Thriller Red

It’s dark. Zarodie couldn’t see anything. She gingerly moved forward extending her arms as barriers so her body wouldn’t hit anything.

For however long it’s been, Zarodie came to a conclusion that the dark path is endless. She turned around a few times, not necessarily knowing how far she turned. Eventually, a heart was presented to her, a human heart encased in glass.

“Do you know who heart that is?” A woman uttered behind Zarodie, startling her. The woman had copper skin, alluring hazel eyes, large afro, and she was covered in an cold-shoulder, sparkly purple dress that drags across the ground.

“Is it yours?” Zarodie guessed.

“No. It’s yours.” The woman said. “See the glass around it? That’s protection for your heart and that is what you must do.”

“Why? Is someone eager to catch my heart?” Zarodie questioned.

“Someone is eager to break it.” The woman told her. “But if you listen to me, you can prevent this.”

“Wait, hold on! When you say break my heart, do you mean romantically or physically?” Zarodie asked.

The woman strutted next to her heart. She mildly gazed at it as she slides her finger across the glass. “When this particular man comes your way, after you awaken, you must decline his advances.”

“Is he going to hurt me?” Zarodie asked.

“If you let him in, you’ll become the greatest sinner.” The woman said, still gazing at her heart.

“Sinner?” Zarodie widened her eyes. “I can’t be!”

“Then you will avoid this man at all cost.” The woman looked back at her with stern eyes.

“Who are you? You don’t give me direct answers.” Zarodie said.

“Falitra.” She answered. “Now when you awaken, you will forget this conversation ever happened, but you’ll subconsciously remember this. When the man approaches you, you feel the warning of everything I told you.”

“What’s the point of telling me if I’m going to forget anyways?” Zarodie asked.

Falitra shrugged her shoulders and smiled. “What’s life without obstacles?”

“Are you a goddess or an angel or…” Zarodie wondered.

Falitra smiled even bigger, leading to a short chuckle. “Good luck, Zarodie.”

Falitra’s aura begin to dim the atmosphere. Zarodie no longer could see anything again, not even her heart. She wasn’t quite sure if she blinked, but when she did the setting changed. First thing she laid her eyes on was the ceiling. She looked down, wrapped in her red covers, the sun shining into her room.

Zarodie sat up to stretch her arms out, took a deep breath, then got out of bed. First things first: take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, then brush her teeth.

Her father would say to brush her teeth, take a shower, get dressed, then eat breakfast, but that always felt slightly backwards to her. Zarodie thought she might as well walk outside the house with a stinky breath.

No matter if it’s extremely hot outside, Zarodie would wear a long sleeve dress and wrapped her long hair in scarfs. Nobody, except her father, has ever seen her full hair before.

“Good morning, Zarodie!” One of her female neighbors shouted as she strolled by their home.

“Good morning!” Zarodie shouted back, before being startled by someone’s horse zooming by. The man riding the horse apologized.

After walking for an half hour, Zarodie finally reached her father’s restaurant Chancher. Named after his last name. Her father’s restaurant could only be afforded by middle class to high class citizens. The walls were of a tan color, the doors were a brown-reddish color, the countertops were crystal black, and the floor were a light green.

The city came to her father’s restaurant so often that he had to make it a two-story building for extra space.

When Zarodie entered, she hung her umbrella on the rack, went to the kitchen to wash her hands, then grabbed a notepad and pencil, beginning to approach tables.

“Zarodie, you’re in charge of the west side of tables.” Her male colleague said.

“Okay,” she responded, making her way through the maze of tables. She reached the first table that had a red flag raised in the air, which means the table hasn’t been attended to yet. “Hello, my name is Zarodie, I’ll be your waitress for today. What can I get you hungry fellas?”

The husky man spoke first. “I would like a sausage biscuit with hash brown and eggs on the side.”

“Would you like gravy on the sausage biscuits?” Zarodie asked as she jots everything down.

“Yes.”

“Do you want your eggs scrambled?”

“Yes. Oh, and for beverage I want lemonade.”

“Okay, and what about you?” Zarodie asked the thin man sitting next to the husky one.

“Pancakes and water. That’s all.” The thin man said.

“Okay, and what about you?” Zarodie asked the next man who body was very toned judging from skintight white shirt.

“Pancakes, sausage and hash browns on the side, and a glass of water, please.” He said politely.

“Okay.” Zarodie replied jotting down her last notes. “I’ll be back with your breakfast in say thirty minutes.”

“Alright.” The husky man said.

Just as Zarodie begins to walk away, the thin man calls out to her. “Hey, wait!”

Zarodie immediately comes back. “I’m sorry did you want something else?”

“Yeah.” He replied. “I want to know what do you do on your spare time?”

Zarodie’s eyes wandered in the air. “Nothing interesting per say. I love to paint!”

“Really?” He replied with sparkles in his eyes.

“My mother was an artist herself. What kind of stuff do you like to paint?”

Zarodie felt a warm feeling inside, finding herself jovial to answer his question. “I like to paint-”

“As interesting as that might sound, little lady, we’re very hungry.” The husky man interrupted her, rubbing his own belly.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’ll be right away.” Zarodie responded suddenly down as she hastened to the kitchen. She placed the orders on the spindle holder then immediately went to the next table, which consists of a husband and wife. She took their orders and scurried back to the kitchen, but someone stood in her way.

“Hey, I’m sorry about earlier.” The husky man apologized. “I didn’t mean to come off as rude. I mean I did, but I didn’t at the same time. Does that make sense to you?”

Zarodie couldn’t help but crack a smile. “It’s okay.” She replied. “It was unprofessional of me to stall time like that anyways. So sorry about that.”

“No, you’re fine. I’m glad we can come to an understanding. Oh, allow me to move out of your way, little lady.” The husky man stepped aside. “You got more orders to take.”

Zarodie walked past him. “My name is Zarodie, by the way.”

“Alright. Well, I’m Vhonoff.” He smiled, extending his hand.

Zarodie blushed. His smile had adorable dimples. “Nice to meet you.” She shook his hand, then tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let go. “Um…” she said awkwardly.

“Oh, sorry!” He quickly released her. He went back to his seat.

Zarodie left, attending to the other customers. As the day went on, Zarodie couldn’t stop thinking about Vhonoff. She admired how much of a gentleman he was, from an emotional sense. Most customers, men specifically, don’t hide their impatience for food and can be immensely nasty about it.

It was getting late, people began going home, and the restaurant began closing up after meticulously cleaning up every inch of it. Zarodie said her goodbyes to all her colleagues. She walked out and saw the sunset like she’s supposed to whenever her shift is done.

“Hey, Zarodie!” A man called out on her way home. He jogged towards her.

“Have you been watching me?” Zarodie smiled.

“No. I mean yeah, I mean not like that… well… sort of. Yes?” Vhonoff replied.

Zarodie couldn’t stop the laughter that escaped her lips. “Can I do anything for you?”

“I want to invite you to dinner.” Vhonoff told her. “I think you’re a very kind soul and I want to get to know you better.”

Zarodie warmly smiled, but on the inside, a dark feeling crept up on her. She didn’t know where that feeling was coming from and dismissed it as nervousness.

“If you don’t want to come, I understand. You just met me after all. But my parents always told me that maybe taking a risk here and there could be worth it. Genuinely, I feel you are worth it. Are you available any time soon?” Vhonoff asked.

His comments were pleasing, but Zarodie still felt extremely anxious. “I’ll take you up on that offer. I’m available all weekend.” She felt a sting in her heart. “Where are we eating at? Your parents house?”

“My house.” He said.

Zarodie felt the sting again. “Oh, okay.” She smiled.

“Amazing!” Vhonoff exclaimed with excitement. Zarodie could feel the warmth from his joy. “I’m cooking stew beef, is that okay with you?”

“Yeah, absolutely!” Zarodie said. “Where do you live?”

“I’ll pick you up.” Vhonoff said.

“Okay. I live in-”

“I know where you live.” Vhonoff cut her off.

“Really? That fast?” Zarodie questioned.

“Well, everybody pretty much knows where you live.”

“Oh.” Zarodie forgot. “See you tomorrow.”

Vhonoff nodded his head and went on with his day.

***

All day, Zarodie anticipated on her first date. She sat next the window (with the curtains narrowly opened) dressed in a purple dress adorned with diamond button-ups. Her feet were stuffed in black boots and her head was wrapped in a white scarf.

Zarodie perked up at the sight of Vhonoff approaching her house. He had on a white button-up shirt, brown pants, and black shoes. She stepped a few feet away from the window so he wouldn’t see her. Zarodie heard him knocking on the door, but she didn’t want to seem desperate. She waited at least fifteen seconds before opening the door.

“Hi!” Zarodie shrieked.

Vhonoff instantly broke into a smile, leaning forward to wrap his arms around her. “You look beautiful.”

“You don’t look so bad yourself.” Zarodie complimented.

“Come on.” Vhonoff took her hand, beginning their walk to his house.

Zarodie was a bit baffled that his house wasn’t that far from hers. Him walking to her house should’ve made that obvious to her. It was only a five-to-ten minute walk from around the corner.

Vhonoff’s house wasn’t as big as Zarodie’s, but it appeared to be decent. Vhonoff’s garden is taken care, the house is clean, and the food was already prepared to be eaten as he took her to the dining room. The tables in Zarodie’s house were usually long, but Vhonoff had a simple table with a pink flower sitting inside of a tiny cup.

Vhonoff served her food as he sat across the table with his. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, go ahead.” Zarodie told him.

“Tell me about yourself.”

They both laughed.

“Wow, I thought you gonna ask me a serious question.” Zarodie giggled. “But anyway, what do you want to know?”

“Do you love working for your father’s restaurant?” Vhonoff asked.

“Yeah… not really. It’s was originally just a way of getting closer to my father.” Zarodie answered.

“Is it working?” Vhonoff inquired.

Zarodie shook her head. “He hasn’t acknowledged me since his brother killed my mother when I was a child.”

Vhonoff widened his eyes. “Why did he do such a thing?”

“One night I heard my father crying to my grandmother in the kitchen saying that his brother wanted her. He supposedly took advantage of her too.”

“I’m sorry that happened to you.” Vhonoff said. “I remember you telling one my friends that you love to paint, right?”

“Yeah,” Zarodie’s eyes sparkled wondrously. “I love painting the environment.” She took a bite out of her stew beef and her eyes widened astonishingly. “Wow! You really cook this?!”

“Who says men couldn’t cook?” Vhonoff bragged. “Had to learn because at one point in my life my mother became extremely occupied taking care of my sick father.”

“You used your time wisely.” Zarodie complimented. “Oh, your father, is he okay now?”

“Oh, absolutely! He’s as healthy as he can be.” Vhonoff answered. “But let’s not dwell on the past anymore. Let’s eat!”

“Okay!” Zarodie said relishing the rest of her dinner.

From then on they simply enjoyed each other’s company. They laughed for hours, playing with each other’s food and tossing them at each other. Eventually, that led them to get close as Zarodie attempted to smash beef in Vhonoff’s face. But Vhonoff tackled her to the ground. After laughing for a bit, Vhonoff decided to lean in for a kiss, catching Zarodie off guard.

Again, she felt a sting in her heart, the exact one from earlier, like the decision was wrong to do. But Zarodie didn’t care. She embraced the kiss and went for more. Vhonoff carried her into his bedroom, stripping each other’s clothes off. When the deed was done, Zarodie noticed that Vhonoff sat there seemingly unsatisfied.

“Are you okay?” Zarodie curiously asked.

Vhonoff only stared straight at the ceiling as he lied there for a minute. He soon ask, “Do you even know how to kiss? Because that was awful.”

The sting hit Zarodie’s heart again. She wanted to respond, but she couldn’t. She froze up from embarrassment.

“This whole thing was honestly dissatisfying. How do you expect to get married if you don’t how to please a man right?” Vhonoff criticized.

“I’m sorry.” Zarodie apologized with her back turned on him. Her eyes begin to bubble up with tears.

“I think you should go.” Vhonoff said.

Zarodie’s stomach began to hurt. When she sat up, she couldn’t help to hurl vomit on his floor.

“Are you serious!” Vhonoff shouted.

“I’m sorry! I’ll clean it up.” Zarodie pleaded.

“No, I got it. Just go!” Vhonoff told her.

Zarodie quickly got dressed then ran out the house. She walked home tremendously upset, but then felt this rage coming over her. She looked back at the house infuriated.