Wei

Wei held the loosely wrapped joint in his left hand, between the middle and index finger, and inhaled deeply. The substances of the medical cannabis rolled into his system, and he felt like a vault had just been released as he twisted his head. He trapped the smoke in him to experience the fading sensation for as long as he could, and finally let it slip away as he exhaled unwilling. He took two more mouthful and ditched it on the ground, and rubbed the flame away with the tip of his left shoe.

As he walked out of the alleyway, streams of chilling winter air snuggled with him and the deserted street smirked at him. He headed straight to the shop, not thinking about the boring day he was about to have as was with everyday.

Ever since he finished high school in Arizona, he’d been making himself a living around the states with a job here and there, and he never quite get along with people and so was with the places he stayed.

But here in Montana, a small town with its quiet community, was the place he stayed the longest. There was a vibe about the people living here.

Speaking of people, there was this couple that followed him as he went to different places. He thought about reporting it to the sheriff, but didn’t want to make a fool of himself by having no evidence whatsoever.

They had been following him ever since he first noticed them in California. There was the man in a black tanktop and now in a heavy black jacket, and the women in a white t-shirt and now in a white overcoat. Everywhere he went, they seemed to be around, not that he ever went anywhere besides his room and the shop he worked at, and the park he went jogging every Sunday morning.

He had doubt about their existence, he wondered if they were his imagination, it also felt like he knew them, back in the days.

It all started when he first arrived in San Francisco working as a restaurant waiter, the job paid his rent for a small room living three other people, and he ate in the place he worked to save the money for the next trip.

The couple came in one night to the casual restaurant and he didn’t notice them at first because of the busy crowd, it was later till they were closing that he saw them at the corner table, still not willing to leave.

Jessie the manager politely showed them the door and they walked out in good manner. And that was where it all started. The couple would popped up in places he work or showed up around the houses he lived. From California to Nevada to Montana.

Wei planned his route based on the states that approved the use of medical cannabis, he’d been on it for some years now, it eased the pain in on his back from the injury he got playing basketball in high school non-competitively.

He never talked to them, because it all could just been a very rare coincidence. Besides, he didn’t notice anything wrong with the couple, they seem not know about him.

Wei opened the door and walked into the shop, and he saw Po was at the counter talking with the couple.

“That’s will be fifteen dollars.” said Po.

The man had his wallet out and gave a twenty, the women stuffed the product into her bag. They walked right pass Wei and didn’t even blink, like he was the usual stranger.

Wei almost reached a hand to pat on the man, he was about to spoke when Po called him. “Wei, Mrs. Peterson just called, she wants you to deliver a box of coke to her shop.”

“I thought she want it tomorrow.” He turned to Po and the couple walked out of the shop.

“Who cares, just go. It’s at the back.”

Wei sighed and went to his locker and wore a down coat. He opened the storage room door and lifted the box to the trolley, and pushed it out of the shop with a dreadful feeling.

His pace was slow on the road covered with snow, they were dirty and solid, every once in a while he would come out and shovel it to the sides of the road. Snow kept falling down from the sky like it was endless.

His hands covered in his coat, was gripping on the plastic bar of the trolley which protected him from feeling the freezing cold directly. He pushed the cart forward leisurely, his head hung low while his eyes browed the street.

The snow covered most of the places, and the street seemed to be frozen in time, nothing moved. The road itself looked slippery, and walked tricky. He had once fell down on the ground totally unexpected, and it hurted his beat up body so bad that he had to go to the hospital and stayed there for three whole days. The best thing though, was that he could get unlimited amount of painkiller or its equivalent. It was a gateway to both heaven and hell, depending on the situation.

Mrs. Peterson’s shop was three blocks away, a small bakery that made traditional bread and cake with a red brick storefront, which always reminder Wei of the doghouse he built for Rufus.