SHE WROTE

the girl waited on the ground floor while the lift came. thered been a woman and a child stood waiting when she'd come in, and they were joined a moment later by a man in his fifties. they waited and the girl could see the man looking at her out of the corner of her eye, and when the lift finally came, they stepped in. the mother pressed her floor number, and the girl pressed hers, and she was aware of his eyes, watching her as she pressed it. he pressed his. they set off and the girl realised that she would have to spend the journey up 6 floors. alone with this man, who was creeping her out.

the woman and child left at their floor, and the door closed, sealing the girl and him in the metal box.

"you live here?" he asked

she shook her head. she did. but why did he want to know..

he mumbled something she didnt hear, so she said something about the rain.

"where you from then?" he asked, in another attempt to get words out of her.

"up north" she replied. it was a half truth. "it dont rain as much up there, ironically".

"you visiting someone?" he asked again. all these questions were unnerving.

"yeah, " she replied. "mate o' mine"

they arrived at his floor and he muttered two words before leaving the box. he turned his head to glance at her as he walked away, and in those 2 seconds, his words sank in to her head. "lucky guy".