Midnight Call

Krista Dunaway had just moved to New York City, perhaps hoping that her future would be a little better than her last year in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the truth is that she was scared. She had never left her home, her family, her friends and now she faced a new challenge, living alone and being away from everything she knew, but she knew that it was the right thing to do, that her home had become too dangerous to continue there. and she hoped that this new beginning would allow her to be herself again and not be afraid.

She walked around the square before she was sure that no one was following her, and later, she fixed her gaze on the apartment block built in the fifties that loomed before her eyes, it was not a large building, five floors in total, a Reasonable size with good views of the square bordering the Chinatown of Manhattan, from the said neighborhood I could notice its influence in the statue that presided over the square in honor of an ancient Chinese philosopher and the smells of different Asian foods enveloped the environment making Krista was hungry, but now she couldn't eat, she had to start moving.

He felt very nervous about the central system of his body, his hands showed a slight trembling but with a determined step he headed inside the building with some suitcases and two boxes that he could carry on his back, it was the only thing that had fit in the trunk and how The apartment was furnished so that he would save himself from paying a carrier and buying new furniture, which was great for him because with the move, the apartment and the gas, he was poor on funds.

He went up the old steps of his new apartment block, it was a cheap place in Manhattan's Chinatown and that meant one thing, take the stairs up five floors on foot because the elevator is broken and there is no money to fix it.

Apparently, according to the owner of the apartment, there had been a problem and they had dismantled the elevator but not having enough funds, it had not been possible to repair it, and apparently, they decided to leave the vacuum in the place of the elevator hoping that a future if things improved and there was a budget could put a new one.

-Need help with that, new girl? –Asked a deep masculine voice that made Krista hit a boat.

Krista turned with a start to find a young boy with very long blond hair tied back with a ponytail of blue eyes, who had a hipster style in both his look and his clothes, who was smiling warmly at her as he moved his right hand in a side to side of her face in an attempt to bring her back to the present.

-¿Are you OK? I'm sorry if I scared you, -the boy apologized while she was still unable to say a word, the shock had given her tachycardia. -I know I'm handsome but I've never left a woman speechless.

What seemed like a joke or perhaps a subtle flirtation made Krista smile and that made her happy because she had long since stopped smiling out of fear.

-Maybe I have been speechless by your supreme intelligence to flirt –she said following the joke half laughing.

-Toche, I'm Dylan Thomas,- he said as he offered her his hand in greeting.

-I'm Krista Dunaway,- she greeted, shaking his hand.

-Can I help you with that? Dylan asked as he pointed to about eight suitcases scattered on the stairs across the floor.

-Sure, would you do me a favor- she said as she continued walking toward her floor.

-And where are you from, new to town? --Dylan asked as he continued up the stairs.

-From Tulsa, Oklahoma, I just moved in just today.

-I'm from Corpus Christi, Texas, I'm glad to see another southerner in the building, I was starting to miss that accent.

They finally reached her floor and she opened the door of her new home, the place still had the furniture of the former tenant, according to the owner, she had not been able to remove them and she could use them freely.

-It looks nice and bright, it looked worse in the photos, I love it -she said aloud.

-Just be careful he answered as he left the suitcases right next to the door.

-Why? She asked, puzzled by that unusual comment as he just finished leaving his last suitcases at the door and getting ready to leave.

-I'll tell you another time, maybe having a coffee if you feel like it -he said as he smiled at her again with a mischievous smile - unless you have a boyfriend.

-I'm asexual, so if you hope to take me to bed, the only thing you'll warm-up is the pillow -she expressed with a poker face causing Dylan to raise his eyebrows and his legs would almost buckle from the shock.

The boy's face of circumstances told him that he had gone three towns to say such an exaggerated thing, he had wanted to be funny and now he believed that he was a lunatic or a crazy person, simply when he liked someone he got nervous he said the strangest things and absurd on the face of the earth and now she only wished the earth would consume her and not have to face Dylan's stunned gaze.

-Sorry, I wanted to make a joke and I think I have spent three thousand towns, I would love to have coffee with you Dylan if you still want clear -she said apologetically.

-Of course I would love to, how about next week, so you have time to settle in and when you have time call me -he said as he walked to leave his apartment.

-Wait, I don't know your number -she expressed worried that he only said that out of politeness but actually considered her a geek for whom it was not worth wasting a second.

-I live right in front of you, we are hallmates, so whenever you won't give me a touch -he said as he politely said goodbye and closed his door.

Krista still couldn't believe how lucky she was, she had gotten a cheap apartment in Manhattan, it was OK, it was Chinatown and she would have to put up with smelling the food from the thousands of street stalls for 24 hours and from time to time she would have to hear screams in Chinese, But the price was unbeatable and the views of Chatham Square where she could see the Lin Ze Xu sculpture, not that she was very interested but it was always nice to have a different view of a gray apartment block that you could find in any city. And also her new neighbor seemed like someone nice and clearly interested in her, this could end badly and be really uncomfortable or maybe the best thing that could happen to her and she preferred to be positive if she wanted to start a new life away from fear and paranoia she should see the bright side of life.

Suddenly, something took her out of her teaching, the sound of her phone made her return to her reality, it was her mother, who must already be worried after almost a day without knowing anything about her child, she answered immediately.

-Daughter are you okay? Did something happen to you? His mother asked with some desperation in each question.

-I'm fine mom, the flight took longer than planned and I have not been able to settle in until now, the apartment is beautiful and also furnished, which is a bargain.

-Be careful not to get ripped off in your rent, let's see if it will be a trap, everything beautiful is expensive -her mother warned her in her best tone of cordiality, although behind that tone she was hiding an I told you that something bad is going to happen to you for going cheap.

-That's not mom, the lawyer has reviewed it and there is nothing strange, the tenant simply had to leave the apartment in a hurry and the owners wanted to rent it quickly so that they would not get the price.

-Above all be careful, I know it was not your fault but I am nervous daughter, you are sure you had to go so far if something will happen ... -but the sentence was not finished perhaps because her mother was afraid of imagining the worst.

-Jane cannot be near me, she has a restraining order and I have unsubscribed from all social networks so that she cannot contact me, you especially do not give my phone number to anyone, only to dad and in the Contact me to put my middle name in case someone ties up the dots - she instructed, remembering the words of the police officer to whom she came to help her.

-But and if that crazy woman finds you, I still remember that day when she appeared at our door at twelve o'clock at night screaming that she was going to kill you, I still tremble at the memory -said her mother, worried about her well-being, she had had a very bad time with all the situation.

Jane was a coworker in the office where she worked, at first they had become friends and she seemed like a great person, but as time went by, she began to notice things, first a certain tone in the way she spoke, wanting to know where she was at. every moment, get angry for not wanting to meet her, dress very similar to her, send her messages at all hours. But the climax came when she had supposedly fucked her boyfriend, when in fact that boy had just arrived at the company that same day and did not even know Jane. From then on, the discussions at work, the threats and insults began, she reported her to human resources and after a few accidents, she was fired.

That was the end of their friendship and the beginning of his ordeal, every time he went out with that boy, he harassed them in every restaurant they went to and made a scene, but the sudden point was when he showed up at his house in the middle of the night yelling threats death, that's when he realized that his life was in danger, he contacted the nearest police station and the policeman had given him some indications, but personally he gave him advice, to flee as far as possible and to remain in a low profile for a while so that Jane will forget about her and little by little her obsession with her will diminish and that she did, she said goodbye to her job, broke up with her boyfriend and moved as far away as she could from Jane, she found a job in New York and decided to move asap.

-She doesn't know that I'm here and she can't find me, you just don't say anything, say that I'm looking for work in the city and that I have the flu and for now I won't leave the apartment, this way the spirits will calm down a bit -expression Krista wishing his words would come true.

-Just be careful daughter and call me,- her mother ordered, trying to bite her tongue and not curse the madwoman who had caused this situation.

-I will call you, calm down, but if you are with people never answer the phone, only when you are alone or with dad, do you understand?

-Yes, daughter, yes, I know, to take care of my life -her mother said briefly, although her tone gave her away, she was not calm and she feared the worst.

-Bye mom -she said goodbye as she dropped her phone and her body on the couch.

She felt bad and strange to have to use a name that was not her own, well it was not exactly like that, her name was not Loren Dunaway anymore, from now on she would use her middle name Krista, she had never been particularly enthusiastic about that name

But between being calm or being a victim of Jane's harassment again, she chose the first option. She hoped that name change would make her go a little more unnoticed, at least in Jane's eyes, and along with the spatial distance, she could lead a new life.

She was excited about this new chapter in her life, and now she was eager to discover what her new home would be like, so she allowed herself to gossip between the rooms to appreciate what it contained inside, the apartment was simple, it consisted of a bathroom, a large living room-kitchenette and a room of a decent size.

All the rooms were well equipped with everything necessary to live, apparently, the former tenant had not benefited from removing the furniture and the owner had kept it, her room had a dresser, a closet, a mirror, a bed, and two bedside tables with a small lamp for each one, he didn't need more and the money he saved on furniture in the middle of a move saved his life, that had been one of the reasons why he had chosen that apartment.

The open kitchen-dining room was also well equipped, the kitchen had a wall built with tiles with geometric shapes of neutral light white color combined with some matte colored tiles, white predominated in almost all the kitchen, cabinets, countertops, even the island built of white marble followed the contrast of some classic wooden stools, and of the dark gray industrial style lamps that illuminated the kitchen, the furniture was not new, but at least it kept the harmony of the neutral colors, gray, black and white, the stainless steel refrigerator contrasted with the light color of the microwave and the black of the oven and stove. The living room was simple built with light gray painted walls, a matte tiled floor in conjunction with the kitchen, a somewhat small sofa.

After having driven for hours and having sorted all her things, Krista felt heavy, so she decided to go to her room where she fell on the bed and little by little fell asleep, however, a strange sound woke her up, she fell asleep. he realized that it was his mobile in vibrate mode that was ringing for a new message. It was a message from the United States government that said:

"The State of New York together with the federal government of the United States declares quarantine for the entire country, mobility is restricted from 12 o'clock tonight"