Necklace

The sound of running water sliced through the bathroom’s dead silence. I rubbed my hands well, trying to ignore the stare I could feel boring into the side of my face.

I could see from my peripheral vision the silhouette of a woman, but what made me feel uncomfortable was that she just stood there wtihout doing or saying anything. However, I still decided to not say anything, or even look her way.

Less human interaction is always a good thing, right?

I headed to the tissue box to dry my hand, but I pulled and pulled, and the tissue paper only kept growing longer. I pulled with a bit more force, but it still refused to end… I was afraid that this might be a defect with the whole batch of tissues, and I stood there contemplating whether I should keep pulling or just tear out the piece I needed.

Just when I was about to proceed with the latter, I heard a voice from behind me.

“You own a huge part of this world.” the woman stated, sounding amused.

I laughed nervously. “Uh, thanks,” I gave her a little smile. I pulled on the tissue one more time as a way of reacting to the realization that I was indeed being watched, and in my hand came a very long tissue paper, which apparently had an end to it, after all.

I own a defected part of this world, ma’am.

“What’s your name?” I blurted out as I dried my hands, not knowing exactly what I was doing except for trying to act as friendly as possible.

“I am Irma.” she said with a smile. I noticed that she had some missing teeth, and my eyes wandered off to the wrinkles on her face. She seemed too old to be in this place, and I wondered what brought her here.

“I am Stella… Nice to meet you!” I extended my arm towards her. At this point, neither I nor the lady seemed to mind me being a creep right back.

“You’re so sweet!” her smile grew wider, her eyes never leaving my face nor blinking all throughout.

Suddenly she went ahead and clutched the pendant on my chest; the one with planets inside it. I understood that it caught her attention because the colorful thing clearly stood out from all my dark clothing, but I was horrified that she just decided to go ahead and grab it like that.

“I want this necklace, Stella. Would you give it to me?” the woman looked at me as she whispered with a huge smile, both hands secured over the blue, planet-filled orb that dangled off my neck. I could hear a mix of hope and plea in her voice, and I really had no idea why she would care this much about my cheap necklace.

I just stood there for a few seconds, not knowing what to do or say. I could feel the tiny hairs on the back of my neck standing up, voicing out the screams I never dared to let out right there.

“Uh, sure… Here…” I trailed off, trying to keep my all-nice fascade intact and not show how horrified I really was.

The woman pulled away abruptly and the smile left her face the moment I opened my mouth.

Suddenly, I felt like she was scared of me for some reason. “I was kidding… I-… Don’t tell anyone, okay?” she stuttered as she moved away from me quickly, her eyes wide.

I just nodded.

Next thing I knew, I was completely alone in the bathroom, and it was quiet enough for me to hear myself panting.