0 comments

Mystery

Suzie

" I literally feel like my life is too plain for life it self" Brianna said "There's literally no exciting part about it. What am I going to tell my kids when I am mother? That's if I'll be. You know" From her point of view I understood what she meant. Sadly Brianna's life was too boring. She had never had any unusual exciting event in her life as basic as a meet cute. She'd never been the crazy kind to have crazy stuff on her bucket list. That's if she had one. I felt kinda sorry for her because her life was the exact opposite of mine. I'd had my own share of meet cutes, crushes, broken hearts and many more. "Your life is pretty much perfect to me. I want one of my kids to turn out just like you. Being responsible is okay. At least your parents are settled knowing there's a bright future." "No body cares about that stuff" I added to encourage her "Well I do. I don't want to be the mother suffering from fixation. Running to bars after work to hook up with whatever awaits me"

I don't even remember how we ended up with this conversation. "Why are you even thinking about this?" I asked. "I watched an episode of Blackish and I realized I didn't want to be like Zoe's grandma. She's going through so much fixation. I don't want to be like her at all." I looked at the time. It was still early so I decided to take her out to lighten her mood. I hope the odds were in our favor to let something magical happen or at least something exciting. " Come on get up and change from those hideous clothes we are going out." As she dressed and made up I requested an Uber to take us to the new Karaoke place James had recommended. There's nothing a night of karaoke can't fix. I had one of the best times there. The Uber arrived and we rushed out of the room to get there in time. The weather didn't seem friendly. It was threatening to rain heavily. The Uber guy was pretty nice. He played his own music and didn't bother to force any conversation and he let us be. We searched for the songs we'd sing when we reached there. I was already seeing Brianna light up. We just needed a little tequila to give her the kind of night to tell her kids. I thought as I rolled my eyes. "What's with the eye rolling?" "Nothing" she said okay and we zeroed it down to two old songs and as many new songs to each one. "This is it" the Uber guy said. "Thank you" we replied as we paid him "ten thousand Shillings"

"Ready" "Ready" we marched in and found a place immediately. Well Sam knew me as regular so it was easy to get us a table at Thrones. "What should I get you today?" Sam asked. " Jameson will do with coke and ice cubes" "Thank you" Brianna added. Sylva the karaoke "guy" came over to greet us as he handed us the list to write our songs for the night. "Sylva, Brianna my cousin" they shook hands and he went back to the machines. The night started off with some guy singing "You sang to me by Marc Anthony" then some other two ladies and it was me next. I sang Shania Twain's Forever and for always. It was our song. Brianna cheered me after me singing someone you loved by Lewis Capaldi "You were pretty emotional on stage" "yeah I know" " There's a guy seated two rows behind you. He's been looking this way, I'm not sure if it was me, while you were up there." I silently thanked the odds. 'What's he like." "My kind of dream guy."she smiled. "Well" "well nothing. He's probably intoxicated enough to find me pretty. If he had any interest he'd have been over trying to buy me a drink." "Isn't that what happens in the movies. She sipped her glass of Jameson's. Sylva called her on the microphone to sing. She opted for Khalid's young dumb and broke and Sia's cheap thrills. I turned my head to see whether her stranger was impressed with her angelic voice. And he was applauding her from his seat. "Your stranger seems intrigued. Huh. He applauded you" she blushed "He's coming this way as we speak"  Brianna was excited till I saw her face gloomy. "He just walked out the door" she explained. "Let's finish our drinks and go back to our apartment. I still have to show up early for work. Being an intern is hard" " Yeah " I agreed.

Brianna 

I decided on taking a walk along the barely empty street on Sunday. It had been a long time since I'd taken a peaceful walk. "Hey Suzie."I called "I am going to take a walk" "Okay cool" she mumbled in her sleep. I pulled out my earphones, plugged them in my mp3 player and headed for the park. The air felt fresh and it only left me calmer than I Intended to be. I saw cute couples on the benches, others strolling on the side walk hand in hand and myself walking aimlessly with my favorite songs of all times. The air smelled of love and romantic movies. It would actually be a great coincidence if I happened to bump into someone accidentally to have my own meet cute. Suzie had them all the time. I found my way to an empty bench where I just stared at the clouds and wondered if I'd ever get a soulmate. Time was ticking considering my age as a woman. I'd spent half an hour wishing for a little bit taste of luck on me. I then got up and went to the supermarket to pick a few snacks and drinks for our fridge. My mind was brought back to earth by the black Harrier that was hooting at me. This can't be meant for me. I continued walking till the person in the car hooted at me closer now and lowered the glass window. "You'll not believe the person I saw" I narrated to Suzie "Come on now. Who was it" "My dream guy from Karaoke" I said as Suzie jumped on her bed screaming. "Ooh Mr. Stranger is back. So did he like give you his number or what?" She asked. "He used signs to describe how good I sang at karaoke and he smiled. Boy oh Boy what great teeth he had" " Though he couldn't give me his number because the light turned green and the cars had to continue."I added "Maybe next time you'll get his number. Third time is always the charm. Trust me" she said as she punched me slightly on my arm


A month had passed before she'd seen Mr. Stranger again. Till that day in the lobby at work when Brianna bumped into Mr. Stranger. "Oh hey! You are the guy watching me at Karaoke" said Brianna. He kept quiet and stared at her. "Girl on the street ..Sunday evening. Does that ring a bell?" Mr stranger said nothing still. Brianna felt angry at him. The least he could do is say something she thought. He picked a pen from his shirt pocket and scribbled something on the cramped paper and handed it to her before he walked out the door. It read

 I've never seen someone as beautiful as you. For the past month I've passed by Capital's supermarket hoping I'd get to see you again. Your voice as melodic as the Nightingale. You mesmerized me. I couldn't stop thinking about you. Neither will I.              

The new ink words read

I'm traveling to India tonight for vocal surgery to get my voice back. If I ever get to talk again. My only wish is to tell you how beautiful you are and for you to save me a date at karaoke. See you soon Christian.

April 16, 2020 06:48

You must sign up or log in to submit a comment.

0 comments

RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in Reedsy Studio. 100% free.