Alfred Killed The Killer

The day was strange. By the time Alfred woke up his two roommates were nowhere. And the clock on the wall was gone. And his phone was also gone. When he got to the office, his manager told him there’s no work for today so he couldn’t touch his computer. He decided to take a nap in the office before walking back to the boarding house.

He woke up in the dark. He felt like he was lost in time, that he wasted the day doing nothing. He saw a little red light and walked near it. It was the door of the office. When he walked out of the building, it was already night.

What time was it? That’s what’s strange. He never saw any clock.  

All doors in sight were closed. So maybe it was after midnight. He looked above. The stars seemed to move closer to earth.

He started walking fast. “It’s gonna be okay tomorrow,” he thought. “Today was just a strange day. Don’t call it a bad day.”

Alfred stopped at the front of 7-Eleven. This was the strangest. This store was supposed to be serving 24/7. What’s wrong with the world? Where’s everybody?

“Hold up!”

He looked back. A man in black clothes and black cap was standing beside the light post.

Thank God there’s somebody, whoever he was.

Alfred continued walking.

“I said hold up!”

A thief. Not surprising to him. They scatter at every corner like rats. Alfred didn’t stop walking. He was in this situation before. Acting cool will save you. It saves everybody. Well, except women. If you’re a woman, no matter how strong you are, a thief will always get all your money and gadgets and accessories. Sad for them. But Alfred is a man, or a young man to be exact. Fresh age of twenty-one.

He looked up again. The sky was like a big wallpaper posted on the ceiling. It looked like you could reach it in one jump.

He heard footsteps following him.

“If you don’t stop, I’ll kill you.”

Alfred stopped.

“Wallet, please!”

“You can’t kill me. You don’t look like a killer.”

“Don’t play with me, kid. I need your money.”

“You ever killed anyone before?”

“Nine of them.”

“That’s too many. I don’t believe you.”

“You’re annoying, kid. Just give me your money and I’ll leave you alive. And I’m sorry.”

Sorry. This man said sorry? A thief with manners? Nobody in Alfred’s life has manners. No one really cared about his ideas. And this man, a total stranger, actually talked and said sorry? He realized strangers are better listeners than his friends and his own family.  

“No one knows it’s my birthday.”

The man took a deep sigh and said, “Well, happy birthday.”

“Thank you very -”

“Now give me your money or I’ll kill -”

Alfred walked away. He had to walk away because if he stayed, they would end up being friends. He didn’t hear a footstep. Maybe the man realized he’s doing it to the wrong person and just gave up.

He kept his head straight. Don’t look back. After maybe twenty steps, a safe distance, he decided to take a deep breath.

As soon as he breathed in, a sharp pain stroke his back. He couldn’t breathe anymore. His vision blurred. He wanted to fall on the ground but he couldn’t move. Then suddenly all he saw was darkness, emptiness. Nothing.

Inside this void, he knew he had all the time to think about everything. But the first question that entered his mind was: why?

Why?

That one word he avoided all his life was now haunting him. He didn’t want to face the past anymore. He just wanted to forget. Forget everything, mostly pain of being surrounded by people yet feeling alone.

Why?

Then in an instant, everything came back to life. His body felt normal. He could see the empty highway. He looked back and saw the man standing still on where he walked away.

What happened was a sign from God. The man will kill him.

Alfred ran fast to the man and said, “I should have learned to trust myself before others.”

The man pulled a knife from behind. Alfred took it from him and slit the man’s throat.

After the man’s fall, Alfred looked around. There were some people walking towards him. And not far away, his favorite 7-Eleven was open.

Alfred was smiling genuinely. “I promise to tell my parents and my brother Allan that I love them and I wish they find a time to talk to me even they’re busy. I promise to share my problems to my roommates so that they’re aware that I’m so lonely inside. I promise to not escape work. I promise I’ll live in the present.”

The next day, the news spread all over the city: a young man named Alfred Suan was stabbed to death.