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General

Blah. Blah. Blah.

White noise. White lies. A white cat rubbing against your bristly legs, shaved in the morning.

We sit in silence. Me and Miron. Miron and I. On a brand new, bright red sofa. The sweet, sickening smell of upholstery muddles my finer senses. Makes me crazy for touch.

We are new to this place, both me and her. Never done this before. Never hope to have to do this again.

Today I had called my mother, before leaving the apartment. She hadn't picked up the phone. Miron's mother had. But she had kept mum. Thus, we were on our own. Again.

There's another person in the room. Sitting at a large desk in the corner. Working on the laptop. A man. Brown hair, soft features, deep-set eyes. I stare at him from the corner of my eye. He doesn't seem to notice and Miron turns to look at me.

" Music?" As though I would say no. "Of course." And I take the earphone out of her hands.

Stars shining bright above you. Night breezes seem to whisper I love you. Birds singing in the sycamore tree. Dream a little dream of me.

Yes, I am dreaming. But it is only ten in the morning. And my nape is itching like crazy. So I'm awake, probably.

I look at the man again. He is slowly getting up, too slowly. Blue jeans teasing wood. He then walks out of the room. I avoid looking at Miron.

1 hour. We are still sitting. Me and Miron. Miron and I. But the bright red of the sofa seems to have faded...

11:30. The man comes back. He comes up. To us.

"I'm sorry. You'll have to wait a little longer."

He goes back to his desk. I stifle my laughter.

I can see Miron growing impatient. She's playing with her ring. Ring...huh...

There's a window right behind us. The sun is shining so brightly, we might look like angels from the front. Does Brown Hair think so?

I first met Miron when I was fifteen. She was older than me, but I was taller. So I didn't think she was older than me. And I didn't know she was older than me until much later. When I met her again. I was seventeen that time. She hadn't left much of an impression the first time, but this time she did.

Because this time she came in as our music teacher. Student-teacher, to be exact. She was still completing her graduation.

I remember how on my first day in her class, she had asked us to keep quiet and just look out of the window. And as we looked out of the window, she had started to sing.

Stars shining bright above you. Night breezes seem to whisper I love you. Birds singing in the sycamore tree. Dream a little dream of me.

"But it is broad daylight," someone had said. She hadn't replied. She had went on singing.

I have been passionate about music ever since then.


Another hour goes by. I glare once at the man and then at the clock. Such clowns! I'm starting to get hungry. Miron brings her lips close to my ears. "My butt pains."she whispers. I smile at her. I turn back my head. The sky looks like a whiteboard. The sun has blended with the sky. If only I had a marker...I would've drawn clouds. Storm clouds.

The man is walking towards us. Again. We look at him together. Me and Miron. Miron and I. "Would you like something to eat?"he asks. I roll my eyes. Miron laughs and says yes. The man walks out of the room and comes back in within a few minutes. Two paper bags in his hands.

"Thank you." Miron answers. So sweetly. Even now. Even though I know she doesn't mean it at all.

The man walks back to his desk. Smiling? I look inside the packet.

Pretzels! The man brought pretzels! I glare at him . He matches my gaze.

But the pretzels are good to eat.

12:30. Oh? I had it had been over an hour. Seems like I was wrong. I am impatient, huh? So much for my namesake. Patience Agbabi. Patience Ray has failed her.

I take the empty packet from Miron's hand and scrunch it into a ball. Then I toss it into the waste paper basket. Such great tip. I should've played some sport. Music isn't getting me nowhere...

Miron and I, we both are musicians. I play the violin, she the piano. She doesn't sing for a living though. "This instrument doesn't cost much."she says" I'm okay with lending it out for free."

I haven't had much success with the violin." You're young."Miron comforts me." You'll get there."

Maybe I will. But what if I don't?

Then I'd have to go back. Back to the obscure suburb I grew up in. Back to Virginia. Back to the life I've always wanted to escape.

Maybe I won't have to. Maybe I will make it. Or maybe Miron will not let me go. She is rather rich, afterall.

"Patience?" I snap back into the grey room. "Yes, Miron? What is it?"

Miron looks at me. Straight into my muddy eyes. Straight into my muddled head. "The man said only ten minutes now."she whispers. And then smiles.

I turn my head. Oh. Brown Hair is gone.

"Miron"

"Yes?"

"Are you sure about this?"

"What are you talking about?"she nearly screams.

Ah. No. I hadn't meant to agitate her.

"Ah, it's not as though I don't want to. But for all I know, I might never make it."

"You are digressing"

"Heh!"

"Don't think about it now."

"Ok."


The man has come back. I can see a paper in his hand. And a pen. Tock-tick-tock-tick, my heart beats with the clock.

"It is ready."he says.

I sign the paper. Miron signs it after me.

"There!"the man says, in a sing-song voice. "I, Jordan Ray, brother of Patience Ray, pronounce her and Miron Clarke, legally wedded spouses."He finishes with a smile.

I smile. So like Jordan. So like Brown Hair.

Miron pulls herself towards me.

"And now, the legally wedded spouses may kiss."


July 03, 2020 16:05

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7 comments

Nandan Prasad
06:36 Jul 13, 2020

This was such a sweet and heartwarming story! The narration built up the tension well, and the ending was so cute. The flashbacks were well-written, but as someone before has already said, some dialogue can be refined (nothing too much). Overall, fantastic story. Also, would you mind checking out my stories too if it is not too much trouble? Thanks and good luck!

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Agnibeena Ghosh
18:09 Jul 13, 2020

Sure! Thank you for taking the time to read this story. I'll definitely keep your advice in mind.

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Courtney Stuart
14:13 Jul 11, 2020

this was such a cute story! the narration style was very unique, and it really helped to create a tense atmosphere that usually occurs when you're waiting for someone. i really loved the relationship between Patience and Miron, and i think it'd be really cool for you to expand upon them in the future! i also really loved these lines: 'White noise. White lies. A white cat rubbing against your bristly legs, shaved in the morning.' 'The sky looks like a whiteboard. The sun has blended with the sky. If only I had a marker...I would've dra...

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Agnibeena Ghosh
14:30 Jul 11, 2020

Thank you very much☺️ Maybe I'll write another story about them in the future.

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Isabella Serene
13:09 Jul 11, 2020

You’ve done a good job unfolding the story slowly and keeping my attention with nice details like the red couch. A little friendly constructive feedback: - Some of the dialogue formatting is a little hard to follow and could use a bit of editing - The back story of how the two character’s met and their shared love of music is present nicely, but I was a little surprised by the ending. I was under the impression that they were probably waiting for some kind of music audition or something. Maybe hinting a little more at the romantic nat...

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Agnibeena Ghosh
14:29 Jul 11, 2020

Thank you for taking the time to read this☺️ I'll surely work on the points you mentioned.

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Deep Chakroborty
02:27 Aug 26, 2020

Frankly speaking, I had no interest in reading a story of such a genre. But my teacher forced me to do so, saying "You need concentration, and thriller novels won't help you achieve any. Try to read other kind of, normal stories". I searched randomly on Google cause I had no interest in reading big novels as I am very impatient. After scrolling a few "prompts"(that's what they say, right?) I came across this story. And it was nice actually (from the perception point of view). Most importantly, I read the full story, patiently. Would be grate...

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