ENCOUNTER
Michael Shannon

He pushed the half-eaten cheesecake towards me with his hand. There was a smudge of strawberry dressing on his upper lip and in his moustache.

“Go ahead,” he said, inching it closer, “finish it.”

Who was this guy? Some strange man, sitting across from me in a diner; that’s who. He just came over, put the cheesecake on the table, and pushed it towards me. Who does that? I thought.

“I don’t want it,” I grumbled, a little apprehensive about the whole deal. I was staring at the fork, at the shiny tines sullied with cake, which lay idly on the sticky tabletop.

He was a tall white man, gaunt, white hair, with a derby hat on the top of his head. He seemed threatening, a hostile enigma. I’d never had someone accost my space like this. I wanted him to leave. Get the hell up and just leave, I wanted to shout. But, I couldn’t open my lips to say it, let alone articulate it.

“It’s your speech,” he avowed, his eyes glued to mine.

“My speech? What the hell are you talking about?” I asked, scowling.

“You heard me. Think about it.”

Think about it, I thought. Think about it? You’re crazy. Who does this to someone eating alone in a diner? A lunatic. Are you a lunatic?

“Are you a lunatic?” I asked, trying to look away from his eyes, which was futile—they were hypnotizing and blue and sharp; they were perfect balls of eyes.

“I’m not a lunatic”

Then he got up, nonchalantly. And left.

I, too, left, about four minutes after he did. The cheesecake was still on the table, almost untouched, except for the little bite he had taken. I couldn’t stop thinking about the cheesecake. It looked so white, perfect, the strawberry dressing drizzled on top and along the rim of the plate—and the whipped cream that was sprayed artfully in the middle of it. My mouth was watering. My stomach was growling inexorably. I almost wanted to go back and get it.

But I didn’t go back. I wouldn’t dare to.

It was late afternoon outside. The streets were empty. I had never seen them empty before. Not one person.

I was alone.

It started to rain.

And something, I didn’t know what, felt very strange.