Chapter 3: I've taken the elevator thirty-one times without seeing you

The alarm rings again.

It’s early, and the rain continues to fall. Strange. It has been weeks without a break from the rain. That’s unusual for where I live. Not that I mind the rain or cloudy days. In fact, I almost enjoy them. But what I don’t like is getting wet when I take the dogs out for their walk. It’s such a hassle to dry them afterward, not to mention the mess they make on the floors.

But whatever. Who cares?

I prepare to head to the parking lot to get my car.

As I climb the street, a thought crosses my mind.

It has been three weeks since I last saw Lift-Chan.

I saw her two days in a row, and then… nothing. Maybe she doesn’t live around here, and it was just a coincidence. The parking lot where I keep my car is private, but the upper floors have rental spaces for short-term parking. It wouldn’t be surprising if Lift-Chan had simply needed a spot for a couple of days and then disappeared.

I’ve lived in this area for nearly ten years, and she had never seemed familiar to me. I’ve also had my car in this parking lot for two years, and I had never run into her before.

I sigh.

It was nice seeing her those couple of times. There’s something about crossing paths with a beautiful girl first thing in the morning that it makes the day feel a little brighter. But oh well, what can I do?

I enter the building and head toward the elevator.

I wait.

I wait…

And I wait… (As always, this elevator is painfully slow, damn it, I think.)

The doors slide open. People step out, but one person stays behind.

Lift-Chan.

My eyes widen with excitement. But I must stay calm, or she’ll think I’m weird. (I am weird, but she doesn’t need to know that.)

“Good morning,” I say, clearing my throat.

“Morning,” she replies, flashing a small, polite smile.

She’s stunning, I think.

I press the button for level -3. I notice that level -2 is already selected.

This is the second time Lift-Chan is going down to level -2. Had she made a mistake the first day and gone to level 1 by accident? It’s possible.

“You’re not going up to the first floor anymore?” I ask casually.

“Hm? Oh.” She pauses, remembering. “Right, right. When I leave the parking lot, I go up to the first floor to exit onto the upper street. But now I’m just arriving.”

“I see,” I say.

The building is a mostly abandoned shopping center. Hardly any businesses remain. The first floor, where Lift-Chan exits, only has one restaurant left, and it leads to the upper street of the block. On the ground floor, where I enter, there’s just a dental clinic and a small café.

Since she leaves through the first floor, it means she doesn’t live in the residential part of the building. If she did, she would access the parking lot from the ground floor. That means she must live in a nearby building, like me.

I get lost in thought, overanalyzing everything, when I should have used this moment to actually talk to her. Just as I realize this, the elevator reaches level -2.

Damn it.

Lift-Chan steps out. As always, she turns around and, like a ritual, gives me a soft, knowing smile, waving goodbye.

“See you!” she says.

“Have a good one,” I reply, disappointed in myself for missing another chance. What an idiot.

I watch her leave as the elevator doors slowly slide shut. She has such an elegant figure, moving with an effortless grace, like a nymph floating through the air. Today, she isn’t wearing a skirt but a pair of jeans. Still, she has her usual black leather jacket.

Oh well, I think. I hope I see her again tomorrow. I’d like to ask her name. Though, it had been three weeks since I last saw her. Maybe it’s about the timing? I glance at my watch. Exactly 8:20 AM.

Tomorrow, no matter what, I have to take the elevator at 8:18 or 8:19 if I want to run into her again.

Alright, time for work. I think, motivated by my new objective, finding Lift-Chan once more.