The man from the alley

It was a dark moonless rainy night. I was walking alone – yes, I know it was a stupid thing for a girl to do, but I was near home and coming from the grocery store. Suddenly, I heard a shot. The noise came from an alley nearby. I was paralyzed, scared to death but somehow I knew someone needed my help. I decided to hide for the shooter not to see me but nobody left the alley and that was a one-way alley. I waited for about five minutes, or at least I thought so, and nothing happened. So I went to the alley. There, I saw a body lying on the dirty asphalt. I was about to call for help when a voice said: “Please, don't call anyone!”
“Why not?” I asked. “You were shot, you definitely need help!”
“No I wasn't.” He answered.
“What?”
Then I realized he wasn't bleeding, he only had some bruises. I looked around to verify if there was another body lying on the ground but there wasn't any. So the man got up and left. I left right after him running and asking him to stop but he wouldn't. So a car popped up out from nowhere and almost ran me over. I thanked the Lord for making its brakes work perfectly. I turned around and the man from the alley had gone. Then I thought it was time to go home, I was exhausted, scared and really confused. When I got home went quickly upstairs, washed my face and tried to get some sleep. That night I had the worst nightmare of my life. Ghosts, monsters, murderers...
I woke up terrified with a noise coming from the kitchen. I was drenched in sweat and my skin was cold but even so I took courage to go downstairs to check that scary noise. Step by step I was getting closer and closer to the kitchen. I glimpsed inside and saw a shadow passing in a rush through the door toward the laundry. I entered the kitchen and grabbed a knife – we never know, right? I followed the shadow into the laundry but there wasn't anybody there. I went to the living room and there he was, sitting on the couch, the man from the alley.
“What the hell are you doing here in my living room? How did you get in? How did you know where I live?”, I bombed him with questions.
“You brought me here!”, he said.
“No I did not!”
“Yes, you did. Last night when you found me in the alley. You didn't want to call for help and brought me here to take care of me and my bruises. Don't you remember that?”
Was I getting crazy? How could I have forgotten bringing a stranger to my house? No, I definitely brought nobody home. He was lying. But why? I had to buy some time to call the Police.
“Make yourself at home”, I said.
“Thank you.”
While he was sort of entertained with some photos in the portraits, I went to the kitchen and picked up the phone and tried to call the cops, but the phone wasn't working. Somebody had cut the phone line. HE had cut the wires. I went back to the living room and in order to keep control of the situation, I said I would see if the boy who delivers the newspaper had already passed by.
“On the table!”, he told me.
“Oh, thank you.”
That was when everything started to be more confusing than it already was. I was shocked when I read the first page: “BIG COMPANY CHAIRMAN'S KILLER FOUND DEAD LAST AFTERNOON” and below the headline there was a picture of a familiar man. My “guest” was the chairman's killer. And he was DEAD! But how? He seemed so alive to me and he was right there in my living room. Besides, he hadn't been shot and only had some bruises.
“Yes, I am dead”, he said as if he was answering my inner questions and thoughts. “I killed that poor rich man because I wanted his money. I had made a pact with the... you know. I wanted to be rich but I couldn't even get a job. So I was given the opportunity to get all I wanted in exchange of somebody's soul. But there was a condition in my contract when I made the pact. If I died before the first month after my wish come true, I would spend all eternity as a soul catcher. Two weeks after I had become a rich man, I was kidnapped by four men. They punched me a lot - that is why I got my bruises - and I died as a consequence of a brain concussion. Now I can choose my victims at random”, he was coming toward me, “I follow my victims and attract them by shooting a gun in a dark alley”, he was getting closer and closer, “Then, I confuse them and make them to be scared, and then I kill them. Guess who is my next victim? YOU!”
“Cut!”, shouted the director. “All right everybody, good job! We will continue tomorrow. So you are free to go. Thank you all and goodnight!”

Observação

Nossa, está cada vez mais complicado postar alguma coisa por aqui. A falta de tempo e o notebook quebrado me impedem de realizar meus planos. Enquanto tento acabar o texto no qual estou trabalhando "há séculos", aviso que os próximos 2 posts serão exclusivamente em inglês, pois são as versões originais de "O Homem do Beco" e "Tragédia Grega". Dito isso, enjoy them!

Sem mais. Por ora.