Apart from doing interviews and writing articles, I also write fiction. This story is about 28-year-old Micky, who is determined to discover her roommate’s dark secret. Is it connected to the mysterious things that happen in the bleak streets of Aachen?

Chapter 1

It is a quiet night in the German city of Aachen. I’m lying peacefully in my bed, sleeping. The October winds howl outside the window, but I feel warm and cozy under my thick, fluffy blanket. Until a loud, victorious scream wakes me up.
“What the…?!” I immediately sit up straight and check my phone. It’s 03.30 am.
Within two seconds I hear footsteps from the other side of the room, followed by a door opening and a furious waterfall of swear words.
I sigh and lie back down. It isn’t too hard for me to guess what is happening. My twin brother Matthias is yelling at our game obsessed roommate Quang to be quiet.
Quang, who was born in Vietnam, is a 29-year-old game designer. I get along with him just fine, but he has one habit that’s hard for Matthias and me to deal with: he plays computer games until late at night. Which is usually not a big problem, as he wears headphones and his desk is located in the hallway, instead of in our shared bedroom space. But every once in a while he can’t help himself and lets out a few triumphant noises, when he wins a virtual race or wins a fantasy battle game.
I hear a murmured apology and then Matthias comes back into the room and dives straight back into his bed.
My twin brother is only a few minutes older than me, but sometimes it feels like the age gap is more like ten years. He is the more responsible one, with clear future goals. Five years ago, when he was 23 years old, he started working as a barista in a café in Aachen’s city centre. Nowadays he owns the place, but still enjoys working as a barista for a few hours a day. He simply loves coffee and ‘coffee culture’ in general. He aims to open a chain of cafés and lunchrooms one day.
I am less ambitious. As long as I can pay my bills and go on vacation twice a year, I’m happy. I studied Marketing, but lost my job two months ago when the company I worked for had to downsize due to financial problems. Luckily I have quite a bit of money saved, as the apartment I’ve been sharing with Matthias, Quang and one other roommate, is quite cheap. It is located on the edge of the city’s centre, but because we split the costs between the four of us, we can each put some money into our savings accounts.

At 08.00 am my brother’s alarm rings. He has to be at the café at 10 in the morning, and he enjoys a peaceful breakfast routine without rushing.
I decide to get up as well and prepare us both some breakfast, while he is taking a shower. Quang is still fast asleep in his bed.
As I enter the kitchen downstairs, I nearly let out a yell. There is a tall, well-built man sitting on our kitchen bar stool, sipping espresso and reading a fancy newspaper.
“Omiros!” I call out, while clutching my chest to calm myself down.
“Yes, Micky, darling?” he innocently replies. He takes a casual sip of his expensive coffee and looks at me with his big, brown eyes. As always, 30-year-old Omiros, who is of Greek descent, is immaculately dressed and not a single hair is out of place.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you here. You weren’t home this night.”
“That’s right,” he says, vaguely avoiding the mystery of his whereabouts. “Did I miss anything?”
I get the ingredients for oatmeal porridge out of the cupboard and grin at my handsome roommate.“What do you think happened?”
“Did Quang wake everyone up again?”
“Yep, turning Matthias into a sort of raging tornado.”
“Your brother can be quite scary when he’s pissed off, you know,” Omiros says, folding his newspaper.
“I know, but luckily he’s usually the sweetest person in the world,” I answer, while I heat up the milk on the stove.
“Who is the sweetest person in the world?” Matthias asks as he enters the kitchen, rubbing his blonde, wet hair with a towel.
“You are, according to your sister,” Omiros informs him.
Matthias smiles at me and squeezes my shoulder.
“But if he’s really sweet, he would give his twin sister a job at his café,” I wink.
“You’re too clumsy to work at my café,” he resolutely informs me.
I huffily turn around to protest, but almost knock Omiros’ espresso cup off the counter.
“I rest my case,” Matthias smirks and pours both of us a cup of coffee.

An hour later we both walk out the door. Matthias is on his way to work and I’m going to the supermarket to get some groceries. It’s quite sunny, with a gentle breeze. But within a second my entire body is covered in goosebumps. A cold hand grabs my neck and sharp nails dig into my skin.
“Hey!” I yell as I turn around. I glare at Matthias who is walking just a step behind me.
“What are you doing?” I scowl at him and rub my neck.
My brother looks at me in surprise.
“I didn’t do anything!” he calls out in defense, his eyes large, emphasizing his innocence.
I stare at him. I know him well enough after 28 years to know when he’s lying and when he’s telling the truth. He seems just as perplexed as I am.
“Someone just grabbed me by the neck,” I tell him.
Matthias looks around.
“But there is nobody here, Micky.”
A freezing cold wind brushes my cheek and it frightens me. It’s as if something else is accompanying us.

Click here to read chapter 2.