It was Just the Wind [Part 4]

I pulled up to
The parking lot
For the apartment complex,
And used the remote to
Allow myself in.

The parking lot,
As far as Denny told me,
Used to be pretty well lit
Once upon a time,
But the lights have started to
Become faulty,
With a good amount of the lights
Being turned off,
"To conserve energy" as he put it.

He did submit a
Work order to get
Some electricians in
To get them fixed.

This lot is also where
The boiler room was located,
So there are lots of
Red and black pipes
Located all over the
Ceiling of this lot.

Each tenant gets
Their own parking spot,
So I pulled up to my spot.

Once I parked,
I got out
And gathered
All of my groceries.

Now,
I don't wanna brag,
But I like to
Take all my groceries
In one trip.

Two trips are for the weak.

Anyway, groceries.

I started hauling
All of my groceries to the
Entrance to the apartment complex,
And made the long walk to
The entrance to the
Apartment complex.

I started to notice a
Couple of things about the complex
That was sort of.. odd.

The boiler room is
Surprisingly large for
An apartment complex.

I started to wonder
If this building used to
Serve another purpose,
When I caught something
In my peripheral vision.

It was an elderly woman,
Appearing from behind
A pillar.

I couldn't really tell
Any features about her,
Other than that she was
Dressed in all black,
With a red bandana
On her head,
And that she was
Carrying an
Old wooden cane,
That matched the
Complexion of her
Ancient face.

She was hunched over,
Using her cane as support.

She was also
Abnormally tall
For someone her age,
And I could tell that
If she stood upright she was
Most likely at least
Six feet tall.

To put it in perspective,
I'm five foot eight,
So this lady is a
Good couple of inches
Taller than me.

I did see that she was
Struggling to walk,
Which made me feel
Sympathetic for her.

When my grandmother
Used to be around,
And when age was
Catching up to her,
I would often spend
Days at her house,
Helping her walk from
Her bedroom to the
Other parts of her house.

I think I saw something
Resembling my grandma in her,
So I quickly returned to my car,
Placed my groceries back inside,
Locked the door,
Then rushed over to the lady
And offered if I can
Help her to the entrance to the
Complex.

At first she didn't hear me,
So I repeated the offer again,
This time a little bit louder.

I saw her face transform
From an indifferent face
To a wide grin
Almost instantaneously.

At first,
It took me aback,
Because it is
Pretty difficult for a
Lady her age to
Change facial expressions
So quickly.

But I shrugged it off,
Knowing that she may very well
Could have just been so happy
That a young man like myself
Would help her home.

She gripped onto my bicep
With an unusually strong
Icy grip,
And implored for me to
Please hurry, as her
Favorite novela was
About to start in five minutes.

I got her to the door,
And she checked in her pockets
To see if she had her keys.

"Oh! Silly me,
I think I locked myself
Out again" she chuckled

"Would you be a dear
And kindly open the door for me
Young man?" She asked.

Of course, I opened the door for her.

She then gave me many thanks,
And as she was going in,
She told me something that
Caught me off guard.

"Thank you for letting me in".

Now I know what you're thinking,
"Dude, why is that out of the ordinary?"

Well let me tell you this.

The way that she said it
Was what caught me off guard.

Instead of the normal chuckle she made previously,
She cackled a bit as she said it,
Smiling a smile that was
More wild than the one I saw
When i offered her help.

She also stared me down a bit,
Scanning me from head to toe,
Her eyes wide and unflinching.

I nervously then told her
That i had to go get my groceries,
And I wished her a good night.

I rushed back to my car and
Got my groceries,
And as I rushed back to the door,
She was gone.

I went up the stairs to go to the first floor,
And opened up the door to
See if I can find the old woman.

Nothing.

I looked down the hallway to the
Apartments that were located
On my same level.

Still nothing.

I stayed in the stairwell
To see if I can hear her
Walking up the stairs
To the upper levels.

I didn't hear anything.

"She must have really wanted
To see that novela" i thought.

But there is no way
That a woman that old
Can walk so fast.

I was literally just gone from her sight
For no less than thirty seconds,
And she was already gone.

Anyway,
That wasn't my problem anymore.

I unlocked my door
And went inside my apartment,
And that's where my
Story begins.