Under the Bed

Under the dim yellow streetlight, Jeff dropped a cigarette butt that had burned almost down to the filter.

Then,

he quickly glanced to either side, habitually grinding the butt back and forth beneath the sole of his leather shoe.

" Hiss... damn it..."

Jeff shook his foot hard. He had forgotten that his soles had long since worn so thin they were almost breathable, and he had just burned the bottom of his foot.

The evening wind swept back and forth through the street, carrying a chill. Few pedestrians remained outside, and the handful in the distance hurried along with their heads lowered, bundled in hats and scarves.

Jeff turned up the collar of his overcoat. Both sides shone with greasy grime, but at that moment, they gave him a sense of security, as though he were concealed and protected.

Ahead stood No. 128 on Mink Street. From No. 50 to No. 200, the buildings were all attached houses. Whether they bought or rented, the people who lived here probably were not millionaires, but they were at least middle class.

The house before him belonged to a family of three. The husband was a doctor, the wife a teacher, and they had a seven-year-old son.

A maid came during the day to clean and tidy the house, but she did not stay overnight. She went home after preparing dinner.

The family also had a habit: every Saturday evening, they all went out to see a performance at the theater.

The door opened. The husband came out first in a black suit and started the car parked outside;

then the wife emerged in a red dress, holding the child's hand. After closing the door, she got into her husband's car with the child, chatting and laughing.

Then,

the car drove away.

Jeff licked his upper and lower lips and hurried forward. First, he vaulted the low wooden fence, which could not have stopped even a small dog. Landing in the flower bed, he hurried up the steps, took a key from his pocket, and inserted it.

"Click..."

The crisp sound told him he had unlocked the door.

Three months earlier, when Jeff was still working for a moving company, he had helped this family move. The wife had trustingly handed the movers the key to their new home, and Jeff had taken the opportunity to secretly have a copy made.

At the time, though, he had still been hesitating over whether to steal. He had already gambled away almost everything;

now, he no longer needed to hesitate, because he not only had nothing left, but was also up to his neck in debt.

Once the door was open, Jeff slipped inside and quickly closed it behind him.

"After tonight, you should understand why you need to change the locks when you move."

The first floor had an open-plan kitchen and dining room, along with a maid's room in the northwest corner.

Jeff went straight upstairs. He did not switch on the lights, instead turning on the flashlight he had brought. Its beam flickered.

"Damn it..."

Jeff muttered another curse. He knew the batteries were running low, but that was because he had spent the money he had meant to use for batteries on a pack of Molf cigarettes costing five Lu Coins.

He struck the flashlight hard a few times with his elbow, and its light grew a little brighter.

The second floor held the couple's master bedroom, a small study, and a bathroom;

as for the third floor, since it was an attic, it served only as the child's bedroom.

Jeff pushed open the master bedroom door. A large bed and an assortment of old-fashioned cabinets greeted him. He knew that the family's valuables were most likely in this room. Of course, he would still take a look through the small study before leaving.

"Hiss... hiss..."

Electrical crackling mingled with static.

"Welcome to Rojia Story Hour. I'm your old friend... Alfred. The moonlight is beautiful tonight. Beneath such lovely moonlight, whatever you do seems to come with a taste of happiness..."

The sudden voice startled Jeff. Looking down, he realized it came from an old Peanut-Tube Radio.

"Damn it, you're all out of the house. Don't you know how to save electricity?"

Jeff reached out and switched off the radio.

Then he began searching the dressing table drawers. Generally, the wife liked to keep the jewelry she wore regularly and the household money here. Of course, finding a jewelry box next would be even better.

"Click..."

The sound of the front door opening came from downstairs.

Jeff almost jumped out of his skin.

Next came the sound of high heels on the stairs. Their destination was clear: they were coming straight to the bedroom.

Jeff immediately pushed the drawer shut and switched off his flashlight.

He was only a thief, not a robber. Stealing and robbing were two entirely different things, even when it came to convictions in court.

Most importantly, he did not have the courage to be a robber!

The heels approached quickly, with a hint of urgency.

Jeff had no time to consider anything else. He could only lie down, turn onto his side, and roll under the bed.

"Creak..."

Almost at the same moment, the bedroom door swung open.

"Click!"

The light came on.

Holding himself in a sort of imitation plank beneath the bed, Jeff saw a pair of red high heels walk over to the dressing table. After a flurry of rummaging, the woman seemed to find a small medicine bottle. Pills rattled out, followed by the sound of swallowing.

Immediately afterward,

came a series of relieved breaths.

Jeff watched the woman's heels remain in front of the dressing table for a long time. Then she stood, and the heels began moving.

"Ring... ring..."

The telephone rang.

The heels moved away from the bed toward the coffee table beneath the window, where the telephone stood.

The woman answered:

"Yes, yes."

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm."

"I was going to go with them, but I suddenly had an episode and had to come back for my medicine. I'll let them go tonight and rest at home."

"It's nothing. Don't worry. Thank you for your concern. I'm fine."

The woman hung up, turned, and walked toward the bed.

"Clunk."

She used each foot to push the other shoe off at the heel. The high heels fell almost directly in front of Jeff, so close that he could even smell their uppers.

Then the bed jolted,

the woman must have lain straight down on it,

and she gave a long, comfortable sigh,

clearly,

after a day at work, freed from a family outing with her husband and child, she could finally enjoy a moment of peace. Even if it was because of her health, it must still have felt quite pleasant.

Beneath the bed, Jeff began considering what he should do.

He was regretting it now. He should have covered his face beforehand. If he had known only the woman was coming home, he could simply have masked his face, intimidated her into staying still, and left.

Surely the woman would not dare do anything on her own. Besides, he had not yet had time to steal anything. She... might decide to avoid unnecessary trouble and not even call the police!

But thinking about it was all he could do.

Even knowing that only a woman lay on the bed, Jeff did not have the courage to crawl out and threaten her.

Jeff opened his mouth as wide as he could and began taking deep, silent breaths to ease his nerves.

Wait until she falls asleep. Wait until she falls asleep.

Once she's asleep, before her husband and child come back, I can slip out from under the bed and leave safely without disturbing anyone.

The woman on the bed hummed a song, accompanied by the rustle of turning pages.

Damn it, why aren't you asleep yet?

Jeff did not know how long the woman above him had been reading. Beneath the bed, he had already lost all sense of time passing.

At last,

"Snap."

Jeff heard the book close.

The woman got out of bed,

barefoot.

She began walking toward the bedroom door, yawning as she went.

Is she going to take a bath?

Jeff felt a surge of delight.

I can slip away while she's bathing!

However,

to Jeff's disappointment, there was only a click before the woman returned, accompanied by the radio's static.

"Creak..."

The woman lay back down on the bed and picked up her book.

Soft music began playing on the radio, and the woman hummed along.

Damn it, is she going to wait for her husband and child to come back before she sleeps?

When the song ended,

a man's voice came from the radio:

"After that short break, welcome back to Rojia Story Hour. Let's continue our story. Our lady of the house, Catherine, is lying in bed with a book in her hands, listening to music. She is thoroughly enjoying this brief moment of leisure tonight;

"Actually, she has always envied other women who are full-time housewives, because for a woman, working outside the home while also looking after the household and the children is simply exhausting."

"Ah..."

Jeff heard the woman on the bed sigh. She seemed to have had similar experiences.

However,

just then,

the words from the radio

made Jeff's hair stand on end!

"But what Catherine doesn't know is that, while she lies in bed enjoying this rare moment of peace, there is actually someone lying beneath her bed right now..."

"..." Jeff.

"..." The woman.

The sighs and the rustling pages on the bed stopped abruptly.

The voice on the radio stopped as well. Perhaps the reception was poor, or perhaps something was wrong with the old radio. Static filled the air again.

Jeff's heart was practically in his throat. The excessively quiet atmosphere seemed to make even breathing difficult.

"Heh... ha ha..."

From the bed,

came the woman's laughter. She seemed to be easing her own awkwardness, though her main purpose was, of course, to dispel the oppressive feeling of frightening herself.

Had circumstances allowed, Jeff would truly have liked to laugh along:

Look, ma'am, don't listen to that bastard on the radio talking nonsense. How could there possibly be anyone under your bed!

However,

just then,

Jeff saw a foot slowly extend down.

The woman had shifted toward the edge of the bed.

As Jeff watched that foot, his own fists slowly clenched.

He saw that the woman's toes were taut as well.

The woman seemed very much to want to get out of bed and look underneath, and Jeff knew exactly what she would see if she did...

But,

just after touching the floor, the woman's foot slowly withdrew.

Phew...

Jeff let out a long breath of relief inwardly.

Without realizing it, his head had become drenched in cold sweat.

But even as he breathed, he had to deliberately control it. He hated this scene, hated this predicament, and even hated himself for deciding to come here to steal.

Perhaps,

five minutes passed?

Jeff did not know whether it had been five minutes. He had no watch, nor could he count off the time beneath the bed.

Suddenly,

Jeff saw a lock of hair droop down from the bed.

Beneath the bed, Jeff could almost picture it: the woman on the bed was preparing to slowly lower her head and look underneath.

The hair

grew longer and longer, and more and more of it appeared,

until its very tips almost touched the floor.

Jeff simply stared blankly at the sight. He did not know how to face what was coming.

Should he kneel and beg, pleading with the woman to let him go and allow him to leave?

Or should he threaten her in the most brutal tone he could muster, telling her to keep quiet before leaving?

It seemed... the first option suited him better.

The hair had touched the floor;

then the woman's forehead slowly entered Jeff's field of vision.

A little farther down, just a little farther,

just a little,

and Jeff would be able to see the woman's eyes,

but that also meant the woman would be able to see him beneath the bed.

Jeff held his breath. His anxiety and tension had reached such an extreme that he had forgotten to breathe, and he simply stared fixedly at the woman's forehead as it continued to descend.

Then,

the woman stopped moving.

It seemed the woman was frightened too, terrified of what she would do if she really saw someone under the bed.

Although she knew perfectly well that taking a look was the best way to dispel her doubts and fear, she simply did not dare look...

The woman's hair, which had fallen onto the floor, began to rise.

Her forehead disappeared from Jeff's view too.

The woman lay back down on the bed.

The woman began gasping for breath.

Only then did Jeff realize that he seemed to have been holding his breath for a long time. He opened his mouth and silently gulped down air.

His head felt a little dizzy, and tears began welling at the corners of his eyes. He wanted to cry. He wanted to be back out on the street right now. Even if he had to face the freezing wind, he could sit comfortably beside a flower bed, smoking and spitting. And he would spit loudly, extravagantly, without the slightest regard for public decency!

He had no idea how much more time passed.

There was no longer any movement on the bed.

She...

She should be asleep by now, right?

Jeff tried to gauge the time. Once the woman's husband and child came back, he probably really would have no way to escape.

One woman had already frightened him this badly. Once the man returned, he would probably lose every last bit of courage.

She's asleep.

Then...

Should I...

Go?

Jeff began shifting ever so slightly. He had been lying diagonally beneath the bed on his stomach. Now, he first carefully rolled onto his back, then began slowly wriggling, easing his upper body out from under the bed.

The wriggling made Jeff feel like an enormous... maggot.

His left hand pressed against the floor, and his right rested on the edge of the bed. Muscles all over his body began exerting a little force, drawing him out from beneath the bed inch by inch.

The first thing to emerge

was Jeff's head.

The reason he had first rolled over to face upward was that, as he left the space beneath the bed, Jason wanted to make sure he could keep watching for any movement on the bed.

And if he came out on his stomach first, and the woman on the bed behind him suddenly screamed-

God,

Jeff felt that would scare him out of his mind!

Slowly, he edged outward.

He saw the edge of the bed.

He saw one of the woman's hands dangling over its edge.

Gently, he edged outward.

He saw the woman's hair.

She should be asleep. She should be sleeping soundly. She definitely is.

It's just that her sleeping position isn't very good. Her husband isn't home right now. She ought to be sleeping in the middle of the bed!

He continued edging outward carefully.

Jeff suddenly froze.

Because he saw that the woman's hair hung at different heights. That difference in height meant she was not lying down... instead, she was leaning over the edge of the bed, and her head was raised.

Who would sleep... with their head raised?

So her eyes should be open right now, and she's... she's looking at the floor diagonally ahead.

And if I keep moving out,

my eyes might very well meet hers!

For a moment, Jeff felt his scalp prickle. He wanted to simply throw caution to the wind and pull his whole body out from under the bed, but... but he did not have the courage.

In the end,

utterly dejected, he could only slowly shift back beneath the bed.

When his head was once again concealed by the bed frame,

his heart finally settled.

This space beneath the bed gave him an immense sense of security, as though he had come home again.

Just then,

the sound of a car engine came from outside, then cut off.

Immediately afterward came the sound of the front door opening downstairs, along with a boy's laughter.

The man and the child were back.

But Jeff did not feel he was done for... he even felt... released.

He even looked forward to being discovered, so he could charge out.

Or the man might stop him and beat him up; or he might be caught by the police who arrived after someone called them.

But whatever happened, even a holding cell at the police station would be countless times better than this.

A series of footsteps began climbing the stairs.

The bedroom door was pushed open.

Jeff's face happened to be turned toward the bedroom door.

He first saw a boy's sneakers. Five or six years ago, he had really wanted a pair of that model too. They were expensive, and wearing them out could make a person feel much more confident.

Then,

he saw a pair of men's leather shoes. They were very fine-not fine from being polished, but because they were new.

"Today's performance was really good."

"But it made me a little sleepy, Dad."

"Ha ha, you'll understand it when you're a little older. How about this? Mom and Dad will take you to the zoo next week, all right?"

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Mom, did you hear that? Dad said he'd take us to the zoo next week."

"I heard, I heard. All right, George, go wash up. It's time for bed. Darling, you should take your son to wash up with you. I'll go make George's bed."

A pair of red high heels came in from outside.

Jeff felt that the atmosphere in this home was truly warm. If only he had had such a warm home before.

"All right, all right, let's wash up. Let me tune the radio. It should be time for Securities News."

The man seemed to adjust the radio's antenna. The static, which had long since blended into the night, suddenly grew louder, then vanished:

"...This is a lovely nighttime story, isn't it? Everyone, wherever they may be, has their own companion beside them, and no one is alone.

"All right, thank you for listening to tonight's Rojia Story Hour. The next program our station brings you is Securities News. I believe you're about to make another fortune..."

On the radio,

soft music began playing as a transition between the two programs.

Make a fortune... heh, make a fortune.

Jeff found it laughable. If he had not listened to his friend and sold the house his father had left him to buy a stock that was certain to soar, how could he have ended up like this?

Now,

of the family of three who had been standing in the doorway, the father had taken his son to the bathroom, while the woman had gone to the third floor to make her son's bed.

This is my chance. Get out from under the bed now, charge downstairs, open the door, rush outside, and I'll be safe and free!

Jeff made up his mind.

Just as he braced both hands against the floor and prepared to push,

abruptly,

his body

suddenly went rigid.

An image suddenly surfaced in his mind.

The woman had come in from outside earlier, returning with her husband and child. Then the woman who had been lying on the bed all along-

she...

who was she?

Wasn't she lying on the bed?

Then how could the family of three who came back earlier not have seen her?

"Shh."

A faint breath came from behind his head, slightly cool, brushing the back of his skull.

Somewhat stunned, Jeff slowly turned his head.

There beneath the bed with him,

almost pressed against his back,

he first saw a pair of legs, then, farther down, a face.

No,

he saw only a pair of legs, and the face between them.