The Resident

Chapter 1

Janel was a pretty girl, too. Not strikingly beautiful, but pretty. Girl next door pretty. She had full, pouty lips, long brown hair with a slight wave to it, hazel eyes, and a healthy, but slim body.
Sometimes men would come up to her and start talking. And she loved that. But when she talked, they'd get a strange look in their eyes, and end up walking away for one reason or another, just as quickly as they appeared. And that made her heart ache. If only she could be NORMAL. If only someone would give her a chance.

One afternoon in November, she was out walking around, observing people as she went. And as usual, she watched as a guy leaned on a lamp pole, talking on his phone, then walked off. She went to the lamp pole, and touched it where he had leaned. She could feel the heat his body left behind in the cool autumn day. She touched the pole, and closed her eyes, and touched her own face. Concentrating on the feeling of another human's body heat. This was how she could "touch" people and not be hurt by it. She looked like a person basking in the sun. Only she was basking at a pole on a street. And, as usual, people walked past her with strange looks.

But on this day, one person who was sitting on a stone wall across the street from her, noticed her. He had been walking from the corner store, back to his hotel with the candy bars he bought, when his phone rang, so he sat on the wall and enjoyed a candy bar while talking. All the while, watching this girl who seemed lost as she watched everyone going by, with a look of wonder on her face. After he hung up, and finished his candy bar, he continued sitting there, watching her. She was really pretty. And really plain. And really.....strange? WHAT was she DOING???
He was intrigued. He had to ask. So he crossed the busy street towards the strange woman. He couldn't think of anything good to say, so he decided to just say what was on his mind. "What are you doing?", he asked her softly with a silly grin on his face. He figured he'd go with the humorous approach, and waited for a humorous answer of embarassment from her.
But to his dismay, all she did was startle at the sound of his voice, and turn to look at him. And look. And....look. She looked up at him with wide, wondering eyes, mouth gaping open like she was ready to talk, but mostly just suprised.

This was awkward. "Are you...ok", he asked awkwardly, with a nervous smile and a tilted head.
She moved her mouth as if to speak, and took a breath.....but nothing came out as she looked up at him. Finally after a really weird, silent 30 seconds, she answered with a tiny "Yes...."
He responded with "are you sure? Do you need directions? Do you need to get somewhere? Are you lost? Are you feeling alright?" She stared at him again, luckily not for as long as last time. "No. I'm not.....lost. I'm just touching......" and her weak voice trailed off.
"Touching? That pole?", he asked, confused.
She immediately looked down at the ground, like she was ashamed, as she answered with a soft "yes".
"Ok.....why?" he asked her.
"To feel the people heat." she freely admitted in a shy, slow voice as she stared at the ground.
"People....heat?" he repeated inquizitively. What the HELL was she talking about?
Realizing she was being viewed as weird, she quickly blurted out a soft "I'm sorry", as she walked past him and started down the street.

He didn't know WHAT made him go after her, but that's what he found himself doing. Questioning himself the whole way. There was just.....something about her. He didn't know what. He didn't know why. But there was something. And he wanted to make sure she was alright. And he was also curious what in the hell "people heat" meant, and he HAD to find out.

Finally he caught up with her, and followed her pace next to her as she walked. "Hey...I didn't mean to upset you.....I just wanted to make sure you were alright."
"I'm ok. I'm just going home", she told him.
"I'm Ian", he told her, and held out his hand for a shake.
With that, she stopped suddenly, staring at his hand like it was a Cobra snake hissing and aiming at her to strike. He thought he heard her make a small gasp.