Stalker
He has seen her cycle before his house everyday; she does not know of his existence. Lost in her own, solitary world, with an overflowing reality, there is no place for other people.
He has watched her day after day, month after month, for two years, harbouring no desire, no curiousity, nothing but a detached satisfaction in observing her, tracking her movements, deciphering every expression of her face.
And yet, despite the proximity that constant observation brings, she has not noticed him. Nor is he desperate that she should. For him, now, watching her, silently following her from a distance, these are the things that have turned from idle pastime to obsession.
He has seen her come to life in the morning mist; he has seen her joyous energy as she rushes past his house. He has seen her thoughts, her emotions written across her face. He has known her as no one else would; for her immediate acquaintances may have seen her success and failure, exaltation and disappointment, but he has seen her solitude.
He knows what time she leaves her house; now he cycles, intersecting her path, that she may finally see him; she glances at him, nothing more than a part of her surroundings, and goes on. Entertained by her acknowledgement of his existence, he takes to this routine everyday. She comes to accept him as just another being, idling time away.
One day, suddenly, unexpectedly, his patience snaps; he decides to test her conversational abilities. He knows where she lives. He enters without knocking. No shock on her face, nor fear. Just curiousity.
Who are you?
But as he steps in, she knows that she doesn’t need to know the answer. The look in his eyes is all the words she needs. His eyes hold no love, no tenderness, no weakness. Just a calm sense of possession, and faint amusement.
Come in.
It has been a long wait…
-Norah Page
Tags: Stalker, Flash-fiction, Norah Page
Neha Mujumdar says:
hmmm…interesting. quite absorbing. but at the end of it all, rather pointless. i quite like it.
April 22nd, 2006 at 09:26 am
anirudh says:
well people i have tried something like that..!
April 22nd, 2006 at 12:15 pm
anirudh says:
kunal tell you what this piece of work is just brilliant…exactly same is my love story and man after readin this i am lovin her more than ever..!
April 22nd, 2006 at 09:03 pm
Kunal Goel says:
oh! Goodluck Anirudh!
April 22nd, 2006 at 10:30 pm
david raphael israel says:
The conceit of the story — subtly implied — would seem to be that (to a degree) the stalker is himself the prey. But this would likely be a rare case, an exception to the rule, so to speak. I’m not aware of Norah Page, the author. (And Google mainly wants to tell me of Norah Jones, the singer.)
d.i.
April 23rd, 2006 at 06:05 am
Norah Page says:
I’m Norah Page, the author. What are your overall impressions on the piece?
April 23rd, 2006 at 10:46 am
Norah Page says:
Conceit? What conceit?
April 23rd, 2006 at 10:47 am
Neha says:
well… i loved the piece… “His eyes hold no love, no tenderness, no weakness. Just a calm sense of possession, and faint amusement.” Reminds me of someone i know. Great work.
April 24th, 2006 at 07:20 pm