A very short story.
Silence
“…and then our project manager,” he continued, “grabbed her coffee and tipped it all over him. She’s clearly had enough of the bullshit, which is understandable given the way her boss has been treating her, no-one should have to deal with that. I wouldn’t be surprised if she quits soon, there are probably better opportunities out there. Anyway, I’m rambling on, how was your date just now?”
Silvan was always interested in her dates. He was a very shy person by nature and lived for the details and adventures she went on, hoping that he’d be able to draw some strength and motivation from the stories so that he could go and do them himself one day.
“Elsie? How was your date?”
No answer. She’d probably gone to the bathroom, she’d be back in a moment. He busied himself with dinner preparations while waiting, but after nearly half an hour she still hadn’t come back. This was unusual, when they were home together they were quite inseparable, so he started to worry.
“Elsie? Where are you? Are you alright?”
Walking from room to room, Silvan checked the apartment to see if she’d had an accident and was unable to respond. This was highly irregular, after the search it was evident that she wasn’t home at all.
He heard two loud crashes from outside and rushed to the balcony window to investigate. Two cars had collided, not with each other, but one with a newsstand and another with a parked car. Silvan started to dial 000 on his phone, but he noticed something which unsettled him and he stopped mid-dial.
There weren’t any drivers in the cars.
In fact, the street was empty. He couldn’t spot a person at all.
He seemed utterly alone.