Crimes Of A Human Nature

The light was dim. A light rain fell against the window, illuminated by the street light below. The man paced nervously around his apartment. A cigarette dangled from his lips, the ash now at almost an inch long. He hadn't even thought of going over to the ashtray.

"They'll find out." He thought. "They'll find out and I'll be screwed. It's only a matter of time."

He found his way in the darkness and threw himself into a sitting position on the couch. Ash fell from his cigarette onto his pants leg. It took a moment for the heat to register. When he realized he'd burnt himself, he yelped and patted out the hot ash. He sat back and rubbed his thigh while collecting his thoughts.

"They'll find it. I didn't do a good job of hiding it. It's right in plain site. I should have buried it deeper. I still can." He figured.

He left his butt to smolder in the ashtray as he got up from the couch. He went back to wringing his hands, as he did before he decided to smoke. He walked to the window and stared out for ages. He felt the rainy night properly matched his feeling of desolation. No one would be on his side if they knew what he had done. There was no excuse.

"There's nothing I can do now. No going back. I need to face this." He thought.

He leaned against the wall and slid down, coming to a sudden stop when he found the floor.

"No. Nobody can know it was me. I wish the rain could just wash away all evidence. Remove all my guilt, stop me from..." Even in his thoughts, he struggled with the next words. "...enjoying it."

He held himself together long enough to stand up again, and shambled to his bedroom door. Before entering, he made sure to look around the hallway, peer back out into the living room, and check the lock. He was taking no chances. He went inside and opened the closet. Nothing there. He poked his head under the bed. Nothing but dust. He closed the curtains and locked the door. Then he turned on his computer.

As he was waiting for the computer to boot up, he sighed. "There's no stopping it. I just have to hope no one discovers it."

Once the computer was online, he opened up his hard drive and went to the WINDOWS folder. He went into a few more folders before finding one titled "3252". He took the folder and placed it even deeper, through more folders. He hid the folder. Archived it. Encrypted it. He did everything to ensure no one would find it. Then he opened it again. He played one of the video files inside. He heard the music:

"My Little Pony, My Little Pony..."

A single tear came to his eye. "What have I become?" He said out loud. He began to weep.