Missing

 

The train whooshed past Zed with a gust of wind and a shrill whistle, ruffling his messed up wild hair even more. With a sigh, he put the bubble tea beside him, took his dark rimmed glasses off and started wiping them in his shirt. Need to change the frame soon, he remarked to himself. There is already a pair that he had his eyes on, the last time he went shopping, but they were too expensive and his girlfriend said it looks ugly on him so he is not sure whether to take them or not. His fashion sense have improved after he got into a relationship with Jia, which is quite expected as her fashion designer eyes would always look for the slightest altercation and mismatch. He doesn’t mind though, he likes the pampering, although his friends would complaint about her imposing attitude sometimes, especially, when she would make them pay for the meal instead of Zed who could always be assuaged to pay the bill. It doesn’t also hurt that she is very smart, funny and have an amazing physique.

It would be nice to have her now though, he thought to himself and impatiently began to pace. He got bored after a while, and started to observe the scattered and fragmented crowd in the almost vacant station. It is 9:00 pm but not many people are lurking around. There are the occasional street peddlers, some homeless, and a dog wandering around.  Upon close observation though, he saw that the dog is actually fleeting around a person who is playing with him, asking it to bring back things just like a trained dog, occasionally throwing food here and there. There is of course nothing surprising there since the dog in the train station is rather friendly and docile and it cozies up to different passengers at times for food. No, it is not the dog at all, but the person with the dog in fact. He can see the close-cropped pixie like hairstyle from the back, which gave him the impression of a woman but the gait, posture and gestures suggested otherwise. He or she was wearing an oversized pullover, baggy pants, a snapback and a pair of worn out sneakers – attires used by both male and female. Curious, he started towards that direction and was halfway through when the person looked up and stared at him through a pair of mocha colored eyes.

Surprise isn’t exactly the feeling that passed through Zed when he looked at her. It was an assortment of different emotions as he took some time processing at the various piercings and heavy Goth eye makeup she was dawning. “Hi”, she said in a prickly yet polite voice. He replied her hello and then started petting the dog, who is now quite confused at the new company. She stared him for a couple of moments and then went back on attending the dog. “Nice night, huh?” he tried his awkward attempt at small talk. No response. He waited for some time hoping for a response and still nothing. Disappointed, he pursed his lips and about to move away when, “I have ten of them” she responded with that prickled tone. Seeing Zed’s surprised expression she added, “Isn’t that what you really wanted to ask me? The number of piercings I have?” Bewildered, Zed tried to refuse the allegation but she just waved her hand and said that it’s fine and not to worry about it. They struck up a conversation where he found out that they have the same destination. Upon asking the reason for her going there, she said, “Oh, you know, just going to attend a wedding”, in a nonchalant manner.

“Oh, really? Whose?”

“Just a friend”. “You two are close?” he inquired further.  “Close enough”, she off-handedly remarked and began to observe her nails. Something about her expression and tone did not quite seem right to him. Internally, he berated himself for being so nosy but he couldn’t help himself from probing further. He began to ask about the “friend” who apparently is a “he”, have been friends with her for a long time, and has two names. Although she did not seem to be overly enthusiastic on talking, she didn’t come up short on any explanation either, explanations which seemed almost too perfect, like it has been practiced one too many times. In an odd way, she is interesting, remarked Zed to himself. Like the time when he asked her whether she currently has a boyfriend, she replied that she has, but when asked about the tattoo on her collar bone, she replied that she got it when she broke up with her ex, which acts as a reminder for her to swear of men forever. Zed, however, couldn’t accept the obvious explanation of her being a liar since there is no apparent reason for her to lie.

The train’s arrival interrupted their conversation as passengers got up to board the train. As Zed started to make his way towards the train, he noticed that she is not following. “Aren’t you coming?” he said exasperatedly. “You go ahead. I’ll be right behind”, she replied while furiously typing in her phone. With a non-committal shrug, Zed got in just as the last few passengers were trickling through the door. As he moved to let an old lady some space, his eyes caught a “MISSING” sign, on the seat right across him. The poster had the description of the girl, contact details and a picture which was blurred due to the result of someone’s spilled coffee. The picture seemed vaguely familiar to him but he couldn’t quite place where he saw that face. The mocha colored eyes of the girl seemed to tell him something but before he could realize what that is, an elderly guy sat atop it, utterly disregarding on what he is sitting on. Just as the train started to move, he looked outside and tried to find the girl but all he could see was how everything has started to seem further and further away like a kaleidoscope along with the silhouette of a grey pullover and a pair of sneakers.