January 24, 2021: Yugen

As the young lady gazed at the prosy skies, the glints on her preternatural orbs reflected the heavens' lack of lustre. Merely a couple of hours had passed since she had woken up, but the sun's brilliance was already blockaded by the heavy and grey clouds of winter.

The surroundings were painted with a dispassionate emotion, arising from the frozen hearts of the laggardly falling specks of ice crystals.

Syn raised her hands to level her face, blowing some air to warm them up, and contemplated, 'Should I return and get a pair of gloves?'

The lady was not one to adore the frigid snowy season, considering that her unhealthy body was easily susceptible to the cold climate.

'I'll just bear with it. I'm going to be late if I go back.' 

Upon arriving at a decision, she started to saunter on the path that would take her to the bus stop.

However, a few steps into the lady's walk, her left arm was suddenly grabbed from behind. The tight grip on her arm made her flinch as she turned to look at the culprit.

"Excuse me, can you let g-"

Syn's tongue cowered afore the person in front of her. Her eyes widened the moment she recognized the man, whose hand was wrapped firmly around her upper limb.

"Heya, Syn, are you doing well?" The man said as he grinned, disgustingly so in the lady's vision.

She hurriedly snatched her arm back and caressed it to ease the pain in her muscles.

"What do you need from me?"

"Well, you know, to hang out? Do you want to go with me?"

"No, thank you. I have somewhere to go." Syn said, reaching for the phone that was inside the right pocket of her jacket.

The man merely stared at the lady with a rather disturbing ogle. He proceeded to place his hands on his waist while he lurched his head backward. A laugh, airy and deep, came out of his mouth that sounded foreboding to Syn.

'He's clearly out of his mind. I need to escape but I can't go back in the building. The men in black might be his lackeys. But if I opt to run, I highly doubt that I will be able to put a distance between us. If I accept his invitation, I don't even know where I'll be taken.'

Syn profusely debated on her options as she maintained her impassive countenance. She didn't want the man to notice that she was agonizing over her situation.

Concurrently, the man reinstated the scrutiny that he had on the lady's body and uttered, "You're still so beautiful, Syn. Here, I'm not asking you to spend the whole day with me. I simply want to have a conversation with you while eating lunch. It's been a long time after all."

At this point, Syn gave him a welcoming smile, yet no mirth could be seen in her eyes.

"Yes, how have you been, Larry? How did you find out that I'm living here?" She questioned, speaking a tad louder than her usual volume.

"Oh, I just happened to be here when I saw you walking in the lobby. By the way, those bastards who kept on bothering you, don't worry about them anymore. They won't be going near you any time soon." Larry proudly said as he brushed the back of his head with his hand.

He didn't appear as if he was suspicious of Syn's abrupt change in attitude, so the lady was relieved.

"I see. Larry, I would've loved to have a meal with you, though I need to clock in today. I might be fired if I have any more absences in my part-time." Syn rejected the man's request with all the disappointment she could muster in her voice.

"Is that so? Can I just pay for your day? I'll talk to your manager if you like."

"Unfortunately, the owner doesn't think favorably of me. We can have lunch or dinner some other time. I'll get your contact deta-"

"No. It has to be today."

Syn was startled of the staunch refusal that she winced. Thankfully, she quickly regained her calm before stating her suggestion.

"How about we do this. You can fetch me after my shift. Does that sound good?"

The man gawked at the lady for a short window. He then covered his face with his hand and audibly sighed.

"Syn, Syn, Syn, there is no later and another day. Can't you understand? You have to come with me this instant. You better follow me or I'll have no choice but to drag you." Larry openly threatened Syn, his eyes switching to that of a hawk that's preying on its next victim.

"A-alright, I get it. Let me go ahead and inform my manager that I won't be going to work, will that be fine?"

Syn was not afraid of the man afore her. However, she was frightful of what he could do, seeing that she's a meager defenseless woman.

"Really? Okay, you can call your coffee shop manager." Larry queried with a tone bearing no hostility, as opposed to his earlier demeanor. 

As a matter of fact, he struck as being childishly cheerful when he finally acquired what he coveted.

'Damn stalker, f*cking deluded.'

Syn didn't mind the shift in his attitude for it was to her relief that he agreed. Nevertheless, she was now aware that it wasn't a coincidence that they met. The lady was assured that he perpetrated the invasion yesterday and the stalking that she had been enduring for months.

'I don't want to be foolish by thinking that I'm strong enough to fend for myself. Still, I have to find a method to flee. Please, I wish that you're hearing this, Tristan.' Syn mulled over the circumstance, straining to keep her guard up.

"Thank you. If you would pardon me, I'm going to ma-"

"Wait, Syn, put the phone on loudspeakers so I can hear what the manager has to say. He's your uncle, right?"

"A-ah, yeah, no problem."

The moment that she put her hand on her phone, Syn had manually dialled Tristan's number in hopes of alerting him with the matter. She didn't know if the call was answered or not, but it's the sole plan that she could come up with.

With her somewhat trembling hands, the lady brought out her phone. She then looked at the screen, becoming crestfallen when it was not Tristan's number that she had dialled. Withal, the call was ongoing, meaning that the receiver was listening to the discussion between the two.

Syn promptly ended the call, subsequently searching for the number of her uncle. Although, a text message showed up in her notifications.

[[[ You need help, right? Please tell me where you are. ]]]

At the outset, she didn't want to trust the stranger. Furthermore, they might not be in the same area. But she took her chances and provided a reply, typing the location as fast as she could.

"What's taking you so long, Syn? Don't tell me you're trying to get away?" Larry skeptically queried, stepping forward to look at the lady's phone.

"I- I simply f-forgot my password. I unlocked it now."

Her alibi was not pardoned this time as Larry snatched her phone away. Fortunately, the screen was displaying the contact page of her uncle.

The man observed the phone for a while, waiting for the arrival of some messages. Thereafter, he gave the device back as he stood an inch apart from her.

"Call, Syn. I'll be listening." He urged the lady with his imploring tone.

Syn diverted her gaze from the man towards her phone, tapping on the call and loudspeaker icons in a haste.

{{ "Syn? Why did you call?" }}

"Uncle, will it be fine if I don't go to work today? I'm feeling quite sick."

{{ "It's fine. Use the time to go to the hospital. You might be needing another check-up" }}

"Thank you, Uncle. Take care."

Once she uttered her gratitude, she duly ended the call. All the same, before she could take her eyes off of the screen, she received a text from the unknown number again.

[[[ Run towards the bus stop. I'm currently here, inside a black sedan. ]]]

When she read the message, Syn forthwith shut her phone off. Consequently, she met the gaze of Larry as she steeled herself. The lady inhaled a lungful of air.

Right then, she hit the man's groin with her left knee.

Thenceforward, she bolted in the direction of the bus stop, leaving an aching Larry. Syn dared not to check if the man was trailing her. She did her best in running alone.

As she came close to the meetup point, she readily spotted the car in question. The lady accelerated her speed once more, heaving her lungs out. Once she nighed the passenger's side of the door, she opened it and seated herself without glancing at the visage of her savior.

Be that as it may, the driver initiated the talk without complaining of the lady's rude behavior.

"Miss Rosenfeldt, please put on your seatbelt."

Syn turned her head to catch a glimpse of her savior, wide-eyed that her surname was uttered. But once their gazes met, time ceased within the cramped space of a car.