There was something different about Howard. It was his
strange behavior and his more frequent absences in the days
of late. Whenever he was in town he looked around as if he
was looking for someone or as if he was being followed. The
absences occurred more than usual and would happen at ran-
dom, sometimes after looking at his watch. Bethany didn’t
like to think it of him, but the actions that were displayed by
Howard led her to believe he was committing adultery.

Bethany was in the attic, rummaging through the movie reels and video tapes whilst Howard was absent, yet another
time when she came across her old Underwood typewriter, in a forgotten corner, blocked up by boxes. It had been
so long since the last time she had seen it that she didn’t think she still had it. She picked the heavy thing up, to have
a good look at it when she noticed something rather peculiar about the corner of the floor the typewriter was on
top of. A floor plank in the corner seemed to be loose, as if it could easily be removed with the aid of anything flat
enough to fit in between the planks. For the sake of her curiosity, she used her jackknife to try and remove the plank
and to no surprise, the plank came out with ease. Underneath was a compartment that contained a book. The book
had no title on the cover and seemed to be faded with age. She opened the book and revealed hand written pages.
Bethany recognized the cursive to be none other than Howard’s. After reading a page it was then quite obvious that
the book was Howard’s journal. Though the writings were personal, why he kept it in such a secretive place was un-
known to her.

She thumbed though the first third of the book before getting to where it caught her full attention. In the book, it
read:

I'm still able to recall the many girls I liked in high school. Some I've never even spoken to and others didnt find interest in me. I came
close to asking one of them to go with me to the prom, but I was too nervous to ask. It was probably a good thing I didn’t ask because I
probably would've been humiliated. There were others I met in the first year of college, but their personalities were too rough around the
edges for my liking. I would sometimes come across some of the girls I never met and when they didnt know I was alive I would get ner-
vous around them. I was feeling more and more alone and heartbroken as time went on.

Though it definitely seemed as an indication of adultery at first, it was after a brief moment of thought when Bethany
found it read more as a depressing tale of a teenaged romantic. She continued reading:

When I made up with Bethany I felt a change come over me. My whole life seems to be brighter now. I want to tell her how I truly feel, but
[ cant. For some reason it’s difficult for me to talk about it.

Though the writings contradict any reason to assume adultery, her misgivings had not ceased.
The writings then told another tale, one that held the reason for his absences.
In the book, it read:

A little over a month ago, I noticed someone, a man and I saw him several times. He didn't notice me, but I noticed him and I had a
Jeeling he noticed Bethany. I spent a long time studying his patterns of travel and I noticed he usually roamed around where Bethany was.
From the way his travel patterns were done I think he had been studying Bethany’ for a long time, most likely before I first noticed him.
He was so careful and so confident when he followed Bethany. He knew where Bethany would go and where he couldnt be seen. He’ prob-
ably going to do something terrible and I think he’ going to do it to Bethany.

fohad
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