GETTING TO KNOW MY STRANGER

I stare at him from a corner in the room. It had become almost like an obsession to observe every movement that he does, and every single thing of his daily routine. Am I becoming a stalker or am I completely crazy about him? It is as if I needed to know everything that he is up to. I just like to analyze what he does without being noticed, like a ghost in the room.

Sitting on the bed I can see him through the open door standing in the bathroom in from of the sink. The bathroom's tiles are bathed in vapor and the scent of shampoo and soap covered the air, he just took a shower. Only his expressive dark eyes reflect on the mirror, and it is easy to tell that he is lost in thought. He is very tall and his shiny, deep black hair that curves softly inward makes his skin look even lighter around his face. Like any other day he is brushing his teeth meticulously. It almost seems like an ancient ritual. Carefully, he moves his toothbrush up and down and left to right with a rhythmical pace until his teeth look impeccable. Then, he opens the faucet and lets the water run for a second, like a noisy cascade flowing before he takes some water into his mouth. His ritual is now over, so he heads back to the bedroom to get dressed.



The room is partially dark, only a few beams of light penetrate the thick red curtains. It looks just like a photography darkroom. He has all of his clothes carefully arranged on a chair next to the bedroom's door. The chair is barely visible as the rest of the things in the room, but he knows exactly where everything is. Slowly he grabs every piece of clothing trying not to make any noise that could wake me up. He gazed at me as he started to button up his shirt; he realized then that I was awake. It's not the first time; he knows I've been staring at him for a while now, and unconsciously he always expects me to do that.

"Good mornin'." he whispers.

"Hi, how did you sleep?"

"Good." he says, and immediately shifts the conversation, "How long have you been watching me?"

"Long enough."

He smiles at me and keeps on getting dressed. The dark grey blazer lightly padded makes his back look even broader. He carefully combs his hair to the side, leaving it perfectly straight. That is the one thing that he is obsessed with, he cannot leave the house without having his hair as perfect as those models' hair that you may find on the magazines in a hair salon. He quickly grabs his bag and a book that has some sloppy papers sticking out of it.

"I gotta run. Love you." he says rushing after he kissed me on the lips.

"Bye babe, take care."



Immediately as I hear him slamming the front door, I start to analyze him one more time. As I start thinking, I remembered the conversation I had a couple of weeks ago with one of my closest friends about him. She doesn't like him, and even if she tries to say good things about him she really can't without making a huge effort. After her last terrible relationship, and having her heart broken so many times, she seems to be against every single male. Because she doesn't want me to go trough what she did in the past, sometimes she overprotects me. The same way a mother would protect her child knowing that is in danger. He is possessive and jealous, and she cannot stand it. Is he acting like a spoiled selfish baby? The fact that he has been a good influence on me is undeniable, but she thinks that he should not be so controlling and always demanding for attention. "It's all about 'Give-and-Take'." she would say. I just know his past, his fears, and what he wants; she just has the "outsider's" perspective. Besides, no man is worth her trust. That's why we both always come up with completely different and many times opposite theories of why he behaves that way.



I think of each day as it is the first time I meet him, as if he was a complete stranger to me, even though he is not. He just got back home, so I continue looking for details in everything that he does once again. I walk a bit farther trying to be invisible in the room for a second. It's like someone from National Geographic studying the behavior of a member of a tribe, trying to be unnoticeable. Another day passes by, and I learn another secret from him. He is the weirdest guy I know, but it's not surprise to me. I've always been attracted to strange people. However, he is not just another weird individual; he is different, interesting and somehow appealing. In a way I think of getting to know him as a challenge. It is like learning to read a book written in a foreign language.


*Image found on the web (flickr)