The Empty Room.

The Empty Room

She was a new girl in the big city of New York. She had all the money that she needed to survive here for five years. Her name was Kayala Smith. Tall and unusually thin with long brown hair, she had the eyes of a blind person, cold and grey, with a twisting look like death. Walking around her new city, she was looking for the newly- opened Korean restaurant about eight blocks from her apartment. Walking fast, not knowing anyone, she was almost there. Having been unpacking all of her furniture, she had forgotten about eating, and she was hungrier than ever. Two more blocks to go, and she couldn’t wait to get there. She could smell the food from Betty’s Bakery and Godfather’s pizza parlor. Finally, she was there. She walked in with a grin on her face, smelling the tangy Korean desserts. Sitting at her table, she could not decide what to order from the menu. She glanced over at the door, and she saw a handsome young man about 6’2” with short, straight, brown hair. She could tell he had a body to look at under his long, black, leather coat. She was still looking at him when he looked at her. He started to walk over to her table. She tried to act calm and not interested, even though in her mind she couldn’t hide how much she liked him already.

 “Hello, I can tell you’re new in the city. Am I right?” She looked up at him.

            “Yes, I just moved here a couple of days ago.” He glanced down at her menu, then back up at her again.

 “Do you mind if I take a seat with you? I could help you with the choices.” She looked at her menu a few times. She really didn’t know him, but she couldn’t resist the look in his eyes.

 “Ummm, sure why not?” He sat down right across from her, looking as hungry as she did. Finally, he said, “Out of all the restaurants in the big city, you decide to come to this Korean one? I mean, it’s good and all, but is Korean food your favorite?”

“Actually, yeah, I’ve loved it ever since I was a kid.”

“Well, I guess it is pretty good here, for a new place.”

“Yeah, so how did you know that I was new in the city? Do you have some kind of psychic vibes that tell who new girls are so you can take advantage of them?”

With a fake smile, after a few moments, he decided to say, “How did you know?”  They both smiled. Shortly, Dawson, that was his name, was getting ready to leave with her.

“Do you mind if I walk you home?”

“I don’t really know about that. I mean, you seem like a nice guy and all, but I’m just not really trusting anyone right at the moment. I need to get used to the big city and know a little more about the people who live here.”

Frowning weakly, he said,”Ok,” and turned around, ready to walk out the door.

“Wait!” she said hesitantly. “You can walk me home, but I trust you that you won’t take me somewhere and kill me. Right?” she giggled.

“Of course! What kind of freak would do that to a beautiful young woman like you? I mean look at you!” She smiled really small, but she knew that she was smiling really cheesy on the inside, and turned away.

“So which way is it? You lead the way.”

“It’s just right up this hill eight blocks and to the right.”

“Oh really? I live six blocks from here to the right.”

“Hmm, well, I guess we will be seeing more of each other?”

“Hopefully!” he said.

They finally got to the front door of her apartment, and they both stopped on the steps.

“So which floor are you on? Maybe one of these days I need to borrow some sugar?” he said laughing and looking at her strangely.

“It’s just up on the third floor. Apartment 32.”

“Well, I can’t wait until my sugar runs out!”

They both smiled and he leaned in for a kiss, but she turned away. He knew what she was thinking.

“It’s okay. How about a hug?”

“Sure.” They both hugged and said good-bye.

The next morning her phone kept ringing and ringing, but no one answered. The apartment was empty. Only the phone lay on the ground. Everything was gone. No one knows what happened to Kayala Smith. Only the sound of ringing, ringing, ringing…

The End

By: Shandra Stillion