Late Night Conversations at Your Local Garbage Bin
Eleven p.m. probably isn’t the safest time to be walking home, but the street’s more or less empty, and Meri’s long since become accustomed to the dimly lit sidewalk. She hasn’t gotten mugged yet, anyway. Besides, it’s nice to get some peace and quiet after the chaos of the day before she gets back to her apartment.
A sudden crash in the alleyway beside her breaks the said peace and quiet, swiftly followed by muffled but very emphatic cursing.
“Oh my god,” says Meri, because she has no idea how to react in this situation, standing at the entrance of the alleyway like an idiot. Her hand grips the strap of her work bag nervously as she peers into the darkness, instinctively wrinkling her nose when she realizes there’s a garbage bin there. “Um… are you okay?”
There’s some more cursing and some rummaging from the bin and finally a head surfaces from the garbage bin. It’s a young Asian man, a little older than Meri herself, with a rather pretty face. His hair is dark, but Meri can’t quite make out its color in the yellow wash of the streetlights.
“Just peachy, thanks,” he grouses, climbing out of the garbage bin with some difficulty. He pretty much just falls over the edge. There’s a slight accent in his voice that Meri can’t place. “I just fell into a garbage bin! Are you kidding me?” The young man picks himself off the ground, dusting himself off with erratic movements, and straightens up a little. Peering at Meri, he cocks his head to the side a little. “What the hel… what the heck is a kid like you doing out at this hour?”
“Why are you dumpster diving at this hour?” Meri retorts, mildly irritated about the “kid” comment. “I’m twenty-one.”
“Oh, shoot, seriously? Damn.” The young man cocks his head at her. “Unexpected. Sorry about that! But to answer your question… I’m not! You think I wanted to fall into a heap of sh--crap? I said crap!”
“Um,” says Meri, deciding not to point out that she heard him swear like a sailor not five minutes ago. “Maybe.” She stares at him. He seems to be swaying a little. “Have you been drinking?”
“Of course I have!” cries the young man, sounding almost offended. “You need to drink at least three bottles of water a day, and I am healthy!”
“That’s really not what I meant.” Meri gets the feeling that this is a very exhausting person to be around, and points at him. “You’re not standing up straight.”
“Oh, that.” The young man cheerfully taps his side. “My back is f--busted up, but don’t worry too much. I’ve got it handled. Even though I fell into a garbage bin.”
Well, that’s probably the most casual and open declaration of injury Meri’s heard, and she works at a hospital. “Do I want to know?”
“You should see the other guy.” He grins at her, revealing sharp, white teeth visible even in the darkness. Meri suddenly gets the feeling that this man is very dangerous, but she doesn’t feel threatened. It’s probably the sheer eccentricity of his character. “No, seriously, you should. He beat me up but…” The young man sighs almost dreamily.
“Jesus Christ,” says Meri, wishing the saint in question would show up.
“I probably need Jesus, yeah, but I’ve been cutting down on the amount of bad words I’ve been saying, so that’s a step in the right direction, I think.” The young man beams at her. He’s so… affably cheerful it’s weird, but Meri doesn’t exactly hate it. Besides, if he gets too strange, Meri can just shove him back into the dumpster. “Say, do you like bad boys?”
“Not particularly, no.”
“Oh, good. You’d love the guy who beat me up, then,” says the young man happily. “He’s pretty good.” Meri tries to figure how that works out.
“He’s pretty good, but he beat you up,” says Meri. “You’re into some weird things.”
“It was just a love tap!” insists the young man. “Or rather, a love kick into the wall, but what’s the difference?”
“I think there’s a huge difference,” Meri tells him, getting mildly concerned now.
“Haha, maybe!” The young man’s eyes glitter with amusement and something else she can’t discern. Meri still can’t figure out what color they are. “But everything’s relative, I think. He doesn’t hurt the innocents.”
Innocents. The young man says that like he’s not one of them. Meri wonders what he’s done to not consider himself one. There’s an odd, almost pure energy about the young man, like all of his actions are genuine, so Meri finds it a bit difficult to imagine him doing something bad. Of course, she doesn’t even know his name, so she supposes she can’t judge.
“Does that make you a bad guy, then?” she asks, humoring him.
The young man winks cheekily at her. “I’ll let you decide that for yourself,” he replies. “You shouldn’t let others’ views cloud your own, after all. At that point you’re no longer sharing your opinion but theirs.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, I guess.”
“Well, that’s good.” There’s a pause before the young man sighs. “It’s rather late. You ought to get home now. I have another appointment somewhere else, anyway.”
Right. It’s eleven… well. Closer to midnight now, Meri is pretty sure. She hesitates. “With that injury?”
“Oh, I’m going off to get it checked again,” the young man says breezily. “It’s old! I’m just very stupid sometimes.”
“So trips to the garbage bin aren’t uncommon?” she teases.
“The trash goes where it belongs, I suppose,” he huffs, but he seems just as amused. “Well, catch you later, Meri.”
That catches her off guard. She hadn’t mentioned her name at all, had she?
“You’re still wearing your name tag from work.” The young man points at the lanyard around her neck. “It’s a good name.”
“Thanks, I guess,” Meri says, not sure how else to respond. “What about you?”
“Me?” The young man pauses. “Oh, my bad. You can call me Axel.”
“Axel, then.” Meri tests the name on her tongue. “It was nice meeting you.”
“Was it really?” Axel laughs. “I might be a bad guy, remember?”
“You were the one who told me not to let others’ views cloud mine,” Meri reminds him with a small smile.
Axel blinks, looking stunned, before breaking into a grin. “Oh, you’re good.”
Meri’s phone suddenly vibrates in her hand. “I have to take this call,” Meri says when she looks down at the caller ID. “Sorr…”
The word dies on her lips when she looks up to an empty alleyway. Her only company is the faint echo of her apology like she’s been alone the whole time, the memory of Axel’s face already fading.
Eleven p.m. probably isn’t the safest time to be walking home, but the street’s more or less empty, and Meri’s long since become accustomed to the dimly lit sidewalk. She hasn’t gotten mugged yet, anyway. Besides, it’s nice to get some peace and quiet after the chaos of the day before she gets back to her apartment.
A sudden crash in the alleyway beside her breaks the said peace and quiet, swiftly followed by muffled but very emphatic cursing.
“Oh my god,” says Meri, because she has no idea how to react in this situation, standing at the entrance of the alleyway like an idiot. Her hand grips the strap of her work bag nervously as she peers into the darkness, instinctively wrinkling her nose when she realizes there’s a garbage bin there. “Um… are you okay?”
There’s some more cursing and some rummaging from the bin and finally a head surfaces from the garbage bin. It’s a young Asian man, a little older than Meri herself, with a rather pretty face. His hair is dark, but Meri can’t quite make out its color in the yellow wash of the streetlights.
“Just peachy, thanks,” he grouses, climbing out of the garbage bin with some difficulty. He pretty much just falls over the edge. There’s a slight accent in his voice that Meri can’t place. “I just fell into a garbage bin! Are you kidding me?” The young man picks himself off the ground, dusting himself off with erratic movements, and straightens up a little. Peering at Meri, he cocks his head to the side a little. “What the hel… what the heck is a kid like you doing out at this hour?”
“Why are you dumpster diving at this hour?” Meri retorts, mildly irritated about the “kid” comment. “I’m twenty-one.”
“Oh, shoot, seriously? Damn.” The young man cocks his head at her. “Unexpected. Sorry about that! But to answer your question… I’m not! You think I wanted to fall into a heap of sh--crap? I said crap!”
“Um,” says Meri, deciding not to point out that she heard him swear like a sailor not five minutes ago. “Maybe.” She stares at him. He seems to be swaying a little. “Have you been drinking?”
“Of course I have!” cries the young man, sounding almost offended. “You need to drink at least three bottles of water a day, and I am healthy!”
“That’s really not what I meant.” Meri gets the feeling that this is a very exhausting person to be around, and points at him. “You’re not standing up straight.”
“Oh, that.” The young man cheerfully taps his side. “My back is f--busted up, but don’t worry too much. I’ve got it handled. Even though I fell into a garbage bin.”
Well, that’s probably the most casual and open declaration of injury Meri’s heard, and she works at a hospital. “Do I want to know?”
“You should see the other guy.” He grins at her, revealing sharp, white teeth visible even in the darkness. Meri suddenly gets the feeling that this man is very dangerous, but she doesn’t feel threatened. It’s probably the sheer eccentricity of his character. “No, seriously, you should. He beat me up but…” The young man sighs almost dreamily.
“Jesus Christ,” says Meri, wishing the saint in question would show up.
“I probably need Jesus, yeah, but I’ve been cutting down on the amount of bad words I’ve been saying, so that’s a step in the right direction, I think.” The young man beams at her. He’s so… affably cheerful it’s weird, but Meri doesn’t exactly hate it. Besides, if he gets too strange, Meri can just shove him back into the dumpster. “Say, do you like bad boys?”
“Not particularly, no.”
“Oh, good. You’d love the guy who beat me up, then,” says the young man happily. “He’s pretty good.” Meri tries to figure how that works out.
“He’s pretty good, but he beat you up,” says Meri. “You’re into some weird things.”
“It was just a love tap!” insists the young man. “Or rather, a love kick into the wall, but what’s the difference?”
“I think there’s a huge difference,” Meri tells him, getting mildly concerned now.
“Haha, maybe!” The young man’s eyes glitter with amusement and something else she can’t discern. Meri still can’t figure out what color they are. “But everything’s relative, I think. He doesn’t hurt the innocents.”
Innocents. The young man says that like he’s not one of them. Meri wonders what he’s done to not consider himself one. There’s an odd, almost pure energy about the young man, like all of his actions are genuine, so Meri finds it a bit difficult to imagine him doing something bad. Of course, she doesn’t even know his name, so she supposes she can’t judge.
“Does that make you a bad guy, then?” she asks, humoring him.
The young man winks cheekily at her. “I’ll let you decide that for yourself,” he replies. “You shouldn’t let others’ views cloud your own, after all. At that point you’re no longer sharing your opinion but theirs.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, I guess.”
“Well, that’s good.” There’s a pause before the young man sighs. “It’s rather late. You ought to get home now. I have another appointment somewhere else, anyway.”
Right. It’s eleven… well. Closer to midnight now, Meri is pretty sure. She hesitates. “With that injury?”
“Oh, I’m going off to get it checked again,” the young man says breezily. “It’s old! I’m just very stupid sometimes.”
“So trips to the garbage bin aren’t uncommon?” she teases.
“The trash goes where it belongs, I suppose,” he huffs, but he seems just as amused. “Well, catch you later, Meri.”
That catches her off guard. She hadn’t mentioned her name at all, had she?
“You’re still wearing your name tag from work.” The young man points at the lanyard around her neck. “It’s a good name.”
“Thanks, I guess,” Meri says, not sure how else to respond. “What about you?”
“Me?” The young man pauses. “Oh, my bad. You can call me Axel.”
“Axel, then.” Meri tests the name on her tongue. “It was nice meeting you.”
“Was it really?” Axel laughs. “I might be a bad guy, remember?”
“You were the one who told me not to let others’ views cloud mine,” Meri reminds him with a small smile.
Axel blinks, looking stunned, before breaking into a grin. “Oh, you’re good.”
Meri’s phone suddenly vibrates in her hand. “I have to take this call,” Meri says when she looks down at the caller ID. “Sorr…”
The word dies on her lips when she looks up to an empty alleyway. Her only company is the faint echo of her apology like she’s been alone the whole time, the memory of Axel’s face already fading.