Dan. He can't believe it. His heart is pumping like a speeding train, and he can't seem to control his breathing. He looks down and sees the white mask in his hands. He quickly throws it across the room, then he looks at Cupid. Cupid tilts his head to the right and smiles ever so slightly at Dylan. Dylan finally gets control of his breathing and says, "Please, tell me that I didn't kill Dan."
Cupid's smile widens. He tilts his head to the left, laughs and whispers, "Oh, you killed Dan. I saw the whole thing, and it was honestly a work of art. The passion and the drive you showed was breath-taking. It was kind of romantic."
Dylan shakes his head and says, "No, I just put that mask on a couple of seconds. There's no way that I killed Dan. There's no way that I could ever do such a thing. I don't remember doing anything like that."
Cupid chuckles and responds, "Well, that's good because you weren't supposed to remember anything. However, if you don't believe your blood-stained hands, change of clothes and that bloody knife in the bathroom, I would be more than happy to go in detail of all the torturous, sick, twisted things you did to Dan."
Cupid slowly tilts his head to the right. He continues to smile at Dylan, but it's freaking Dylan out. Then, Dylan gets up to see if there was a bloody knife in the bathroom. He gets up and walks to the bathroom. Dylan's hesitant to peak in the bathroom, but Cupid yells for him to take a look. Dylan exhales, and he's disappointed to see a bloody knife in the sink. He drops to the ground, and he starts crying. Cupid starts laughing and says, "You know, it's interesting seeing you be so regretful in killing Dan."
"Why is it interesting?" Dylan asks.
"Because you enjoyed every minute of torturing and killing him. It was fun for you, Dylan. In fact, watching you murder Dan was like listening to a song. You were killing him softly, and I loved every minute of it," Cupid says.
Cupid smiles as he reminisces about the brutal, horrific murder he witnessed minutes ago. Dylan looks at Cupid, and he's frightened by his look. Cupid quickly snaps out of his daze and says, "Let's not forget why you did what you did to Dan. Remember, he was a monster that mistreated your beloved Melanie. You saved her, Dylan, and now you two can be together."
Dylan realizes that Cupid is right, and he can finally be with Melanie. Her husband can no longer get in the way of their love for each other. Dylan thought to himself that he was going to have his Juliet. There's a sense of relief from Dylan, then Cupid gets up and heads for the door. Dylan asks Cupid why he's leaving, and Cupid responds, "Oh, you don't need me right now. You'll be fine, but don't worry, I'll be back in a couple of months."
Cupid opens the door, but Dylan stops him and asks why he'll be back in a couple months. Cupid smiles, looks at Dylan and says, "Just to check on you and keep you motivated. Also, I want to visit you on my favorite day of the year."
Dylan frowns and explains that Valentine's Day is next year. Cupid chuckles and says, "Valentine's Day? I can't stand that day. No, I'm talking about Halloween. Something tells me that it'll be an interesting Halloween for you and Melanie."
Dylan asks Cupid what he means, but Cupid only smiles and doesn't answer his question. He quickly leaves and disappears into the night. Dylan locks the door, looks to his left and sees the white mask lying on the floor. He goes to it, picks it up and stares into it. Then, he shakes his head, takes it to his room and puts it in a box. Dylan hopes he never has to see the white mask again, and he can just put it behind him. He smiles because him and Melanie can be together finally with no interferences. He would have his Juliet.
A few months passed, and Dylan was still having a hard time getting closer to Melanie. Dylan understood that Melanie needed time to figure things out, but he was still hurt that she didn't try to make an effort with him after some months passed. He would text her daily, but he would barely get a response from her. Most of the time she would reply a day or two late, and it really bothered Dylan. Also, he was buying her flowers, chocolates, perfume and food, at least two or three times a week. Sadly, it still didn't make a difference. He didn't understand. Why couldn't she see how much he loved her? Why couldn't she see how much he needed her? Dylan starts to think to himself that she's not taking their relationship seriously, and it's a problem from him. Dylan killed Melanie's abusive husband. He saved her from a monster, but it feels like she doesn't appreciate everything he's done for her.
Today, it's Halloween. Dylan is not working his typical 2-11 shift, but he's working a 9am-6pm shift at Sam's Club. He comes in 30 minutes early, and he's excited to be spending time with Melanie. They have a date today. When he arrives at work, he walks into Sam's Club with a dozen roses and a wrapped present for Melanie. He's feeling bold and excited today because he's finally gonna have lunch with Melanie again. It's been four months since their last "date," and Dylan's ready for his special Halloween date with Melanie.
He puts all of his things for Melanie in his locker. He thinks about his sweet Melanie and texts, "Hey beautiful, I can't wait to see you for lunch. I'm so excited! Also, I have a surprise for you that I know you'll love."
After he texts that, he closes his locker. All of a sudden, he's confronted by Elijah. He tells Dylan that he needs to talk to him. Elijah and Dylan go to the break room, and they find a table to sit at. Thankfully, it's empty. Dylan urges Elijah to tell him what's going on. Elijah sighs and says, "Okay, you're doing too much with Melanie, man."
Dylan doesn't understand. He asks Elijah how he knows he's doing too much, and Elijah adds, "Because she told me, Dylan. You're making her very uncomfortable with the gifts. She told me that she's been trying to be nice to you, but she's close to telling a supervisor about you."
Dylan thinks that Elijah is lying to him, and he doesn't want to hear anything else from him. Dylan says, "Then, why is she having lunch with me, Matthew? If she didn't want to be with me, then she wouldn't agree to go on a date with me."
"Bro, it's not a date. She's just trying to tell you what I'm telling you. She's honestly hoping that you listen to me, instead of her telling you when you have lunch with her," Elijah explains.
Dylan shakes his head because he can't believe what he's hearing. Why is Elijah trying to sabotage his relationship with Melanie? Elijah says, "Listen, I understand that you…like her, but she doesn't feel the same way about you. No amount of gifts or text messages is going to change that. She's not interested in you, man. You need to let her go and move on."
Dylan is angered by Elijah's words and replies,"I'm not giving up on her, Elijah. I'm a hopeless romantic. That's just who I am. I'm giving her my all because I love Melanie so much. I'm sorry that I can't be all nonchalant and hide my emotions like you do Elijah. I want Melanie to know how I feel about her. I'm not afraid of embarrassing or exposing myself to girls like you are. I feel bad for you Elijah because no girl is ever going to love you because you're a coward that doesn't know how to take a chance on love. It's pathetic and sad."
Elijah is a little hurt by Dylan's insulting words, but he gives a chuckle and responds, "You know what, have fun on your date? It does take a lot of dedication and wasted time to be obsessed with a girl that doesn't want you. In fact, you give everyone here at Sam's Club something to laugh about. It's funny, for four months, you've been harassing a newly single mother that recently lost her husband. You've been making things uncomfortable for her at work with your stupid gifts that she just throws away in the trash. So, I can't wait to hear what precious gift you got her for your little date. It should be interesting to hear from her because she does like to talk to me. She's a real fast responder too, but you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
Dylan is silent and angry. He wants to punch Elijah in the face, but he controls himself. Elijah laughs and walks away. Then, he turns around and yells, "Oh, and happy Halloween, Dylan. Have fun on your little date, you piece of trash."
Dylan couldn't believe the words that Elijah spoke to him. A few minutes later, he gets a text from Melanie. He's excited to see the text message, but he's disappointed to see that it reads that she won't be able to have lunch with him because something came up. He doesn't understand. Dylan asks why she has to cancel, but there is no response. Ten minutes later, he clocks in. As he's walking to the backroom, he stumbles upon Melanie. She arrives an hour early to work, and Dylan sees this as the opportunity to get close to her. Dylan says hi to Melanie, and she replies hi back. Then, she asks Dylan if Elijah talked to him, and he responds, "Kind of, but look. I actually got you a present that I think you'll love."
Before Melanie could object, Dylan begs her to see the present he has for her. She says fine, and he rushes to his locker to get the roses and the special present for her. Dylan makes it back to Melanie as she groans at the roses and present. Dylan tells her that she'll really like this present if she just gave it a chance. Melanie sighs, takes the presents and opens it up. When she opens it, her mouth drops. She can't believe the present that Dylan gave her. She simply responds, "Oh my God."
This is the end of "The White Mask: Part Five."
Isaiah Warfield	Uncategorized	Leave a comment November 1, 2019 November 1, 2019 7 Minutes
The White Mask: Part Four
The next day, on a Sunday, Dylan goes to work with the white mask on his mind. He didn't touch it at all, and it's still sitting on his table. While he's working at Sam's Club, Dylan contemplates if murdering Dan is the only way he can be with Melanie. He also wonders if he can completely trust Cupid. He wants to know Cupid's motives with him and the white mask. What reason does Cupid have to giving Dylan such a powerful, frightening mask? What does he gain out of Dylan killing Melanie's husband? These questions and many more plagued Dylan's mind at work.
At around lunch time, Dylan decides to have lunch with Elijah. They decide to drive to McDonald's and eat there. As they're driving in separate cars to McDonald's, Dylan looks at his phone and wonders why Melanie hasn't responded to any of his text messages from yesterday. Dylan prays that everything is alright with Melanie, and he hopes that she'll respond soon.
Dylan and Elijah make it to McDonald's and park right next to each other. As they're getting out, Elijah comments, "Bro, I just realized that we could've just taken one car or something, instead of driving separately."
Dylan laughs and agrees. Elijah looks at Dylan's car and notices the red roses in the car. Elijah smiles and says, "So, I'm guessing your date didn't like the roses, then?"
Dylan didn't understand Elijah's comments, until he sees the four red roses in the backseat of his car. Dylan remembers how Melanie couldn't really accept them because her husband wouldn't appreciate them, but she loved them. Dylan knows that. Dylan tells Elijah to shut up, and Elijah teases Dylan for getting his date flowers. Elijah sees that his teasing is bothering Dylan, and he quickly stops and apologizes. They just head inside, order some food and get a table. While they're sitting down and eating, there's a few minutes of silence. Then, Elijah says, "So, who did you go out on a date with yesterday?"
Dylan is a little surprised with this question, and he's not sure if he should tell Elijah about his relationship with Melanie. He'll have too many questions, and Dylan just doesn't want to be bombarded with them. At the same time, Dylan does need some advice, and maybe Elijah can help with that. Dylan decides that he wants to tell Elijah about his relationship with Melanie. Dylan says, "Alright, I'll tell you who I went out with, but you have to promise not to say anything about it to anyone."
Elijah promises not to say anything, and Dylan tells Elijah that he had a date with Melanie. Dylan goes into detail about their date yesterday. He talks about how they connected and how he thinks that they're ready to take things to the next level. After hearing everything, Elijah says, "Ok cool, um yeah, I love Melanie. She's so awesome and cool, but are you sure that you want to be involved with someone that's married? I mean, I know her husband is an abusive piece of trash, and she hates him, but she's still a married woman. Are you sure about her? "
Dylan quickly responds that he is absolutely sure about Melanie, and he's ready to take things to the next level. Elijah understands and responds, "Ok, I feel you. Now based on what you told me, are you sure that you went out on a date with Melanie?"
Dylan is confused and asks for Elijah to explain. Elijah explains how it kind of just sounds like Dylan and Melanie just had lunch together, and it wasn't necessarily a date for her. Dylan gets defensive and responds, "No, it was a date, Elijah. Yeah, we only spent an hour together, but it was special with her. I got her roses, I opened doors for her, I paid for her fries and we connected like crazy yesterday. It was a date, Elijah."
Elijah decides to not argue with him anymore, and he says, "Ok cool. And yesterday was when you got her number too, right?"
Dylan says yes, and Elijah could see that his questions were bothering Dylan. So, Elijah says, "Hey man, I'm proud of you for going on a date with Melanie and getting her number. You're doing good, man. So, how's the texting been? What have you two been talking about?"
Dylan thanks Elijah for his kind words and tells him that she hasn't responded to his messages. Dylan looks defeated, and Elijah adds, "You know, she's probably just really busy right now. Plus, Melanie and her daughter are in Ohio visiting her sister. I think Dan stayed here, and Melanie and her daughter should be back on Tuesday."
Dylan asks Elijah how he knows that, and Elijah explains that he saw it on Facebook. Melanie and Elijah are friends on Facebook. Melanie had taken some photos and posted some this morning. Elijah gets his phone out and shows Melanie's pictures to Dylan. Dylan looks at the time these photos were posted, and he sees that they were posted in the morning and afternoon. Then, Dylan wonders why Melanie didn't respond to his messages, but she was able to just post on Facebook. It isn't right to Dylan. Why couldn't she respond to his messages?
Elijah sees the concern on Dylan's eyes, and he's compelled to tell him something. He asks Dylan if he can be real with him. Dylan reluctantly gives permission for Elijah to be real for him, so Elijah says, "Look, man, I just don't think that she's into you at all. I think that she just mostly sees you as a friend, and I think it would be better for you two to just be friends because you two work together and she's married. Plus, I know there's someone better out there for you. Better than Melanie, I promise you. You just have to be patient."
Dylan rolls his eyes and says, "Be patient? Elijah, I'm 30 years old and the clock's ticking for me. I need someone in my life right now, and I know that that someone is Melanie. I want to shower her with gifts and flowers, and I want to be her knight in shining armor. I want to give her all my love. I love her."
"Really? You love her after one date," Elijah says.
"Yes, I do. And I don't expect you to understand because you've never been in love before. You don't what love's like. It's beautiful, it's crazy, it's…murderous."
Elijah is confused with Dylan saying "love is murderous," but he shakes the thought out of his head. Then, he says, "Look, I understand that love is whatever, but all I'm saying is—
Dylan interrupts, "And all I'm saying is I don't want anymore advice from you, and we should just eat and change the subject."
Elijah shakes his head and changes the subject.
They eventually leave McDonald's and head back to work.
After work, Dylan heads home and thinks about Melanie. He has to save her from the monster that is Dan. Dylan has to show Melanie that he would do anything for her. He wants their relationship to blossom into something deep, meaningful and wonderful. How could he do such a thing?
When he arrives home, he opens the door and immediately sees the white mask. Then, he sees a figure sitting next to the white mask on the couch. Dylan squints and discovers that it's Cupid sitting in the chair next to the white mask. It's dark as usual with a little light from a lamp next to Cupid. Dylan tries to turn the lights on, but Cupid stops him. Cupid says, "Please, Dylan, I'm actually more comfortable in the dark, so I would prefer for the lights to still be off with the exemption of the lamp, if that's okay with you?"
Dylan understands, and Cupid motions for Dylan to have a seat next to him. He slowly comes over to Cupid and sits down next to him. "Yeah, that's fine. But dude, I thought you were giving me another day to think about wearing the white mask."
Cupid smiles and says, "I was, I was, but an opportunity presented itself for you that you have no idea about."
Dylan asks to hear about this new opportunity, and Cupid explains that tomorrow would be the perfect time to kill Dan. It is the perfect opportunity for Dylan because him and Dan will be off tomorrow, and Melanie and her daughter will be far away and won't be back till Tuesday. Dylan says, "Ok, but how am I gonna figure out where Dan lives, the right way to kill him and when to kill him?"
Cupid chuckles and tilts his head to the right. Then, he responds, "Well, that's the beauty of the white mask. It will amplify your abilities and motivate you to figure out whatever your true heart desires. It will do the work for you. All you must do is trust the mask."
Cupid grabs the white mask on the table, holds it in his hand and simply tells Dylan to take it. Dylan is scared to cross a line with the white mask, but he knows that killing Dylan is the only way for him and Melanie to be together. Dylan grabs the white mask and tries to put it on, but Cupid stops him. He tells Dylan to remember to face a mirror when putting on the mask. Dylan tries to get up, but Cupid doesn't allow it. Then, Cupid gets really close to Dylan. Dylan grins and says, "You can simply use the reflection in my red sunglasses to put on the white mask. It's really more convenient and better for you."
Cupid stares into the eyes of Dylan, smiles and whispers, "Just simply look into my eyes. And remember you need to save Melanie from Dan. You must do this."
Dylan takes a deep breathe and asks again if he'll remember anything, and Cupid assures Dylan that as long as he faces a mirror and/or a reflection, he should be fine. Cupid adds, "It will literally be like two seconds for you, when you wear the white mask in front of a mirror. Also, you can decide if you want it to be visible or invisible to people."
Dylan's heart is pumping, and he's not sure if he's ready to do such a thing. However, he's ready to provide a better life for Melanie. He looks into Cupid's sunglasses, and there's some sort of weird feeling he gets. Dylan's not so sure about it. He starts shaking, and Cupid smiles and whispers, "Relax, Dylan. You're gonna be fine. I guarantee it. Just let it happen."
The shaking continues for Dylan and pain starts to well up in Dylan's chest. He's never felt such pain before. Cupid only smiles and gets closer. Dylan tries to look into Cupid's eyes, but he can't see them. Instead, he sees something sinister in Cupid. Cupid laughs and says, "You need to focus on your reflection. Otherwise this won't work. Put on the white mask now. It's the only way to ease the pain now."
Without hesitation, Dylan puts on the white mask.
A few seconds later for Dylan, he takes the white mask off. He finds himself sitting on his couch, and he notices that his hands are stained with blood. Dylan also discovers that he has a new change of clothes. Dylan gets his phone out and sees that it's Tuesday, exactly 3:00 a.m. He doesn't remember anything that's happened, and it's scary to him. Then, he looks to his right, and he sees Cupid sitting next to him with a big smile on his face. Dylan asks him why he's smiling so much. Cupid's smile widens, and he responds, "You did it. You actually did it. You crazy lunatic. You killed Dan."
This is the end of "The White Mask: Part Four."
Be sure to like, share and comment your thoughts on this short story.
Isaiah Warfield	Uncategorized	Leave a comment October 20, 2019 October 23, 2019 8 Minutes
The White Mask: Part Two
Melanie is just so gorgeous to Dylan. Despite being in her uniform, Melanie is just irresistible to Dylan. He can't help but look at her cherry, red lips and her long, brown hair just draped on her shoulders. She has the prettiest smile to Dylan, and it always seems to melt his heart. Her light brown eyes are intoxicating and hypnotizing to his soul. Melanie is short and skinny, and it's perfect for Dylan. Melanie is Dylan's perfect angel that he will gladly worship and adore on his date with her.
Dylan rushes to the other side of his car to open up the passenger door for Melanie. She's surprised by the this and remarks, "Wow, such a gentleman, thank you."
"Don't mention it, my lady," Dylan cheerfully says.
Melanie steps inside the car, and Dylan runs to the driver side of his car. He gets in and presents the roses to Melanie from behind his back. "These are for you, my lady," Dylan says.
"Oh, these are lovely…um thank you," Melanie responds.
The hesitation bothers Dylan, and Melanie quickly adds, "They're absolutely lovely, don't get me wrong. It's just that I know that my husband will get a little mad and jealous if he sees these flowers, so I'm probably just gonna have to keep them in my car and let them die."
Dylan is devastated that Melanie can't take care of the roses or fully accept them. Melanie sees the disappointed look and says, "But I do appreciate the sweet gesture, bro. These are beautiful. You're such a good friend."
Dylan perks up a little bit because Melanie appreciated the sweet gesture of the roses. He knew he didn't mess up with getting Melanie roses. So, Dylan smiles and says, "It was my pleasure, my lady. Now let's go get something to eat."
He has his energy again, and he's ready to kick off his date with Melanie. He starts the car and drives them both to Chick-Fil-A.
As they're driving, Dylan asks Melanie how things are with her husband. Melanie replies, "Still a disaster. I still hate him and can't stand him. I just want to divorce him, but I can't. I hate Dan."
Dylan knew this all too well. He knows that Melanie's husband, Dan, is physically abusive towards. In fact, everyone at Sam's Club knew this because she would always talk about it with coworkers. He's 6'4", overweight and 20 years older than Melanie. He would slap her, push her, kick her and punch her almost daily. Melanie always has to wear makeup to cover up the fresh bruises and cuts her husband would give her. It hurt Dylan to see his precious angel take such an abuse from a monster. She was young and naïve to get with him in the first place at the age of 20, Dylan thinks to himself. She needs to be saved from him.
It only takes a few minutes to get to Chick-Fil A because they're so close to it. When they park, Melanie tries to open up the door, but Dylan stops her. He insists on opening the door for her. He gets out of his car, rushes to the passenger side and opens the door for her. They walk together and make it to the entrance. Melanie reaches to open the entrance door, but Dylan stops her because he wants to open the door for her. He does so and there's another door presented. Melanie reaches to open that door, and Dylan yells for her to stop. Melanie sighs and waits for Dylan to open the door for him. Then, they finally make it inside the restaurant.
They wait in line until it's eventually their turn. Dylan orders his food and asks Melanie what she wants. She insists on paying for herself, but Dylan is insisting on paying for her. Melanie sighs and says that she'll just have a large fry. Dylan orders the food, and they find a booth to sit in.
Dylan and Melanie start laughing and talking, and Dylan feels such a strong connection with Melanie. It was real and special to him. Eventually, their food comes, and they start to enjoy it. As they're eating, Melanie starts talking about her three-year-old daughter Violet. Melanie loves Violet with all her heart and can't imagine life without her daughter, she explains to Dylan. "Yeah, I just can't afford to leave Dan. Also, I don't want Violet to grow up without a father. I want to give her the best life possible. He's a decent father to her, and I guess that can be good enough for me."
Dylan shakes his head and says, "I understand that, but is it good for your daughter to see you getting hurt all the time? What example are you setting for your daughter?"
Melanie gets a little uncomfortable and replies, "I don't have that many options seeing as how I barely have enough money to divorce him. I'm just pretty much stuck with him. It sucks, but it's just the way it is. I wish there was a way for Dan to be out of my life and somehow have a good life for Violet. But there isn't a way. Now, we can just please change the subject, I'm tired of talking about my abusive husband."
Dylan understands and changes the subject. They talk for 40 more minutes, and Melanie realizes that it's time for them to go back to work. They start gathering their stuff, and they throw their trash away. Dylan tries to open the doors for Melanie, but she opens them on their own. She says, "It's fine, bro, I got it."
When they're outside, Dylan runs past Melanie and opens the door to the passenger side. Melanie sighs and gets in the car. Dylan closes her door, runs to the driver side, gets in and drives back to Sam's Club. They make it back to work with five minutes to spare. They're sitting in the car, and Melanie tries to get out. Dylan stops her, and Melanie says, "It's okay, Dylan, I got it. I'm fully capable up opening my door."
"Oh okay. Well, I just wanted to let you know that I had a really great time with you, and I definitely would love to do this again," Dylan says to Melanie.
"Oh yeah, for sure," Melanie responds.
There's an awkward silence, and Dylan awkwardly asks, "Hey, um I was…um… wondering if maybe….um… I could have your…um…phone number, possibly?"
Dylan has been meaning to get her number all day, and he was just ready to take the next step with her. Melanie smiles and says, "Yeah sure, bro. Let me just put it in my phone."
She types his number in her phone and sends him a text message. Before he could say anything, Melanie rushes out the car and yells, "Hurry up, we're gonna be late clocking in."
There's a big smile on Dylan's face because he had finally gotten Melanie's number. It's a dream come true for him. He starts getting out of his car and humming "Singin' in the Rain." The date was a success for Dylan, and he couldn't wait to swoop Melanie off her feet and be her knight in shining armor.
The rest of the day for Dylan goes by fast. He does good work, and he finds himself thinking about his sweet Melanie. Around 8:00, he texts her that he can't stop thinking about her and is looking forward to seeing her again. There's no response from her. At 10:00, he texts her, "So, when do you want to have lunch again, Mel? I think the days that we're working together are on Tuesday and Thursday of next week, so let me know what works for you."
Again, there's no response. It bothers Dylan a little that she's not responding, but he quickly assumes that she's just busy working. Around 11:00, it's quitting time for second shift. Dylan rushes to clock out and runs to his car. When he gets in his car, he texts Melanie if she's alright. He knows that Melanie finished working at 8:30, so it made no sense to him that she wasn't responding to his text messages.
He drives home worried sick about Melanie. When he makes it home, he thinks about calling her. He opens the door to his house and hears a male, deep voice in his dark house say, "Hello, Dylan."
This startles Dylan, and he looks around his house to find the person saying hello to him. He can't see anything, then he hears the sound of his lamp turn on. He looks to the far, left corner of his house and sees a man in a red suit with red sunglasses on. Dylan can't see his face and his heart is pumping like crazy. Who is this man? Why is he in his house? How did he know his name. So many questions were running in his mind. Then, the man in the red suit smiles and whispers, "Hello, Dylan. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Cupid, and I'm here to help you."
This is the end of "The White Mask: Part Two."
Next week, I will be posting and sharing parts three and four of "The White Mask."
The White Mask: Part One
Dylan is patiently waiting in line at a floral shop. He has five stemmed roses in his hand for a special girl on his mind. They're having lunch together for the first time on this Saturday, and Dylan is anxious, nervous and excited about it all. There are only three people in front of him, and he is in no rush at all. He's in his uniform because he has work in about an hour at 2:00. He's working a full eight-hour shift at Sam's Club as a stocker. The floral shop is only a few minutes away from it. He's excited because there seems to be a pretty, attractive girl at the register. She's a brunette with blue eyes and a pretty smile. Dylan tries to look at her nametag, but he can't see the name on it. He needs to get a closer look. Eventually, it's his turn in line. The girl smiles at him with her perfect white teeth and motions for him to come to the register. He approaches the register, and he can finally see that the girl's name is Emily. She says, "Good afternoon, sir, how are you doing?"
Dylan smiles and responds, "I'm doing alright. I'm just little anxious, nervous and excited, so a pretty good combination."
Emily laughs and asks why Dylan feels the way he feels. Dylan explains, "Well, I'm taking this pretty, amazing girl out on a date for the first time today, and I'm so scared. I just want it to be perfect and for us to take things to the next level and all."
Emily nods her head in understanding Dylan, and she says to him that all he has to do is be himself and everything will fall in to place naturally. "Plus, you're on the right track too with the roses. I know that she'll definitely love them. I wish guys at my high school would give me roses, but they just want to 'shoot their shots on IG or snap,' and it's just so lame. You know what I mean?"
Dylan shakes his head and explains that he doesn't have social media. He's really old fashioned. It came to a shock to Emily, and she asks him how old he is. Dylan responds that he's 30 years old. Emily is impressed that he doesn't have social media, then Dylan smiles and asks, "So what does shooting the shot mean? Is it like a bucket or something?"
Emily laughs and says, "Oh my gosh, you seriously don't know? I mean, it's something like that. Hold up, let me get my phone out and show you what I mean."
Emily gets out her nice iPhone and shows Dylan some messages of guys "shooting their shot" with her. He got close to her and saw all kinds of weird messages and pictures on her phones. Dylan shakes his head and says, "Ok so let me get this right. Guys send you messages about how 'bad,' 'delicious,' 'exquisite,' and 'fine' you are, and if their compliment is good enough to you, then you proceed to talk to them?"
"Yeah pretty much, romance and chivalry are dead," Emily says.
"Whoa, whoa, don't say such things. Yes, there are guys that are no longer chivalrous or romantic, but there are a few of us that are hopeless romantics in this world. Don't worry, your knight in shining armor is coming to save you."
Emily appreciated the words, and Dylan paid $18.50 for his five roses. He thanked Emily, looked at his roses and handed her one of the roses. Emily smiles at the sweet gesture and thanks him for the rose. Dylan smiles and says, "It's no problem young lady, you're absolutely gorgeous and deserve all the roses in the world for your sweetness."
Emily blushes, and Dylan for a second thinks about asking for her number. However, he changes his mind because he already has a special girl waiting for him.
Dylan heads to work with his four roses, and he makes it to Sam's Club with 30 minutes to spare. He walks in and says hi to a few people along the way. Then, he finally makes it to the back room and sees a few people eating their lunches in the break room. He looks to his right, and he sees the only black person in the break room, his coworker and friend Elijah. Elijah is listening to music on his phone and scrolling on Facebook. Dylan sees Elijah and yells, "Yo, what up my brother?"
Elijah hears Dylan, pulls out his headphones and looks at Dylan. He shakes his head, chuckles and says, "Hey what's up man."
"Nothing much, just happy and excited to be here. Happy to be alive, what are you listening to ?" Dylan asks.
"That's what's up, man. And I'm just listening to J. Cole's 'No Role Models.' Such a good song, man," Elijah responds.
Elijah starts singing a little bit to Dylan, but there's a little part that's weird to Dylan. It's part of the chorus, it's "Don't save her, she don't wanna be saved." Dylan didn't understand that part. Then, Elijah asks, "By the way, what do you got in your hands? Do you have a secret admirer or something?"
Dylan didn't understand, but then he realizes that he has the four roses in his hand. He forgot to put them in his locker. He quickly ran to his locker making sure he was hiding the flowers. He didn't want them to be seen. Then, he opens his locker and places the roses in his locker. Then, he rushes back to the break room to Elijah. He's out of breathe, and Elijah asks him if he's alright. Dylan tells him that he's fine and begs Elijah to not tell anyone about the roses. Elijah promises to keep the roses a secret, then he asks Dylan about the roses. However, Dylan doesn't want to say. He doesn't want Elijah to know who he's taking out on a date. Elijah asks him how come he doesn't want to tell him, but Dylan tells Elijah that he's just not comfortable in sharing information about the roses. Dylan expects Elijah to persist with the questions, but Elijah decides to drop it. This is a relief to Dylan, but then Elijah adds, "I don't understand why flowers are so romantic to girls sometimes."
Dylan frowns and asks Elijah what he mean. Elijah continues, "I mean, flowers are the most inconvenient romantic gift ever to me. Like those roses you got probably cost $20 maybe $30 dollars top. Roses are just so expensive for no reason. Then, a girl now has to buy a vase for the roses because if she doesn't then they'll die. So, it's not really a romantic gift if each party has to pay some money for said gift."
Dylan just shakes his head and says, "No bro, like you don't understand. You see a rose is like a delicate, sweet poem. It speaks a different language to a woman. It makes her feel loved and appreciated, Elijah."
"You know what else makes a woman feel appreciated? Food, time, candy, chocolates, poetry, a love letter, hot Cheetos and so many other things, like where's the creativity and ingenuity at these days? Flowers are just gonna die, and it's such a waste of money. There are plenty of other things to give a girl than flowers, I swear," Elijah exclaims.
"So, I'm guessing you're never gonna buy a girl flowers then," Dylan asks.
Elijah laughs and responds, "I'll probably reluctantly buy flowers for my soulmate or something if they mean so much to her. It'll probably be if we're dating for years or something, never the first few dates at all."
Dylan is confused as to why Elijah wouldn't buy flowers for a girl on a first date. They both look at the clock and realize they have five minutes left till work. So, Dylan asks Elijah why he wouldn't give a girl flowers on a first date. Elijah responds, "Well, excluding the cost and inconvenience of them, they bring off the wrong impression. They show that you're desperate to impress someone with a gift and not by your personality. Also, you're dependent on a material thing making you look good to a woman. And it sends off the wrong message to a girl in a way."
"What message is that?" Dylan asks.
"In my opinion, roses are only given because of what you look like on the outside. You see, roses are pretty to look at, and you're basically telling a girl that she's pretty to look at with roses. I'm just speaking about a first date, by the way. It's not the case if you've been with someone for years."
Dylan just shakes his head and tells Elijah that it's not true at all. Dylan explains that flowers are so romantic to girl, and Elijah just wouldn't understand because he's never experienced love. Elijah laughs and says, "That's true, I've never been in love. Maybe you know more than me, and I'm tripping. Also, if those flowers are for a date, I would just do a single rose, but that's just my advice."
Dylan shakes his head and reluctantly thanks Elijah for the advice. They talk for a few minutes later, then 2:00 hits. They clock in, and it's officially time to work.
Dylan and Elijah are working together stocking in their area. They do good work, and it's eventually 6:00. It's time for their hour-long break.
Dylan rushes to the backroom, clocks out and rushes to his locker. He grabs the roses and puts them behind his back. He's about to leave the backroom, when he's stopped by Elijah. Elijah asks him if they're having lunch together, but Dylan explains that he has plans with someone. Elijah doesn't ask any other questions and lets Dylan go. Dylan rushes out of Sam's Club, goes to his car and waits patiently for his "date." He's holding the roses behind his back. A few minutes pass, and he finally sees the woman that's on his mind. She's walking to him with her Sam's Club uniform on as well, and Dylan can't help but show off a big smile. The woman eventually reaches the car and says, "Hey Dylan what's up?"
"Hey Melanie, are you ready to go?" Dylan asks.
"Yeah, let's do it."
This is the end of "The White Mask: Part One."
On Thursday, I will be sharing and posting part two of "The White Mask."
Isaiah Warfield	Uncategorized	Leave a comment October 9, 2019 October 9, 2019 7 Minutes
Another Petty-ish Moment
Last year, I was working a typical, Saturday morning at Sheetz from 6:00 am-2:00 pm. As usual, I was stationed at the front to work the register. Five minutes into my shift, I'm approached by my co-worker Sasha. She asked me if she could talk to me about something important. We're not really busy early in the morning, so I didn't have to worry about any customers. I asked her what was up, and she said, "So I have this friend that I was with on Sunday, and she saw a picture of you on Facebook and thought you were cute."
I giggled, and I asked her how her friend saw a picture of me. Sasha explained that she was just scrolling through Facebook, and her friend Sarah stopped her scrolling when she saw a picture of me. Sasha continued, "Yeah, you were wearing this really nice suit, and you were with your sister and cousin I believe."
At first, I didn't know what picture she was talking about, but she showed it to me on her phone. Once I realized the picture, I said, "Oh that picture. Yeah, I was at wedding last week. It was my cousin Dajah's wedding. I got to be an usher, and I was taking a couple of pictures with my cousin Camilla and my brother Isaac. It was such a beautiful ceremony, and I'm just so happy for my little cousin."
Before I continue the story, I need to address and help my Facebook stalkers out. So, if you go on my page, which you always do, go on my see all photos tab and click on uploads. Once you click on uploads, click on the first picture of my uploads picture, which should be my profile pic. After that, you just keep swiping left till you reach 50 of 95 and 51 of 95. Or you can just swipe down till you see me in a nice suit with my cousin and brother. Anyways, those are the two pictures that me and Sasha are referring to right now in this story. I just wanted to help y'all out and make y'all's life a little bit easier. I kind of appreciate you all, hope y'all like them and happy stalking. Now back to the story.
"Aww that's nice that your young cousin got married and all," Sasha said.
I replied, "Oh no, she's older than me. I just call her my little cousin because she's shorter than me."
We both laughed, then Sasha talked about her friend was so cute and asked if I was interested in her friend. I asked if she would show me a picture of her, but she refused. She said, "Wow, Isaiah, you can't trust me when I say that my friend is cute and pretty. I'm hurt."
I looked at her and said, "Sasha, your friend saw me on Facebook and thought that I was cute. Don't I deserve the same courtesy? I should see a picture of her and determine if I'm interested in her or not. I mean, I need a little something to work with since she got enough to determine that I was a whole snack for her."
We both started laughing, and she understood where I was coming from. So, she went on her phone and tried to find a "good" picture of her on her phone. After five minutes, she eventually found a "good" picture of her in her phone and showed it to me. When I first saw the picture, I thought that she was pretty. So, I said, "Alright, she cute. I'm not gonna promise anything, but I'm down to get to know her a little bit and see what's up. You can just give me her number or something."
Sasha was happy to hear this and explained that she could give her friend my number. I told her that was fine, and she went back to the kitchen all excited that I would be potentially "talking" to her friend.
After all that, I went back to register. It was around 7:00 am, and it was still a quiet day at Sheetz so far. Then, this old, white man came into the store. He looked like he was in a rush to find some things. He ended up getting a coffee, and a few snacks. After he got all his things, he headed my way to check his things out. He was in a rush, but once he saw me, he started to slow down. Then, he stopped halfway towards me. There was someone behind him, and he politely let that person in front of him. I thought it was really weird because he was in rush, now all of sudden, he was no longer in a rush. It didn't make sense. After I was done with the customer, I said to the old, white man, "I can take you right here, sir."
He looked at me with disgust and said, "Bring someone else up to ring me, would you? I don't want you."
I was so confused and perplexed as to why he didn't want me to ring him up. Then, I looked at myself and realized the reason. I sighed and decided to try to call someone up to ring because I wasn't trying to deal with him. However, I quickly noticed that my headset was off. Before I could turn it on, the old, white man said, "Hurry up, nig….boy."
I stopped myself from turning on my headset and wondered to myself, "Was this old man really about to call me the n-word?"
Also, it didn't help that he called me a "boy" either. So, I looked at him and asked him again what he said. He saw how serious I was and said, "Just hurry up, I'm in a rush."
I responded, "Oh ok."
Now, I was looking down on my headset and an idea popped in my head. I was thinking to myself that maybe I ask for someone to ring up this old white man, but I don't turn on my headset. Then, I asked myself, "Do I really want to be that petty and ruin this old man's day?"
The answer was yes. At this moment, I was gonna be petty-ish with this old man. Why? Because he ruined my day, and I was just gonna return the favor. There was a part of me that wanted to turn the other cheek, but I just couldn't at this moment. So, I said in my off headset, "Is someone able to ring this person up?"
I knew that no one heard me, but the old man was satisfied. Then, he said, "Yeah, I don't want you touching my things. I prefer someone else."
Now, I deal with a lot of racists at Sheetz, but this one right here was the most ridiculous one to me. I didn't say anything to him after his statement, and I just stocked cigarettes while he was the only person in line.
A few minutes passed, and he was frustrated and growing impatient. I was just standing at the register watching him. He was looking at his watch, and he asked me, "Hey, is someone gonna come up and ring me or not, boy?"
Again, he called me "boy" and it just made me chuckle a little bit because I could feel the anger in his voice. I smiled, looked at him and said, "Oh, I don't know what's going on. They might've just forgotten about you, but I'll ask again."
So, I asked again on my off headset if someone would ring up the old man.
Ten minutes passed, and this old, white man was still waiting for someone other than me to ring him. He was determined to have his stuff rung up by a white person, and it was honestly pathetic and shameful to me.
All of a sudden, he yelled, "This is ridiculous! I have been waiting here for service for 15 minutes and no one is trying to ring me up! Where's your manager, boy?"
I just looked at him and shrugged my shoulders. I decided not to say anything anymore because I just wanted him gone at that point, and it was nice to see that he had reached his breaking point. Then, he said, "Are you gonna answer me, boy?"
I smiled, chuckled and shrugged my shoulders again. He was really angry that I wasn't answering his questions, and he ended up just going to the kitchen. He demanded that someone ring him up. My co-worker Mark was coming up to the register, but then he saw me. Then, he said, "Oh, Isaiah can ring you up, sir. He can take—
The old man interrupted, "I don't want that…that….just ring me up, will ya?"
Mark ended up ringing up all his stuff. When he was close to being done, I looked down at my headset and said, "Oh my headset isn't on. That's why you guys couldn't hear me."
I started laughing, but the old man was fuming. After Mark was done bagging his things, the old man snatched his bag. He looked at me and said, "I'm never coming back here as long as you're here."
Before I could say anything, he stormed out of Sheetz. I laughed at him, and Mark asked me how come he didn't want me to ring him up. I said, "I don't know, man. I don't know."
Sadly, I guess some things are hard to let go of in this world.
This is the end of the short story "Another Petty-ish Moment."
Next week, I will be posting and sharing parts one and two of the six-part horror story "The White Mask."
The Girl With the Pills
It was my freshman year of college at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and I was just chilling in my dorm. I remember it was a Monday night, and my roommate Craig was having very, very loud sex with some girl in his room. Now, I knew his schedule. He would always have sex with someone on Mondays, Wednesdays and every now then Saturdays. Usually, it would be late like midnight or 1:00 am, however today was different because he was having sex at 8:00 pm, while I was trying to do some homework. At first, I was a little mad that he was having sex, but then I thought that it was better to be early and all so that I can get some sleep. Eventually, the noises died down at 8:30ish, and Craig ended up knocking on my door. I yelled that it was opened, and he opened the door. Then, he said, "Hey bruh, sorry if me and my girl were loud, we got a little carried away."
I looked at him and said, "A little? I was hearing all kinds of jungle noises. Everybody probably heard you two going at it like animals."
We both chuckled and I said, "Alright, are y'all done for the night, then? I'm surprised that you got it in early and all."
He gave me a face and said, "Well, we're probably gonna take a shower and then chill some more."
"How much more, man?" I asked.
He replied, "I don't know, bruh. Like Zay this girl is bad, man. She badder than the last girl that I was with two days ago. Like she did her thang, and I need more, bruh."
I looked at him and said, "Bro, it's a school night. There's people trying to sleep and study right now, including me, and you're trying to have some more loud sex with her?"
Craig replied, "Bruh, she bad, you don't understand, Zay. She's on point and everything man. And look, I promise that we're gonna be quiet, bruh. Trust me."
I stood up and said, "Craig, I can't trust you. You're lying to me right now. I know you're gonna give her that same energy you just gave her. You just hyped her up and everything man. You two are probably gonna be louder than ever with your horny self. You ain't got to lie, Craig."
Now, I'll admit that I didn't say "You ain't got to lie, Craig" to Craig on that day, but I said everything else. Now back to the story.
We both laughed, and he said, "For real, Zay, we gonna be quiet."
I sighed and said, "Alright and if someone comes knocking on our door talking about the noises you making again, you talking to them."
He chuckled and said, "Alright, bet. Oh and don't forget you gotta tell me what you want to do on your birthday with the choices I presented to you."
I groaned and said, "I ain't doing none of those things."
He laughed and said, "Oh, we'll see."
The choices he's referring to is another story.
Anyways, he leaves my room and closes my door. A few seconds later, I hear him and his girl of the night giggling across the room and entering our bathroom to take a shower. The shower starts and already noise begin. I quickly put on my headphones and try to ignore them. A few minutes later, I received a text message from this girl on my floor. Her name was Jessica, and she was in my sociology class. I open it, and she was asking me what I was doing. I told her that I was just chilling in my room and all, and then she asked me if I wanted to study with her. I really didn't need to study sociology, but I kind of wanted to get out of my room. So, I texted, "Yeah sure, we can meet up at the library or something."
She replied, "Well, how about we study at my room instead? It's more convenient since we live on the same floor, and I'm already all comfortable, and I don't feel like getting dressed lol."
I laughed and texted, "Alright cool, I'll be over in a couple minutes."
Then, she responded, "Can't wait to see you."
I'll admit I was really excited. Jessica was pretty and attractive, and she was three or four years older than me. I was 18, and I was thinking to myself, "Man, I can't believe I'm about to study with this pretty girl."
So, I got my books together and put them in my bookbag. I was still ignoring the noises Craig and his girl of the night was making in the shower and I headed to Jessica's room. I made it to her room, knocked on her door and waited for her answer. She opened the door, and she was looking fine and scrumptious. She had on these pink short shorts on and a white T-shirt, and her body was looking so nice. Also, she had the prettiest feet ever, and they were kind of hypnotizing to me. Her black hair draped her shoulders. Her face and eyes were so gorgeous, and I just couldn't ignore the goodness and the sweetness that was in front of me. After I was staring for so long, she asked me if I was gonna come in. I stuttered, "Oh y-y-yeah, I'm coming…um in to um y-y-y-your place, I mean room."
She laughed and said that I was so cute. I walked in, and I just couldn't believe how awkward I was with her just now. I was so embarrassed. Her roommate's door was closed, and we ended up going into her room. Jessica's room was a little messy with her clothes on the floor and her desk had a bunch of stuff on it. The only thing that was clear was the bed. I put my bookbag down and a naïve 18-year-old Isaiah wondered how were we gonna study in her room? All of a sudden, Jessica slammed the door shut, ran over to me and pushed me on her bed. Then, she got on top of me and started kissing on me. I was surprised, shocked and excited, and I just started kissing her back. We ended up just making out.
Now, we weren't making out long. It was about a minute that we were kissing. I was expecting us to just kiss, until she started trying to take my shirt off and go below the belt. She was confused and asked what was wrong. I said, "Oh well, I'm not trying to have sex at all. I'm trying to be a virgin till marriage. Is it alright if we just kiss?"
She looked at me, chuckled and said, "Oh yeah, I remember you telling me that. Yeah, we can just kiss it's no problem."
I thanked her for understanding, and we continued to make out. Then, thirty seconds later, she was trying to go below the belt again. I stopped her. Before I could say anything, she laughed and said, "You're too cute. Look, I think I have something that will help."
She got up, went into her drawer and took out these pills. I was confused and didn't understand. I tried to get back up, but she pushed me back down on the bed. She laughed and said, "Relax, Isaiah. Just let me get back on top and relax, okay?"
I listened to her, and she ended up getting back on top of me. She started giving me pecks of kisses, showed me one of the pills and whispered, "This pill will help you relax a little more with me."
She put it close to my mouth, and I stopped her and asked her what is it. She smiled and said, "Oh, it's just something to help you relax. I promise it's completely harmless. Look, I'll even take it."
She put it in her mouth, got some water and swallowed it. Then, she said, "See, it's fine, Isaiah, you can trust me."
Jessica brought another pill close to my face and tried to put the pill in my mouth, but I stopped her again. Then, I said, "Look, Jessica, I'm not trying to take anything. You're making me a little uncomfortable and—
Before I could finish, Jessica kissed me and whispered, "Okay, I'm sorry. We'll just go back to kissing, I promise."
Before I could say anything, she just started kissing on me. Eventually, I started kissing her back, and we were just making out again. We're kissing for a good two minutes, when she's slowly trying to touch me below the belt. I stopped her again, and she said, "Isaiah, just take this pill. I promise you'll be more relaxed."
After that moment, I realized that I had to leave. So, I said, "Look, I just realized that I have a lot of homework, and I just really need to go."
I got her off of me, and she said, "Isaiah, I'm sorry. Just come back to my bed. I promise you, we're just gonna kiss."
I shook my head and replied, "I'm okay, Jessica. I just really have to go, I'm sorry."
I told her that I would see her in class, and I ended up leaving her room.
I was outside my door, and I could hear Craig and his girl of the night having sex. I shook my head, opened the door and went to my room. I sat on my bed and could not believe that I was in a scary situation with Jessica, the girl with the pills.
This is the end of "The Girl with the Pills."
Be sure to like, comment and share your thoughts on this short story.
Isaiah Warfield	Uncategorized	2 Comments September 13, 2019 September 22, 2019 7 Minutes
The Old Man at the Beach
Hey y'all, sorry that it's been a minute since I posted on the Warfield Zone. I found myself needing to take a little break and focus on my senior year of college, my relationship with God and other things as well. Anyways, I'm back, and I'm ready to share some of my stories with you all. A story that comes to mind and kind of connects with another story that I will be sharing this week as well is "The Old Man at the Beach."
This summer, my family and I took a trip to Virginia Beach. It was the end of June, and it was exciting for me because I had never been to Virginia Beach. I didn't know what to expect, but I knew that I was gonna have a great time with my family. Also, I made sure to bring my camera with me as well because I knew that I could get a lot of great pictures for my photography shop Eyes Haven't Seen. For me, it was gonna be a very productive vacation.
My family and I would be in Virginia Beach for a couple of days, and it consisted of us making a lot of great memories with each other. However, one day spent at the beach is where I would meet an interesting, old man.
It was a hot, summer day at Virginia Beach. My family and I were excited to go to the beach and enjoy the sand, the sun and the ocean. The weather was a perfect 90 degrees. I remember the wind blowing perfectly and the ocean looking so pretty. Luckily, my family and I found a great spot on the beach to claim, chill and relax. I had my Canon E0S Rebel T6 with me, so I knew that I was gonna take some amazing pictures. I had on a T-shirt, swim trunks and sandals. I decided to take my shirt off and go take some pictures. I told my mom that I was just gonna roam around the beach and take some pictures. My mom said alright, and I went to take some pictures.
As I was walking around the beach taking photos, I realized that I had left my phone with my family. At first, I was thinking about going back to get it, but then I thought that it wasn't necessary because I wasn't going to be gone too long. Sadly, I was wrong.
I was taking pictures, and I saw that I was kind of far away from my family. I was thinking about being done taking photographs and heading back to my family, but I thought that I could use a hundred more photographs in my camera.
Anyways, I'm taking more pics in an area that has a few people in it. There's a guy sitting down on a bench and another guy is just standing and looking at the ocean view. While I'm still taking pictures, I'm approached by this old, black man. He was wearing some shades, a hat, a nice watch, pink shorts and some sandals. He had a fat belly and a little white beard. Anyways, he came over to me and asked if I wanted to take some pictures of him. I told him that I was fine, but then he got a little closer to me. He asked again if I was sure, and I told him again that I was fine. He was uncomfortably close to me, and I kind of felt trapped. Then, he said, "Can I just say that you are a very handsome, young man? Also, very strong. Do you work out a lot?"
Before I could answer, he ended up touching my arms and shoulders. He even patted my stomach a little and said, "Oh yeah, you definitely work out a lot."
He ended up laughing, and I laughed a little and said, "No, just a little. I just work out like two or three times a week."
He started laughing, but I kind of just gave a chuckle. I was really nervous and uncomfortable with him, and I just really wanted him to give me some space and to stop touching me. I tried to walk away, but then he said, "Hey, do you wanna smoke some weed with me? It's back at my car, and it's some good stuff."
I replied, "Oh no thank you, I don't smoke weed."
I chuckled, but he walked up on me all serious and said, "Don't you lie to me. I know you smoke weed. I can see it in your eyes. Why don't you wanna smoke with me?"
I took a step back because he was really close to me, and I said, "Again, sir, I don't smoke weed."
"Why are you lying to me? I know you like weed. There's no way that you don't smoke weed. I don't believe it," he said.
He was still looking serious, and I was still a little scared. He just seemed very insulted that I didn't want to smoke with him, so I said, "Yeah sir, I don't smoke weed. Also, I'm vacationing with my family and—
"Oh, I know. I saw you with your family. You're family is quite lovely. When I saw you walking away from them with your camera, I was hoping to bump into you," the old man interrupted.
That was kind of a little creepy and stalker-ish to me. I just wanted to get away from him, but I couldn't. We ended up talking another ten minutes just about each other, and I just really wished that I had my phone with me. I would've used it to call my mom or something. Anyways, we ended up talking about music and the instruments we played. I told him how I played the drums, and he explained that he played seven different instruments. Then, he pointed in the opposite direction and explained that his house wasn't too far from here. He said, "If you want, we can go back to my place, have a little jam session cause I have a lot of instruments with me and maybe smoke some weed."
He was so adamant about smoking weed with me, and it just made me uncomfortable. I really just wanted to get away from him. Then, he abruptly asked me if I was seeing someone. I quickly responded, "Yes sir, I am seeing someone. An amazing girl that I'm just so in love with right now."
Then, he said, "Aww that's sweet, what's her name and what's she like?"
Now, there wasn't a girl that I was deeply in love with at all in my life. I was just saying that because it was more convenient to stretch the truth in this situation that I was in with this old man. So, I said, "Yeah, her name is Denise and she's just the most special girl in my life right now. I couldn't imagine life without her."
"Aww that's sweet, is it new and fresh," the old man asked.
I said, "Well, kind of. We've been together for six months, but I can tell that she's the one that I'm gonna marry. I'm actually planning on proposing to her soon. I just don't want to wait any longer with her, and I'm ready to commit to her. I love her with all my heart. Also, she's kind of my weed partner in crime."
We both laughed, and he said, "Aww, so that's why you don't wanna smoke with me. Do you have any pictures of her?"
I replied, "Yeah, I have lots of pictures of her and us together, but I don't have my phone with me. Otherwise, I would show you all the pictures."
We ended up talking a little more with each other, but he eventually had to leave. I was relieved, and I ended up rushing back to my family. I told my mom what happened, and she was happy to know that I was safe and away from the old man.
This is the end of "The Old Man at the Beach."
On Thursday, I will be posting and sharing the short story "The Girl with the Pills."
Isaiah Warfield	Uncategorized	Leave a comment September 11, 2019 6 Minutes