Untimely #18 – Pursuit

I heard him come in. Listen. You can’t tell me I didn’t. I heard it. I was sitting there and looking at the ceiling and I heard a noise and it was the door opening and in he came. I heard it. He just sat there and for a long time I didn’t look at him. I just kept looking at the ceiling. It was a white ceiling, but boy could you see a lot. You can see a lot when you put your mind to it. Really look. All the cracks and everything. Shadows. I saw a lot, boy. I sure did. Like with clouds, but different. If I can’t sleep, I don’t count sheep, I just look at things. Look and look. Well so I was looking at the ceiling and I almost forgot he’d come in. Because I hadn’t looked at him yet, you see. But then, as I was looking up, all of a sudden I smelled him. He was just sitting there, been sitting there a while. But I smelled him. Like that! One minute I was just looking at the ceiling and I practically forgot he was there and the next there was this smell and I just knew it was him. I mean I thought it was him before when he came in but I didn’t look. But then I smelled him and I knew. He smelled like sweat and a pipe. It kind of made me sick but kind of it was a good smell. You know? Kind of sweet. But a little too sweet. Too sweet and it becomes sick. Sweet, sweet smell of pipe, like polished wood and dried fruits and it’s evening and it’s fall. But then, just when you’re starting to think like maybe this is a really good smell and you can enjoy it and keep looking at the ceiling, then there’s this sour note that runs right through it and makes it shrivel all up. Sours it all to hell. And I knew it was him. So now I didn’t look at him because I didn’t have to. I knew it was him. I’d smelled him before. Smelling just like that, sweet and sour like a fucking plum duck. Oh it was him all right. It was him. Boy that smell it started to drive me crazy. He just sat there, not moving. I could just barely hear him breathe, that’s if I really concentrated. I stared at the ceiling but I couldn’t see anything anymore, the smell was too much. It was taking over. And that’s when I knew what I had to do. I reached under my pillow. Just like that I aimed the revolver and he didn’t move, he didn’t speak, he didn’t do nothing. I didn’t even look at him when I pulled the trigger. The smell disappeared almost instantly. There was the powder like incense to clean the air and then it was gone. I looked over and the chair was empty and then I looked back at the ceiling and then I fell asleep.