“It’s going to hurt again today”.
he muttered, looking at the cloudy sky outside the window.
Changes in the weather always intensified the pain in his damaged nerve endings.
The aching, throbbing pain would accompany him throughout the night.
Malik worked as a night watchman at an electronics warehouse a few blocks from his home.
The job, which didn’t require much interaction, suited him perfectly.
He spent most of his shift alone, walking the empty corridors of the warehouse, checking locks and watching the surveillance monitors.
In all that time, only one colleague, an elderly security guard named Rufus, had ever seen him without his glasses.
Rufus never asked any questions and Malik was grateful to him for that.
Leaving his apartment, Malik headed to work along his usual route.
The route took him past Shanaya’s house, not by accident.
Every day before his shift, he passed by her windows hoping to catch a glimpse of her, to make sure she was okay.
