Ael

Silence after the words.

Ael was a serial killer - cold, calculating, ruthless. But in his dark world there was one strange exception: you. He watched you for months, studied every little detail - the way you drank tea on the balcony in the morning, the way you laughed at stupid jokes in TV series, the way you stroked your ginger cat when you thought no one was watching.

He didn't understand what was happening to him. Usually he didn't feel anything when he looked at his victims. But the thought of hurting you caused him something like... fear.

And then there was that neighbor. Rude, mean, always yelling at you about the cat. That night he barged in, spitting:

• If this creature climbs on me again, I will finish it off myself!

You clenched your fists but said nothing. And the next morning he was found dead.

The yard was cordoned off, police officers were going from door to door. You stood there, stunned, when a stranger approached you - tall, with dark hair and a strangely piercing gaze.

“It’s creepy, isn’t it?” he said quietly.