Writing Prompt You hear a knocking sound on your window, but you live on the fifth floor.

ars

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You're in your room. Behind you comes the sound of knocking on glass, but you live on the fifth floor.

When you turn around, what do you see?
 
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Julie paused her music, turning around and scrutinising her window. Could it have been a confused bird knocking against the glass? Pulling open the curtains revealed only empty early evening sky, so with a slow shrug, she pulled her curtains closed again and went back to her homework.

The next day as she sat on the train to school, headphones to ward away any over-friendly public transport weirdos, she heard a knocking at the window behind her once again. Tilting her headphones off, she turned to look irritably at her brother.

"What?" She snapped.

"What what?" Liam answered dully, not looking up from his phone.

"You were knocking just now, right?"

"Not me." His gaze slid over to the figure hunched, half-asleep, over their backpack on her other side, and raised a suggestive eyebrow. Julie rolled her eyes and put her headphones back on. Fucking public transport.

Julie sat in IT class, surreptitiously browsing Vine compilations on YouTube while her teacher's back was turned, the volume turned down low enough that it couldn't be heard over the din of the class. Her best friend, Kelly, sat beside her, giggling over their thousandth rewatch of "the good kush". As she moved to click through onto the next compilation, she paused as she heard a frantic knocking coming from beneath her seat.

"...Did you..." She began, but Kelly suddenly ducked her head down, interrupting her.

"Mr. Morrison!" She hissed in forewarning, and Julie quickly tabbed away from YouTube.

A few days later when she was out late night shopping with friends, she was called from her mother's phone. Julie looked down at her phone, a wave of anger coming over her, and she answered the phone with a snap.

"What's your problem?"

"Julie? Oh thank god, I've been trying to get through to you for so long." Her mother's shaky voice came through the line, wracked with hysterical sobs. "It's your brother - he - he's not well - oh Julie, you have to come quickly, there isn't any time."

Julie froze up, hand trembling slightly.

"Why are you talking about Liam?" She whispered into the phone.

"Not Liam," her mother cried, "it's Henry. He won't stop crying. He has a fever. Please Julie, I need you here with me."

"What's wrong, Jules?" Kelly called out, anxious over the pale face of her friend and the violent tremble in her shoulders.

"I, I can't." Julie felt tears well up in her eyes. "I can't go to where you are, mum. You and Henry are already..." She felt a panic well up inside her, starting to back away from the crowd of her friends, feeling sick to her stomach.

"Julie?" Kelly called, her voice overlapping with the sound of Julie's deceased mother on the phone. Julie dropped her phone, and it smashed open against the pavement, just as she turned and ran. None of her friends could hear it, but Julie still could, the soft, tinny, far-away voice of her mother still coming through the speaker.

"Julie? Are you coming now Julie? Please-"

Kelly screamed as the truck failed to brake in time.

-

Liam and his father drove home from the funeral, with Liam morosely staring out the window. It was a bright, sunny day, at odds with the suffocating mood that permeated the car. Unable to bear the silence, Liam slowly unwound his earbuds, putting them in his ears and playing the first random Spotify playlist he could find. With his eyes closed, concentrating on the music, he didn't see the screen of his phone flash with the incoming call from his sister's phone.

After the call failed to connect, Liam suddenly heard a knocking.
 

ars

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That freaking yandere, Alice again. Why does she always come here when I'm trying to do my daily pineapple workout routine?!

I laughed so much at this!!!

It's David Tennant hanging upside down, gesticulating to open the window.

This is someone's dream come true, I'm sure :blobrofl:

Julie paused her music, turning around and scrutinising her window. Could it have been a confused bird knocking against the glass? Pulling open the curtains revealed only empty early evening sky, so with a slow shrug, she pulled her curtains closed again and went back to her homework.

The next day as she sat on the train to school, headphones to ward away any over-friendly public transport weirdos, she heard a knocking at the window behind her once again. Tilting her headphones off, she turned to look irritably at her brother.

"What?" She snapped.

"What what?" Liam answered dully, not looking up from his phone.

"You were knocking just now, right?"

"Not me." His gaze slid over to the figure hunched, half-asleep, over their backpack on her other side, and raised a suggestive eyebrow. Julie rolled her eyes and put her headphones back on. Fucking public transport.

Julie sat in IT class, surreptitiously browsing Vine compilations on YouTube while her teacher's back was turned, the volume turned down low enough that it couldn't be heard over the din of the class. Her best friend, Kelly, sat beside her, giggling over their thousandth rewatch of "the good kush". As she moved to click through onto the next compilation, she paused as she heard a frantic knocking coming from beneath her seat.

"...Did you..." She began, but Kelly suddenly ducked her head down, interrupting her.

"Mr. Morrison!" She hissed in forewarning, and Julie quickly tabbed away from YouTube.

A few days later when she was out late night shopping with friends, she was called from her mother's phone. Julie looked down at her phone, a wave of anger coming over her, and she answered the phone with a snap.

"What's your problem?"

"Julie? Oh thank god, I've been trying to get through to you for so long." Her mother's shaky voice came through the line, wracked with hysterical sobs. "It's your brother - he - he's not well - oh Julie, you have to come quickly, there isn't any time."

Julie froze up, hand trembling slightly.

"Why are you talking about Liam?" She whispered into the phone.

"Not Liam," her mother cried, "it's Henry. He won't stop crying. He has a fever. Please Julie, I need you here with me."

"What's wrong, Jules?" Kelly called out, anxious over the pale face of her friend and the violent tremble in her shoulders.

"I, I can't." Julie felt tears well up in her eyes. "I can't go to where you are, mum. You and Henry are already..." She felt a panic well up inside her, starting to back away from the crowd of her friends, feeling sick to her stomach.

"Julie?" Kelly called, her voice overlapping with the sound of Julie's deceased mother on the phone. Julie dropped her phone, and it smashed open against the pavement, just as she turned and ran. None of her friends could hear it, but Julie still could, the soft, tinny, far-away voice of her mother still coming through the speaker.

"Julie? Are you coming now Julie? Please-"

Kelly screamed as the truck failed to brake in time.

-

Liam and his father drove home from the funeral, with Liam morosely staring out the window. It was a bright, sunny day, at odds with the suffocating mood that permeated the car. Unable to bear the silence, Liam slowly unwound his earbuds, putting them in his ears and playing the first random Spotify playlist he could find. With his eyes closed, concentrating on the music, he didn't see the screen of his phone flash with the incoming call from his sister's phone.

After the call failed to connect, Liam suddenly heard a knocking.
Waaaa what an amazing short story! So full of suspense with a horrific ending! You really strung me along there, I was so nervous reading this. Cutting the story here makes it so haunting too...
 

Scribbler

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I'm in my apartment on a Wednesday night, browsing various internet forums on my laptop when I hear a knocking on glass. But I live on the fifth floor, so what could possibly be making this deliberate rhythm? I turned my back and what I saw was a middle-aged man in a navy blue jumpsuit. Hanging from his toolbelt was a squeegee and a bucket. He appeared to be standing on air, but as I stood up in curiosity at this supposed spectacle the illusion of forced perspective disappeared as I saw the scaffolding that held him inert against the force of gravity. The man looked at me in delight on my apparent inspection of him. He waved his hand heartily, with his arm swinging like a pendulum. I gave back a curt half-wave, with my hand shortly flinging forward, and arm completely still.

He gestured for me to come closer. I did. He slammed his palm fast on the window. For a moment I thought he was trying to smash his way in, but then I saw in his palm a note. I bent down to read: I'm stuck. Please help.

Hmm. Alright. I put on my jacket and shoes and walked out the front door.
 
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Phantomheart

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Tuji was "studying" for her midterms in her room at midnight when the knocking broke through the sound of her headphones. The sound was almost unnatural and honestly, Tuji only noticed because it was such a high pitch that it broke through the grunge of her music. Thinking that the oise must have come from the wind, Tuji ignored it.

It was always windy in her dorm room, and there was a large oak tree outside her window, even while on the fifth floor, the very narrow tips of the tree's branches would scratch and scrape against the glass. Thinking that the storm was getting harsher outside, she continued to play her game. It was Dead In Your Arms a romantic horror game about a girl who is trying to survive in her dorm room with a stalker turned murderer hunting her down. Ironically, in the dead of night, Tuji was playing through the perspective of the stalker, she stood with her avatar at the bottom of the hill that the girl's dorm sat. With rocks in hand, the red adorned figure threw pebbles at her window-sill one at a time, the goal of the game as the stalker was to catch the attention of the girl and rack up points of "terror" before avoiding her home alone style traps and slaying her. If you won as the killer, your end screen would say:

"Dead in your Arms: Together Forever"

Tuji had a wicked smile as she pressed the buttons of her mouse to throw more stones. She only needed one more act of attention-grabbing until she could invade the dorm. When she did, she'd climb through the staircase and begin to loudly knock, similar to the noise of the pebbles hitting that glass window until she reached the very top. Her goal was to grow a great flame of paranoia in the girl's heart. Ironically, the girl in this match was also named Tuji... Tuji herself scoffed at the idea of a stalker aiming to kill her -- a random nobody. So, once the girl finally noticed her antics, she invaded the house.

What she didn't notice was the knocking on her own window ceasing to exist.

"Knock. Knock. Knock."

Do you hear that? It's your window... it's time to play :)
 
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MarkofWisdom

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It's late on a Friday evening and you are reading your favorite book when you hear a knocking sound from across the room. You try and ignore it for a while before the knocking gets more insistent and starts coming in odd rhythms. Sighing, you put down your book, get up and walk over to the window and see a familiar bird on the outside windowsill.

Shaking your head you open the window to let the bird in saying, "How many times have I told you to use the front door like a normal person?"

The bird darts past you into the room and you hear a cheerful voice from behind you, "Normal people are boring. Besides, it isn't like you're a normal person either."

Turning around, you see your friend in a colorful outfit, matching the plumage that had been on the bird. You ignore her and return to your chair, eager to resume reading.

Opening your book to where you had left off you say, "Normal people may be boring, but at least they have enough manners to use the front door."

She walks up to you and leans over, putting her face next to yours and blocking your view of the book. "Hey, don't ignore me! You always do this! It's almost time for the party to start and you know it just isn't the same without you."

You respond, "I'm almost to the best part of the book, and you know I don't like being around a lot of people."

She gently closes the book and says "You've read that book a hundred times and know exactly what's going to happen next. I know you're reluctant to go out and talk with people, but you always end up enjoying yourself when you do. So I'm here again to poke and pester you until you agree to go to the party with me and have a good time. Please?"

You lift your head to see her looking at you with hopeful eyes. Sighing, put your book to the side and say, "Fine, but if my book isn't here when I get back I'm going to be mad."

She straightens up and starts doing a small dance before hearing the end of what you say. Looking sheepish she says, "How was I supposed to know your book would actually get up and walk away? Can't we stack some other books or something heavy on top of it? That should keep it in place while you're gone, right?"

You smile and laugh a little while reaching behind your chair to pull out a heavy weight before setting it on the book. "I did learn from last time and got some weights to help keep the book in one place when I'm not home. I'm just not eager for a repeat of last time where it took ages to find the book again. I'm still not sure how it got all the way to the library parking lot."

As you stand up, your friend smiles and turns around, turning back into a bird as she leaps out the window flies into the distance.

You walk towards the window and notice the sun had nearly set. Stretching a bit, you stand on the windowsill and look at the scenery around your apartment building.

"A fifth floor apartment has a nice view, but it doesn't compare to seeing it from the sky."

You lightly hop off of the windowsill into the air, briefly falling before turning into a bird and flying after your friend.

"I suppose it would be good to get out and soar for a while."
 

lazyredragon

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oh, this actually happens quite often but I'm on the sixth floor so anyway...

On my floor there live five cats; Gin chan, Tae chan and ice cap (the kittens), Persnicketty Fuzzy Paws(Papa) and Cheerie Socks (mama), I don't need much sleep usually two or three hours on a good day its a trait I carried over from high school since I didnt get much sleep then either, I'm basically a nightwalker who doesnt like leaving their house and since the ledge is fairly wide I get my fair share of cat traffic, sometimes its jusst a cold night and they want a warm place to sleep other times the Kittens just come in to play or get a free meal, they meow very cutely, that purr like meow that just melts my heart, plus I know they have no owners, because Cheerie is probably an illegal pet, apparently she's an African wild cat (i think) she really looks like one and I'm pretty sure there is some Tabby and Maine coon in Persnicketty becasue that cat is huge, like bruh I thought he was a capybara at first.

Anyway since I don't get much sleep sometimes paranoia kicks in and boy that's not fun, originally I'd freak out over any sound or sometimes I'd just get into these really weird hallucinations with chittering sounds, man i hated that but its getting better because now if I hear scratching its probably a cat, if something falls over its probably the kittens crashing into something again, my mind no longer jumps to, "Hide or something will get you," It actually goes like, "Darn it I hope they didn't fall into the soup pot again," or, "Cheerie better not be on the fridge..."

It's like my own little family since I think they see me as a grandma or an aunt of some kind.

It's nice when your scrolling down a book at 1:45 and you hear scratching at your window and you better open it or they start hollering, they genuinely sound like a demonic choir when they are being needy it's hilarious,

They come in to eat and join me at my desk or on any random surface I would be occupying and we all fall asleep there at maybe 3 or 4 only to wake up to fuzzy faces blowing sardine breath into your face two hours later when they want to leave for the day.

they leave around six-ish.

sometimes I'm with them all night other times for less than ten minutes

So go some of my nights, can't complain.

it's nice having little (and not so little) guests.
 

ars

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I'm in my apartment on a Wednesday night, browsing various internet forums on my laptop when I hear a knocking on glass. But I live on the fifth floor, so what could possibly be making this deliberate rhythm? I turned my back and what I saw was a middle-aged man in a navy blue jumpsuit. Hanging from his toolbelt was a squeegee and a bucket. He appeared to be standing on air, but as I stood up in curiosity at this supposed spectacle the illusion of forced perspective disappeared as I saw the scaffolding that held him inert against the force of gravity. The man looked at me in delight on my apparent inspection of him. He waved his hand heartily, with his arm swinging like a pendulum. I gave back a curt half-wave, with my hand shortly flinging forward, and arm completely still.

He gestured for me to come closer. I did. He slammed his palm fast on the window. For a moment I thought he was trying to smash his way in, but then I saw in his palm a note. I bent down to read: I'm stuck. Please help.

Hmm. Alright. I put on my jacket and shoes and walked out the front door.
Hahaha I really like this one! Poor middle-aged man. It was so funny when he slapped the note to the glass though.
Tuji was "studying" for her midterms in her room at midnight when the knocking broke through the sound of her headphones. The sound was almost unnatural and honestly, Tuji only noticed because it was such a high pitch that it broke through the grunge of her music. Thinking that the oise must have come from the wind, Tuji ignored it.

It was always windy in her dorm room, and there was a large oak tree outside her window, even while on the fifth floor, the very narrow tips of the tree's branches would scratch and scrape against the glass. Thinking that the storm was getting harsher outside, she continued to play her game. It was Dead In Your Arms a romantic horror game about a girl who is trying to survive in her dorm room with a stalker turned murderer hunting her down. Ironically, in the dead of night, Tuji was playing through the perspective of the stalker, she stood with her avatar at the bottom of the hill that the girl's dorm sat. With rocks in hand, the red adorned figure threw pebbles at her window-sill one at a time, the goal of the game as the stalker was to catch the attention of the girl and rack up points of "terror" before avoiding her home alone style traps and slaying her. If you won as the killer, your end screen would say:

"Dead in your Arms: Together Forever"

Tuji had a wicked smile as she pressed the buttons of her mouse to throw more stones. She only needed one more act of attention-grabbing until she could invade the dorm. When she did, she'd climb through the staircase and begin to loudly knock, similar to the noise of the pebbles hitting that glass window until she reached the very top. Her goal was to grow a great flame of paranoia in the girl's heart. Ironically, the girl in this match was also named Tuji... Tuji herself scoffed at the idea of a stalker aiming to kill her -- a random nobody. So, once the girl finally noticed her antics, she invaded the house.

What she didn't notice was the knocking on her own window ceasing to exist.

"Knock. Knock. Knock."

Do you hear that? It's your window... it's time to play :)
This was so scary T_T Aaaah!!
It's late on a Friday evening and you are reading your favorite book when you hear a knocking sound from across the room. You try and ignore it for a while before the knocking gets more insistent and starts coming in odd rhythms. Sighing, you put down your book, get up and walk over to the window and see a familiar bird on the outside windowsill.

Shaking your head you open the window to let the bird in saying, "How many times have I told you to use the front door like a normal person?"

The bird darts past you into the room and you hear a cheerful voice from behind you, "Normal people are boring. Besides, it isn't like you're a normal person either."

Turning around, you see your friend in a colorful outfit, matching the plumage that had been on the bird. You ignore her and return to your chair, eager to resume reading.

Opening your book to where you had left off you say, "Normal people may be boring, but at least they have enough manners to use the front door."

She walks up to you and leans over, putting her face next to yours and blocking your view of the book. "Hey, don't ignore me! You always do this! It's almost time for the party to start and you know it just isn't the same without you."

You respond, "I'm almost to the best part of the book, and you know I don't like being around a lot of people."

She gently closes the book and says "You've read that book a hundred times and know exactly what's going to happen next. I know you're reluctant to go out and talk with people, but you always end up enjoying yourself when you do. So I'm here again to poke and pester you until you agree to go to the party with me and have a good time. Please?"

You lift your head to see her looking at you with hopeful eyes. Sighing, put your book to the side and say, "Fine, but if my book isn't here when I get back I'm going to be mad."

She straightens up and starts doing a small dance before hearing the end of what you say. Looking sheepish she says, "How was I supposed to know your book would actually get up and walk away? Can't we stack some other books or something heavy on top of it? That should keep it in place while you're gone, right?"

You smile and laugh a little while reaching behind your chair to pull out a heavy weight before setting it on the book. "I did learn from last time and got some weights to help keep the book in one place when I'm not home. I'm just not eager for a repeat of last time where it took ages to find the book again. I'm still not sure how it got all the way to the library parking lot."

As you stand up, your friend smiles and turns around, turning back into a bird as she leaps out the window flies into the distance.

You walk towards the window and notice the sun had nearly set. Stretching a bit, you stand on the windowsill and look at the scenery around your apartment building.

"A fifth floor apartment has a nice view, but it doesn't compare to seeing it from the sky."

You lightly hop off of the windowsill into the air, briefly falling before turning into a bird and flying after your friend.

"I suppose it would be good to get out and soar for a while."
So cute and fluffy!!!! And I love the idea of people who can turn into birds!
oh, this actually happens quite often but I'm on the sixth floor so anyway...

On my floor there live five cats; Gin chan, Tae chan and ice cap (the kittens), Persnicketty Fuzzy Paws(Papa) and Cheerie Socks (mama), I don't need much sleep usually two or three hours on a good day its a trait I carried over from high school since I didnt get much sleep then either, I'm basically a nightwalker who doesnt like leaving their house and since the ledge is fairly wide I get my fair share of cat traffic, sometimes its jusst a cold night and they want a warm place to sleep other times the Kittens just come in to play or get a free meal, they meow very cutely, that purr like meow that just melts my heart, plus I know they have no owners, because Cheerie is probably an illegal pet, apparently she's an African wild cat (i think) she really looks like one and I'm pretty sure there is some Tabby and Maine coon in Persnicketty becasue that cat is huge, like bruh I thought he was a capybara at first.

Anyway since I don't get much sleep sometimes paranoia kicks in and boy that's not fun, originally I'd freak out over any sound or sometimes I'd just get into these really weird hallucinations with chittering sounds, man i hated that but its getting better because now if I hear scratching its probably a cat, if something falls over its probably the kittens crashing into something again, my mind no longer jumps to, "Hide or something will get you," It actually goes like, "Darn it I hope they didn't fall into the soup pot again," or, "Cheerie better not be on the fridge..."

It's like my own little family since I think they see me as a grandma or an aunt of some kind.

It's nice when your scrolling down a book at 1:45 and you hear scratching at your window and you better open it or they start hollering, they genuinely sound like a demonic choir when they are being needy it's hilarious,

They come in to eat and join me at my desk or on any random surface I would be occupying and we all fall asleep there at maybe 3 or 4 only to wake up to fuzzy faces blowing sardine breath into your face two hours later when they want to leave for the day.

they leave around six-ish.

sometimes I'm with them all night other times for less than ten minutes

So go some of my nights, can't complain.

it's nice having little (and not so little) guests.
This is so cute too! The cat family has such great names~
 

lazyredragon

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Hahaha I really like this one! Poor middle-aged man. It was so funny when he slapped the note to the glass though.

This was so scary T_T Aaaah!!

So cute and fluffy!!!! And I love the idea of people who can turn into birds!

This is so cute too! The cat family has such great names~
Thanks if they come over I'll add pictures!
 

HURGMCGURG

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Jan 22, 2019
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I pause at the unexpected noise, before getting up from my chair. I head to the door of my apartment, before I finally process that's not where the noise came from.
A deep feeling of unease washes over me.
Slowly, I turn around, not sure what to expect. I wonder if it could perhaps be a bird, but they would only hit the window once. Three sharp raps. That's what I heard. A 'knock knock knock' or a 'tap tap tap'. Something in between those. Tock tock tock?
I try and distract my mind for a moment as the panic washes over me. Who's at my window? What could be going on here?
I finally face the window, and to my complete shock, there's a man calmly waiting there. Standing there. Right outside the window.
The window that's five stories above the street.
"Hello, sir!" He calls out, his voice slightly muffled through the window. "Would you care to open the window? I would very much like to speak with you about something of grave importance."
I slowly walk over, shock overriding my common sense. Why is this man outside my window? What does he want from me?
And while I can't see over the window's edge to confirm this...
Why is he standing on air?
I finally reach the window, but stay an arms length away from it.
"Uhhh... Can I help you?" I ask, very hesitantly.
"Yes, yes you can." Now that I'm closer, I notice the man is wearing a clean, blue suit with a tie of matching color. He has brown hair that has been gelled to stay firmly in place. "However, it's not about what you can do for me, but rather what I can do for you. So, tell me..."
He leans forward, a slight smile on his face.
"Would you be interested in purchasing life insurance?"
 
Last edited:

ars

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Messages
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I pause at the unexpected noise, before getting up from my chair. I head to the door of my apartment, before I finally process that's not where the noise came from.
A deep feeling of unease washes over me.
Slowly, I turn around, not sure what to expect. I wonder if it could perhaps be a bird, but they would only hit the window once. Three sharp raps. That's what I heard. A 'knock knock knock' or a 'tap tap tap'. Something in between those. Tock tock tock?
I try and distract my mind for a moment as the panic washes over me. Who's at my window? What could be going on here?
I finally face the window, and to my complete shock, there's a man calmly waiting there. Standing there. Right outside the window.
The window that' five stories above the street.
"Hello, sir!" He calls out, his voice slightly muffled through the window. "Would you care to open the window? I would very much like to speak with you about something of grave importance."
I slowly walk over, shock overriding my common sense. Why is this man outside my window? What does he want from me?
And while I can't see over the window's edge to confirm this...
Why is he standing on air?
I finally reach the window, but stay an arms length away from it.
"Uhhh... Can I help you?" I ask, very hesitantly.
"Yes, yes you can." Now that I'm closer, I notice the man is wearing a clean, blue suit with a tie of matching color. He has brown hair that has been gelled to stay firmly in place. "However, it's not about what you can do for me, but rather what I can do for you. So, tell me..."
He leans forward, a slight smile on his face.
"Would you be interested in purchasing life insurance?"
This is the scariest one of all. I would cry.
 
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