For all the times he had peeped through the windows, he had never actually stepped foot inside her house. He swiveled his head from side to side taking in all the sights. It smelled very pleasant in there. Like apple cider brewing. Of course it did. She was perfect.566Please respect copyright.PENANAoKWL4Jhmnb
566Please respect copyright.PENANA0qfvSd6WsK
566Please respect copyright.PENANA3M59CTgkvy
“Okay, Mr. Ghost,” she said, “The closet is over here.”566Please respect copyright.PENANA38Q1xVA0wZ
566Please respect copyright.PENANAXuqTWNHDz7
566Please respect copyright.PENANAgeHpakaZkp
Even though he knew exactly where it was he followed her as if he didn't. She opened the closet door and pointed to a large brown box on the top shelf. She pointed at it. “That's the one,” she said in her heavenly voice. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAxhtJN3jvKC
566Please respect copyright.PENANAWOAQSZRh76
566Please respect copyright.PENANAq92A8BZOWO
He started to reach up and grab it, but his ghostly sheet kept sliding and blocking his vision. “Here, let me get that for you,” she said as she slid the sheet off of him.566Please respect copyright.PENANAgEaIZTEZvM
566Please respect copyright.PENANAl9lK93wweQ
566Please respect copyright.PENANAmDVEq6JI0T
When the sheet was completely off she looked him over. “Well who would know that there was such a handsome man underneath that spooky old sheet,” she said.566Please respect copyright.PENANAwePapvgOrz
566Please respect copyright.PENANA4Hhu7VjBB0
566Please respect copyright.PENANAF73PJaolmU
He blushed a deep red and grabbed the box off the top of the shelf. She was right to have him grab it. It was very heavy. “If you would just plop it down on my kitchen table that would be fantastic,” she said. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAdXJMBuU1vG
566Please respect copyright.PENANAyx1DkvWDVD
566Please respect copyright.PENANAJoVtEEWIBH
He followed her into the kitchen and gently lowered it onto her table. “Thank you so much,” she said. “Since you were kind enough to help a girl out,” she continued, “could I offer you a cup of warm apple cider?”566Please respect copyright.PENANAp8HAKt3QZv
566Please respect copyright.PENANAKtCMpQcwM8
566Please respect copyright.PENANArNGoYt9qLb
He looked at her stove. A pan full of apple cider was brewing and steaming. The smell was intoxicating. He nodded. “Y.. yuh… yes,” he replied. “That would be delightful.”566Please respect copyright.PENANAKKl7mUMJNO
566Please respect copyright.PENANASjGT2dvbiZ
566Please respect copyright.PENANA5JqwjsvUbC
“Great,” she said through a beaming smile. She opened up a cabinet and pulled out two mugs. She walked over to the steaming cider and used a ladle to fill them both up. Then she opened up a small ceramic canister that was sitting next to it. “My grandmother,” she said merrily, “always told me that the secret to any good cider is a pinch of brown sugar.”566Please respect copyright.PENANA5Va6Y5jdOt
566Please respect copyright.PENANACWmwhbKEbs
566Please respect copyright.PENANA92Y8zwGUDU
She took a tiny pinch of the brown sugar that was in the ceramic container and put one in each of the ciders. Then she opened a glass jar and put a cinnamon stick in both mugs and gave them a small stir. She handed him the mug and smiled her infectious smile at him. He had no choice but to return the grin. It was too wonderful of a smile to not return. 566Please respect copyright.PENANA5fVeAQCla8
566Please respect copyright.PENANAqkDAOS8Od0
566Please respect copyright.PENANAhqVyQDxYsN
The mug was brown with a tan stripe at the top and the bottom. “I… I have this exact same cup,” he told her with a smile. It was another sign that they were meant to be together. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAulvKHZ3NSm
566Please respect copyright.PENANAuCXYOtsMBQ
566Please respect copyright.PENANAdWj05by4xX
“Are you a Bed, Bath & Beyonder as well?” she asked in a playful voice. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAVVRYVUuTPJ
566Please respect copyright.PENANA92ZML6GQ2a
566Please respect copyright.PENANALsoasy49l9
He nodded and took a drink of his hot cider. It was as delicious as he imagined it would be. “This is wonderful,” he said. “Thank you so much for it.”566Please respect copyright.PENANACiEDGu2fej
566Please respect copyright.PENANAy8BJtGT1oq
566Please respect copyright.PENANAlkBvoPsPxy
“No,” she replied, “thank you for being kind enough to help a girl out. Not many people would go out of their way to come into a stranger ’s home just to help them pull down a box that was too heavy for them.”566Please respect copyright.PENANAmewA2ze7GF
566Please respect copyright.PENANAZKX5YaLP0F
566Please respect copyright.PENANARqb8M8wtTh
“We have to do what we can,” he said. As the warmth of the cider spread through his body he was becoming more relaxed around her. He wasn't even afraid to speak to her that time.566Please respect copyright.PENANAC4g0w23I0e
566Please respect copyright.PENANAhxr3PIDIWv
566Please respect copyright.PENANAPAHTH1ZMvn
That was a huge step for him. Since he was a small child he hadn't been able to speak to girls without fumbling for words. It was embarrassing and it was a big part of why he had been alone for so long. But she was perfect and maybe some of her perfection was spreading onto him. That would be miraculous and wonderful.566Please respect copyright.PENANAilA843Ngp6
566Please respect copyright.PENANAAY31dY4TW7
566Please respect copyright.PENANAsKsPKoIeFw
After taking another sip of his cider, he noticed that the mug he was holding had a small chip at the bottom just like the one he had at home. He has set it down on his counter too hard and it had chipped a small speck off of it. It must be a flaw in the design he thought to himself. This was yet another sign that the universe was throwing at them telling them that it was their fate to be together.566Please respect copyright.PENANAqY2IMYiYmf
566Please respect copyright.PENANAmcddBabJIW
566Please respect copyright.PENANAs0vOUVTAcB
“The mug I have has a small chip in it just like this one,” he said as he pointed it out to her. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAARQBbABoE0
566Please respect copyright.PENANAcZQJvRI6Gz
566Please respect copyright.PENANAOv53NhsgPi
“Well isn't that something,” she said in return. “Maybe it's a sign that we were meant to have this cup of cider together,” she said with a wink. “Come sit and finish the drink.”566Please respect copyright.PENANAUxZccEltN3
566Please respect copyright.PENANAtC5IxsLznQ
566Please respect copyright.PENANA3v4TA8BRkw
She led him out to the living room that he had peeped into so many times. She sat on the love seat and gave it a pat, indicating that she wanted him to sit beside her. With a blush he did. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAUgyIHPkmFt
566Please respect copyright.PENANAHoHN1DAdiR
566Please respect copyright.PENANAmUUMITaLiX
“You look so familiar,” she said. “Do you live around here?”566Please respect copyright.PENANAnsDcCmnCa2
566Please respect copyright.PENANAVbFbwecxac
566Please respect copyright.PENANAWMFos3J0zI
He nodded and said, “I guess I just have one of those faces that makes people think they have seen me.”566Please respect copyright.PENANACCjjXUIRk3
566Please respect copyright.PENANA1J04305jcY
566Please respect copyright.PENANAhrK12YEJZh
“No,” she replied. “I've definitely seen you before. Are you much of a reader?” she asked. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAiOsLF9RWJc
566Please respect copyright.PENANA9yRjir7e7J
566Please respect copyright.PENANANtX3xeL8Of
He nodded. “Yes I am,” he said. “I go to the bookstore once a week and pick up something new to read.”566Please respect copyright.PENANAAUoT0oBvAW
566Please respect copyright.PENANAaDPPt7jC9Y
566Please respect copyright.PENANA8Zg5JZi5BG
She snapped her fingers and pointed at him. “I knew it!” she exclaimed. “I've seen you where I work. You go to Barnes & Nobles, right?”566Please respect copyright.PENANA5HuWfhohuU
566Please respect copyright.PENANAFl9DCKRPz2
566Please respect copyright.PENANAJYLaMBhDlg
A grin like he hadn't had since he was a child spread across his face. She remembered him. She remembered him! No girl had ever given him so much as a second glance. This one remembered that he had bought books for her. It was meant to be. “Yes,” he replied. “Yes I do. You have a very good memory for faces.”566Please respect copyright.PENANAtdJWnLE4NK
566Please respect copyright.PENANAANsEOu05wZ
566Please respect copyright.PENANAgk8aLsIKdO
“I do,” she said. “It's one of my gifts.”566Please respect copyright.PENANAvz1I5X1LCf
566Please respect copyright.PENANAosUlBkKjP6
566Please respect copyright.PENANABk0KNWSc6O
“It's a wonderful gift to have,” he replied. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAmCaTRk9GbH
566Please respect copyright.PENANARPLBX7EkZK
566Please respect copyright.PENANAumiysUBndP
“Indeed it is.”566Please respect copyright.PENANAkTaiWMwUg1
566Please respect copyright.PENANAUj85YWoYcG
566Please respect copyright.PENANAEo4t1TsjUI
They drank a few more drinks of their cider and he was feeling great. Better than he ever had. He felt relaxed and giddy. He hated for the moment to end. And end it would soon. As soon as he got to the bottom of his cider that was in the mug that matched his exactly. 566Please respect copyright.PENANA8UJISKiXWl
566Please respect copyright.PENANA3U6jLKfapw
566Please respect copyright.PENANA0LWkFzMhzn
Looking at a cabinet that was out of the visual range of the window he normally peeked in he said, “I have that same figurine, too.” He pointed to a small clown figure that sat on the other side of it’s glass door. 566Please respect copyright.PENANA7qnOJUozUn
566Please respect copyright.PENANAmT0GO16mSo
566Please respect copyright.PENANAwLgPEjr6hS
“No kidding?” she asked. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAXYF0lvl0U2
566Please respect copyright.PENANAMdIuWzZXSj
566Please respect copyright.PENANAezNuGLDgqU
“No kidding,” he replied. “My grandmother got it for me right before she died.”566Please respect copyright.PENANAWgxlcTv1CO
566Please respect copyright.PENANAuultqVwuGH
566Please respect copyright.PENANAGxfna9LX1m
“What a coincidence,” she said. After a pause she said, “It's been wonderful getting to talk to you finally.”566Please respect copyright.PENANAYYw1TRhUqz
566Please respect copyright.PENANArTxchopBC4
566Please respect copyright.PENANAGoUYHuXAiv
He cocked his head to the side. Finally? What had she meant by that? Normally he would let it go, but he was feeling so relaxed that he felt it he had to follow up on it. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAFm7yWjj6te
566Please respect copyright.PENANATS0Q8E1Ns1
566Please respect copyright.PENANA3NH8Xq6ZPC
“Finally?” he asked. “What do you mean by that? We've just met.”566Please respect copyright.PENANAMt6OfMBFs7
566Please respect copyright.PENANA8rwgMUHBhb
566Please respect copyright.PENANAHBUIOYwg1e
With a wink she said, “Oh come now. This isn't the first time we've met. You've been watching me for the last few months. Since I ran into you at Starbucks.”566Please respect copyright.PENANAlMz46dd5AG
566Please respect copyright.PENANA9jxiRFamZo
566Please respect copyright.PENANAlxOOw7uQaC
Sheer panic shot through his entire system. How did she know he had been watching her? He decided it was time for him to make his exit. He stood up and all at once his head started to spin. His body felt numb and out of his control. He slowly fell to his knees.566Please respect copyright.PENANAkcDPuaPPm6
566Please respect copyright.PENANAsTPckHyNcV
566Please respect copyright.PENANAhNPf0Ms5Xi
At the bottom of his cup of cider he noticed some white powder. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAAGU7LrTpsa
566Please respect copyright.PENANAFyMm5AMCWi
566Please respect copyright.PENANACOAKQqo7me
“What… what is happening?” he mumbled. 566Please respect copyright.PENANARZVzqdc69T
566Please respect copyright.PENANAVd11j888gL
566Please respect copyright.PENANA2wx1f06z3R
She got down on her knees and took the mug from him and sat it on her coffee table. “I've drugged you, dear,” she said through that perfect smile. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAQ44GcdnNGT
566Please respect copyright.PENANAFRzysgdJSN
566Please respect copyright.PENANAcQ8h3vKU24
He tried to rise to his feet, but his legs wouldn't cooperate with him. He fell backwards until his back rested on the love seat. “Oh don't bother yourself with trying to get away,” she said as she sat her cider down on the table. “Your body won't be working correctly for four to six hours.”566Please respect copyright.PENANAKVjSq1JApr
566Please respect copyright.PENANABQnC3sDqv3
566Please respect copyright.PENANAqEq9QBqQbk
He stared up at the ceiling in disbelief. Before he knew what was happening she put her arms around him and hoisted him back up onto the love seat. Oh how he wished he could feel any of his limbs, because her body was crushed right up against his. It was what he had been dreaming about for so long.566Please respect copyright.PENANA332O1BNElr
566Please respect copyright.PENANAinrhCE1dp1
566Please respect copyright.PENANATsOPMN0LK9
“You don't remember me, do you?” she asked.566Please respect copyright.PENANAAMdQP9EZ5q
566Please respect copyright.PENANA3osVIv7Cxb
566Please respect copyright.PENANADyM3LMm2oY
He couldn't do anything to indicate that he didn't. In fact he couldn't move at all. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAYdG7dF8lQn
566Please respect copyright.PENANAYUZ3Tgyxab
566Please respect copyright.PENANAC9SWNMCXom
“Well I remember you,” she said. “Before I worked at the bookstore I was a nurse. At Meyersworth. The institute where you took your ’vacation’ at a few years ago. I was one of your nurses.”566Please respect copyright.PENANADdm8H2WaS8
566Please respect copyright.PENANAF4vAl7EgR4
566Please respect copyright.PENANAuq0ycHaw6F
She took another drink of her cider as she crossed her legs and leaned back on the love seat that he had watched her on so many times. Her perfect smile never left her face all the while. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAJGrr20F2W6
566Please respect copyright.PENANAaOqhwb9oFu
566Please respect copyright.PENANAvUmnS0eAFv
“I don't reckon you would remember me though,” she said. “You were so drugged up all the time. And I looked a bit different then. While you were in there I read your files. You had stalked twelve different women. Starting when you were a teen. All of the women had brown hair. That's why I dyed mine. It used to be red, but I knew you wouldn't follow me if I had red hair. So brown it became. And, just for the record, reading those files is what got me fired. Well not just your files. I kept up on all the stalkers there.”566Please respect copyright.PENANAzUVJr7G3nO
566Please respect copyright.PENANA89ogL1Bkoz
566Please respect copyright.PENANA3fQvWwQn0j
“It was quite easy, really, to get you to follow me,” she continued. “All I had to do was show some manners and make eye contact. And just like that you were my own personal stalker. I made sure to wait and give you enough time to follow me. I had to make sure you took to me this time. I had tried three times before to get you to follow me, but it didn't work out. You were too busy or distracted or involved with your phone.”566Please respect copyright.PENANAPoNmmeR4nR
566Please respect copyright.PENANAt98Ic3t1gd
566Please respect copyright.PENANAZWQKRaJPmv
Suddenly he remembered seeing her twice before. Once on a park bench she had asked him if he was having a nice day. He was following a potential lady friend and she had began jogging again, so he had to go without answering her. 566Please respect copyright.PENANA6qDbx6vluz
566Please respect copyright.PENANAVsulsaaPBP
566Please respect copyright.PENANAOu85rCCTtd
The other time they were in Mucho Gusto and she had sat by him at bar. She had asked him to pass the salt. That time he was following a young lady who had made eye contact with him, but the girl he was following’s boyfriend came to meet her and he was really, really big. He didn't feel like competing with a body builder, so he moved on.566Please respect copyright.PENANAg1zNmdfynX
566Please respect copyright.PENANAtMh4zkVLGn
566Please respect copyright.PENANA0SxcWv9cmy
“I can see by the look on your face that you do remember me now,” she said. “They all remember me before the end.”566Please respect copyright.PENANA2UsLMZm7u5
566Please respect copyright.PENANAONqSPzAC9u
566Please respect copyright.PENANA8OS7yeUEO9
Panic oozed from every ounce of his being. He had to get out of there, but he had no way of doing so.566Please respect copyright.PENANAm3Y2lwSKEr
566Please respect copyright.PENANAy5iQrYqS8n
566Please respect copyright.PENANAVnQ4W63FEs
“Relax, sweetheart,” she whispered. “Don’t panic until I take you into the basement.” 566Please respect copyright.PENANAYhKkm7zDRX
566Please respect copyright.PENANA6bIv3vh1eI
566Please respect copyright.PENANAsFrd6RT7MM
He tried to move again, but got nothing. He merely slumped over on the love seat. It was soft and it smelled good. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAjOUt8vrQVP
566Please respect copyright.PENANAO9oCxZbyAl
566Please respect copyright.PENANAQXNEmeBgIP
“That coffee mug,” she said, “is yours. I took it from your apartment last month. And that figurine? It's yours, too. I took that last week. I'm surprised you didn't notice. I have lots of your stuff, actually. I've been into your apartment quite a few times. I like to take little prizes from my followers.” 566Please respect copyright.PENANAufB4KfwjRt
566Please respect copyright.PENANArrECGrj9XQ
566Please respect copyright.PENANAn1TXTH9XQw
She grabbed the nurse’s bag that was part of her Halloween costume and unzipped it. He was able to turn his eyes to see what was inside of the bag. There were clamps, handcuffs, what looked like a hand cranked drill, some needles and a very sharp looking scalpel. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAOvoXLdH4Cs
566Please respect copyright.PENANAwYVAf1RMhV
566Please respect copyright.PENANAxZju5xs4Jv
When she pulled the scalpel out of the bag it shined in the light. A single tear rolled down his cheek. She leaned over to him with the razor sharp scalpel and cut off a chunk of his hair. She then stuffed it into a small, plastic baggies and sealed it. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAnJDiNpWut2
566Please respect copyright.PENANAgWv9PBdBqU
566Please respect copyright.PENANAPQe37K7OhI
“Your hair will go right next to Stalker Steve,” she said. “Do you remember Stalker Steve? You two talked several times at Meyersworth.”566Please respect copyright.PENANABCwyikLkTi
566Please respect copyright.PENANAcCPiNbx7Ck
566Please respect copyright.PENANADqEEXFJVrM
He did remember Steve. They would have lunch together at the hospital. A few times they swapped stories of following the potential loves of their lives. Steve got out before he did and he didn't know what has become of him. Until now. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAQTfuOpFYrl
566Please respect copyright.PENANAt8n79rFduw
566Please respect copyright.PENANAO2jeHUsCmQ
“Steve liked to follow young girls,” she said. “I practically had to throw myself at him to get him to start following me. Had to flash my panties at him. You are much more of a gentleman than he was. And more of a gentleman than Larry, Sid, Murray and Emilio were. I'll remember that in the end. You won't suffer nearly as much as they did.”566Please respect copyright.PENANAUM2tsBvQCq
566Please respect copyright.PENANASZ7IOa2jGc
566Please respect copyright.PENANAWDM4XUCxMH
Another tear rolled down his face. “Oh come now,” she said. “Be a man about it. This is what you wanted wasn't it?” she asked. “To spend some quality time with me? The most perfect girl in the world?”566Please respect copyright.PENANAxstgNAEXg0
566Please respect copyright.PENANAxYhKiqxP2p
566Please respect copyright.PENANApD81a2YbqZ
And spend time with her she did. Over the course of that Halloween night he spent some very painful, very horrible time with her. 566Please respect copyright.PENANA8FKA0OpE4b
566Please respect copyright.PENANAPsx69Rq0dB
566Please respect copyright.PENANARYDoRzf4HF
He had often thought to himself that she was the kind of girl he could see himself growing old and dying with. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAJcxJZDlZi9
566Please respect copyright.PENANA7pLvIKsHPS
566Please respect copyright.PENANAnNt5L7hBCt
He got half of it right. 566Please respect copyright.PENANAsduWx2nxZo
566Please respect copyright.PENANAYZsyflqrae
566Please respect copyright.PENANAnCF7qo7B90
566Please respect copyright.PENANAhMBjPcCBie
566Please respect copyright.PENANArggmRypGUt
566Please respect copyright.PENANA1UCqZ18CD4
566Please respect copyright.PENANA4lSjRiTR2x
566Please respect copyright.PENANAJqf4p2TPNC