I took the tram home as usual. Just as I got on the tram, I saw a black figure flash by outside the window in the corner of my eye. Before I could react, he disappeared into the crowd. It's strange, he left the platform from a corner, so far away from me, yet so eye-catching.
I turned my head, wanting to ask the passenger next to me if they had noticed that person, but I stopped myself. Why do I care so much? He's just an ordinary person.
Perhaps the recent heavy workload has made me a bit neurotic, so I walked into a café I often go to after getting off the tram to relax. After sitting down, I took out a book called "Life is Not About Finding Answers" from my bag. I bought it on sale on Singles' Day, and the cover looked interesting. But after reading a few sentences, I knew it was another nutritionless book full of clichés. I opened the first page and stared at the koala icon on the coffee cup.
But somehow, I kept feeling an urge to "look to the right," as if there was something outside the window attracting me, even though I didn't want to. I frowned and eventually turned my head - that figure appeared again. He crossed the zebra crossing and walked into a convenience store after the green light came on.
I suddenly stood up from my seat and slammed my hand heavily on the table, startling the person sitting next to me.
After apologizing, I quickly packed up and walked towards the zebra crossing, anxiously waiting at the traffic lights. When passersby saw my anxious look, they thought something urgent had happened and asked me. I could only scratch my head and reply, "Ah... I'm, chasing someone."
Chasing who? You don't even know what he looks like! So I started to try hard to remember what he was wearing, if there were any obvious signs, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember what he was wearing, what he was holding in his hand, or what he was wearing on his head. I had no memories about him in my mind, it seemed like a blurry black shadow, but strangely enough, I could immediately recognize that it was him who had just crossed the road.
The green light came on, and I rushed towards the convenience store. The store was small, and I looked around. The clerk smiled and asked me what I needed. At this moment, I realized that I was the only customer in the store.
"Did someone... come to buy something just now?"
The clerk looked puzzled, "It was the rush hour just now, many customers came to the store, who are you looking for?"
"The person I'm looking for..." I looked around in confusion and unexpectedly caught sight of the person outside the glass door, walking hurriedly across the street. "Ah, there!" Joy surged up in my heart, and I couldn't help but exclaim. The clerk turned his head in confusion and stared at the empty street, saying, "Sir, there's nothing over there." I became anxious, "He was just there, walking over! You just didn't see it. Well, never mind, I'm going over to find him."
I ran out of the store door with excitement, only to find that there was no one on the street, and it was getting dark. I looked down at my watch, it was already dinner time, no wonder everyone had disappeared. But it was strange, I still felt like I had just finished work. I walked back to the convenience store with a sense of loss and bought a frozen meal for dinner. The clerk seemed to sense my disappointment and gave me a discount when I checked out.
"Are you chasing someone you like?"
"Well, I can't even say I know him."
"I see. Well then."
The clerk smiled and handed me the packed meal, but that smile made me feel uncomfortable.
As I ate the meal, I watched the news on TV. Just as I was about to complain about buying a super-tasteless flavor on my social media, I caught a glimpse of a black figure in the corner of the screen - that person actually appeared on TV! I almost spit out the food in my mouth, but I definitely didn't see it wrong, he had just walked past the camera. I couldn't understand, this was the national news broadcast, and I didn't even know where the footage was from, why would he appear there?
I deleted the half-written text and posted on my social media about the encounters I had with that person today.
"Maybe it's just an illusion?"
"You don't even know what he looks like, how can you be sure it's the same person you saw?"
"You scare yourself by always looking at those weird and creepy things."
I frowned at my friends' replies. I couldn't have been mistaken, it was definitely the same person. They walked so fast, always appearing in inconspicuous places, they looked ordinary but gave me a different feeling.
The next day happened to be Saturday, and I decided to go out and see if I could encounter that person again.
Embarrassingly, besides the formal attire I wear for work, I seemed to have trouble finding decent clothes. In the end, I found a slightly tight hoodie in my closet. "It makes me look a bit fat, but at least it's presentable." I said to myself in front of the mirror, but soon I was shocked - in the mirror, I saw a black figure pass by outside the window, that person had just walked past from outside!?
I supported myself with both hands on the floor, staring at the mirror without daring to move, but there was nothing inside except for me in a panic. "Damn, why did I get scared?" I quickly got up and ran out of the house. "He's so close this time, I'll definitely find him." I ran quickly on the street, scanning every corner around me, trying to find that person.
Two hours passed, and I found nothing. That's when I felt like a fool, not understanding why I cared so much about a stranger, making myself so nervous. Perhaps it's really because of the heavy work pressure. Thinking of going back home and resting, I turned around and saw that person on the other side of the sidewalk. He also noticed me and started to speed up.
"Damn it, who the hell are you!" I got angry, I was angry that even if he was discovered, he didn't turn his head to let me see his face.
I caught up with him, and he almost ran for his life, rushing into an alley. I didn't let him disappear from my sight and stared at his back. It was then that I noticed, it wasn't that I couldn't remember what he looked like, he really was completely black, with a blurry appearance, without any details, no matter how close I was, he looked like a black shadow, and I could barely make out his flailing limbs. What on earth is he?
I wasn't afraid, but instead, I chased after him even more closely. In my desperation, I grabbed a pile of cardboard boxes next to the alley and threw them at him, and finally, he stopped.
He curled up on the ground, looking like a black ball of fur, but without the texture of fur, more like a blurry graphic with fuzzy boundaries. I became even more curious, reached out and tried to pull his arm away from his face, but he held on tightly and let out a painful groan. That sound, it sounded like the neighing of a wild horse, but deeper and more melancholic.
"I just want to see what you look like! Stop crying!"
His screams became sharper, making my heart race. Unable to bear it any longer, I used all my strength to pry his arm away, but before I could catch a glimpse of his true face, his whole body dissipated like particles in the air, leaving only a faint and quickly disappearing faint moan.
Then came a moment of silence.
So, is he dead?
What does he actually look like?
I looked at the empty alley in front of me, my mind blank. After a few minutes, I returned home and stared into the mirror, feeling lost.