The Man by the Window

He stood by the shop-window almost every single day. Some days he would be missing. But most days he just stood there smiling at everybody who passed by.

I had watched his handsome countenance many times. But he didn’t appear to be aware of my stares. He had the palest blue eyes and skin so smooth that I longed to reach out and touch his cheeks. And his hair. Oh! so perfect. Not one strand out-of-place.

His clothes were always neatly pressed and of the latest fashion. I knew other women also passed him by with an appreciative glance. And he always greeted me with a smile, but our interaction never went any further than that though I wished it to.

Then one night, there was a fire in the shop. And I feared greatly for his safety. A small crowd had gathered in front of the shop by the time I reached the premises.  I saw him being carried out by someone from amongst the ruins. His arms and legs lay stiff and charred and they tossed his body into the back of a truck carelessly.

“Did you see that? Luckily not much damage. It’s the display window and the mannequins that were burnt badly. Heard the shop owner arrived before the clothes caught on fire.”, a lady beside me began to speak.

I nodded silently, stifling a sob as the truck started to move. I could make out his one plastic hand sticking out, as if finally acknowledging my presence and bidding me a goodbye.

Author’s Note: I have a Facebook fan page which is starting to show signs of dehydration in terms of fan count. So if any of my kind readers would do me the favour of going and liking my page, ‘ppreciate it a lot!