Mateo ran. His “Adidas” sneakers crossed the puddles, their white surface staining with muddy water. Somebody screamed close by, but Mateo didn’t flinch. His earbuds were jammed in his ears, blasting techno music at full volume. Mateo tried to sync his running rhythm to the rhythm of the music, but he always seemed to be rushing. Drops of rain landed on Mateo’s forehead, mixing with his sweat.
A stray cat hissed at him, underneath the rubble of a collapsed building. Mateo didn’t notice it. He kept on running, trying to ignore the fact that his clothes were soaked in rainwater. He was starting to feel their weight. If only he could-
Something black jumped in front of him. From the darkness, a black cat jumped on the dirt path, glanced at Mateo, and then jumped to the other side of the path. The cat disappeared in the darkness momentarily. Mateo flushed. That was the last thing he needed. He took a step back, spun three times, and then spat three times as well. Now was the time when he needed good omens, not bad ones.
A flash of red flew inches from his nose, hitting the ground with a loud crash. This time, Mateo heard it. He jumped back, his heart racing. He looked at the ground. Pieces of red clay were mixed with dirt. There seemed to be some parts of a long-dead plant.
The black cat meowed. Mateo noticed its yellow eyes in the darkness, looking at him. Then the cat looked up. Mateo, confused, followed its gaze. He was next to an old three-storey building. It seemed abandoned, but the lights on the third floor were on. That apartment had a balcony, directly above him.
Anger boiled within him. With the earbuds blasting, he pushed the door of the building and started running upstairs. When he reached the third floor, there was only one door. The nameplate was missing, leaving only a slightly discoloured patch on the door. The apartment didn’t have a bell, so Mateo started pounding on the door. With each hit, his right hand throbbed with pain. On the third knock, his freshly healed cuts on the knuckles opened up. He grunted in pain as the blood covered his hands, but the door budged. With a loud creaking noise, they opened up.
The pain in his hand only enraged and encouraged Mateo. I could’ve died, he cursed, remembering the clay pot and clenching his teeth angrily. The door swung open, revealing a ruinous and narrow hallway. There weren’t any pictures on the wall, and the floor was uncovered. The hallway had two doors in it, but directly opposing Mateo was the door that led to the balcony. Except for the silent noise of rain outside, the inside of the apartment was silent. Even the yellow light bulb seemed to buzz soundlessly. Of course, Mateo wasn’t aware of the silence, as his earbuds continued with the deafening music.
Still fuelled by anger, Mateo stepped into the apartment, not noticing how his feet left footprints in the dust, and oblivious to the fact that nothing else had been inside the room for a long time. He neared the balcony door, which was slightly nudged open. He pushed them open, growing numb to the pain in his hand. Cold wind and raindrops welcomed him on the balcony. The handrail had the bottom part of a clay pot on it, but the upper part was missing. Mateo’s brow furrowed. This was the right place. He grabbed the handrail and leaned over, trying to see.
Rubble of red clay and mud was scattered on the ground, right in the place where he would be hadn’t the cat saved his life. Mateo squinted in the rain. What seemed to be a white shadow was next to the fallen pot. Must be a reflection? Mateo thought. And yet, a junkie wearing a loose hoodie walked right through it, not noticing it.
The white shadow looked a bit like a silhouette, Mateo noticed. Like a silhouette of a woman-
His phone rang, stopping the monotonic techno music. Mateo jumped, searching for the phone. Mateo needed the music. Otherwise, his thought would drown him.
He pulled his phone out. The earbuds were still plugged in, so he only needed to swipe away the notification and the music would continue.
Mateo stared at the screen.
You can’t keep running forever
The message was from an unknown number. Struggling to breathe, he took a step back from the wind and rain. He hit something soft with his heel and tripped. His back took the blow of the fall, and the earbuds fell out of his ears.
The music stopped. First, the silence of the apartment overwhelmed him. Then the memories started flooding back, as his hands throbbed with pain.
In the corner of his eye, something moved. Still on the ground, Mateo turned. At the door of the apartment, a white silhouette stood. Its hair fell behind it, disappearing in the darkness behind her.
Mateo gasped for air. He wanted to get up and run, but his arms and feet remained frozen.
The black cat meowed. Suddenly, Mateo could move and breathe again. Slowly, he stood up, not daring to look away from the ghostly figure in the hallway. He took a step back, getting onto the balcony.
The black cat hissed. Mateo looked at it. The cat jumped onto old rusty fire escape stairs. Quickly, Mateo followed it. The old iron stairs creaked as he ran down. His phone and earbuds were still on the ground in the apartment, but there was no way of getting them back.
He jumped the last six feet, landing on the muddy ground with his hands and arms. The rain got into his eyes, but he continued running after the black cat. From time to time, the black cat would get lost in the shadows, but every time Mateo was sure he had lost it, it would appear somewhere. It easily jumped from dumpsters to gutters, and Mateo had trouble following it. They went in and out of the empty shortcuts and narrow streets. The absence of music was terrifying to Mateo, but he stuck to the rhythm of his feet as he ran. Don’t think don’t think don’t think, he repeated as he followed the cat. Occasionally, Mateo would glance back, always noticing a flash of white. Whether it was the ghostly woman following him or the light from a shop or apartment, Mateo couldn’t know. But he didn’t want to stop running as well.
He cut a corner but then froze. The cat was sitting comfortably on the street. It was licking its paw.
Mateo hauled to a stop, looking at the building above.
No…
It was the building where he lived. He looked at the cat again, feeling betrayed by it. It stopped grooming itself, looked at Mateo, and walked into the building, through the half-open door. Dreadful, Mateo followed. As he went into the building, he looked back. The rain continued pouring onto the empty streets.
The inside of the building was empty and silent. Mateo heard the water dripping off his clothes as he went up the staircase.
Mateo found the cat sitting on the mat in front of the door of his apartment. It scratched the door, looking at Mateo. It hissed at him.
With a shaking and bloody hand, Mateo grabbed the knob and pushed. The cat immediately went inside, disappearing into the darkness. Mateo could hear its content purr.
Taking a deep breath, Mateo fully opened the door and walked into his apartment. He passed by a few faded photographs of him and his girlfriend. On a few, they even looked happy.
Mateo went into the bedroom. The light from the hallway didn’t reveal much, but it was enough for Mateo to see a lifeless body on the ground. It was next to a half-packed travelling suitcase. Struggling to breathe, Mateo went around the body. He couldn’t find the strength to look at it.
The cat meowed. Mateo saw it rubbing its head against the leg of a man dressed in a black suit. The man sat in an armchair and the light went only up to his chest, leaving his face in the darkness. Mateo felt his legs giving up on him. After all, he was running for so long. He sat on the bed which was next to the body. Mateo cried for the first time after so many years. His tears mixed with the rain on his face.
In the next moment, the white figure walked into the room. She lingered momentarily next to her body, before sitting next to Mateo.
Mateo sunk his face into his hands, trying to silence his sobbing. The cat purred. The wounds on his hands stung when Mateo’s tears reached them.
Mateo looked at his hands. His knuckles were swollen and bloody. Then he finally looked at the body at his feet. The face of his girlfriend was now almost unrecognizable. Then he looked at the man in the armchair. He opened his fist, revealing a pocket watch.
The ghostly silhouette stood up. Its white emotionless face looked at Mateo for the last time before leaving the room with the man in a black suit. The cat was last to leave. It stopped at the door and looked at Mateo with its yellow eyes.
Then the black cat left, leaving Mateo alone in the silence.
