The Celebration Of A New Old Love

Love is said to be the foundation of everything, the thing we all rely on to make our days brighter and our nights calmer, the centre of the universe. It is the unforgettable feeling one doesn’t have the privilege to experience with just about anyone but is it truly as unforgettable as it is said to be?  

Aloness. That is what he experienced day and night that only heightened during the holidays, the time of the year where one is surrounded by family and lovers, he had none of that.

The day was worse than the night, it weighed heavily on him as he did not have the chance to sleep through it as he did with the night. 

He could not fathom the idea of standing up from the bed on which he had been lying for the entirety of Christmas. His phone, which had been sitting on the pillow next to him, had long lost charge after ringing continuously with message after message and call after call from friends and work colleagues who had taken pity on him for his solitude during the holidays. He already knew, without checking his phone, what all the messages contained: invitations to New Year’s Eve parties which he did not want to attend any more than he wanted a hole in the head. 

With great effort, he stood from his bed, taking a moment to note down his very bland room that had as much colourful personality as he did. There was absolutely nothing peculiar about his room, it was four white walls with a king-sized bed and a single wooden desk. Only one window to let the sunlight in and nothing more. His room was as desolate as him. 

He went into the bathroom, not bothering to look at his reflection, knowing damn well what he would find: raven dark hair with eyes to match, instead he looked down at his left hand, the hand that was marred with scars he could never recall getting.

Despite his aversion to parties, he had agreed to go to one tonight, it was New Year's Eve after all and he didn’t feel like moping around alone in his apartment like he had done all those days before, no, tonight was too be amongst others. He did not adore the idea of mingling with a bunch of drunk coworkers but neither did he cherish the idea of being the only drunk at home, so he had agreed when his coworker of whom he could not recall the name had invited him to party for all those in his workplace. There were to be hundreds of people. 

He had bought an expensive bottle of wine to bring to the party, a bottle which he wanted to drown of its contents the moment he bought it at the supermarket. But alas, he had to wait. 

Boredom. That is what she felt as she worked at her second job despite it being the holidays. Each day, she was forced to wake up at dawn to get ready for her day job only to get home at dusk after her second job. She did not have the luxury of staying in bed until she wanted to or to go to bed whenever she wished, except for tonight. Tonight, a coworker from her day job had invited her to a New Year’s Eve party and while she could not care any less for the new year, it gave her a great reason to get drunk and let go for once. 

She was currently at her second job, working at a small cafe five minutes from her home. She was, and always had been, a beautiful woman with her auburn hair and green eyes that sparkled in the sun like brilliant emeralds. Her beauty didn’t go unnoticed by others, she was noted by everyone she walked by and was the type of woman you remembered when you passed her. And she knew it, she knew the effect she possessed on the population, and yet she didn’t care, never did. There had been no one that had been able to capture her attention and perhaps there never will be. 

He had gotten dressed, brushed his hair away from his face and gift wrapped the wine in one one of those Christmas wine bags and suddenly he found himself to be ready for the party. He had arrived at the party earlier than most and had immediately been offered a glass of champagne, much to his delight.

It was on one of those expensive rooftop gardens that he could never afford no matter how hard it worked, and it was decorated with twinkling fairy lights that paired with the shining moon and stars, creating an ambiance unlike any other. Suddenly, he was grateful to have come even if it was just to bask in the atmosphere for those few short seconds. 

The moment was interrupted when someone bumped into him, causing his glass of champagne to spill over his hand and sleeve.

‘I am so sorry, I did not see you.’ the sweet voice of a woman spoke. 

He turned around, ready to cuss out the woman for her clumsiness. The words were already on the tip of his tongue, ready to spring out when he met eyes with her. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman he had ever met. 

He turned around and she saw the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on. Of course, the one man she immediately took interest in was one she had stupidly bumped into. 

‘There is no need to apologise.’ he told her, smiling as he took a napkin from one of the tables and dried his hand. 

He spoke and it was the best thing her ears had ever heard. His smile, brighter than any of the fairy lights that surrounded them. 

A waiter approached them, a tray of champagne glasses in his hand, ready to be handed out. He took one, happy to replace it with the one he had spilled. They began talking, about work, about life, anything and everything they could imagine. A lightness came over his heart that he had never quite felt in his life before and he wondered if it was due to her or if perhaps he had drunk too much champagne. 

‘And you said you have been working here for a decade now?’ she asked him, always maintaining eye contact. 

His eyes were too beautiful for her not to gaze into them. 

‘Yes,’ he said, usually, he would have ended the conversation there, but he found that with her he wanted it to go on as long as possible, ‘it’s the only thing that I feel truly passionate about.’

She smiled and raised her glass to him. ‘Here’s to a decade more, then.’ she said. 

He smiled too. ‘To a decade more.’ 

They clinked glass with such force, his glass broke. The broken glass cut his hand adding to the myriad of scars he was already collecting. 

Blood flowed from his head making her want to gag but she held strong, grabbing a handkerchief from her purse and putting pressure down on it to stop the blood flow. 

He was shaking his head, angry at his stupidity and to have made such a scene in front of this woman. He felt her hand on his and looked up to see her pressing a handkerchief to his bleeding hand. She too looked up and their eyes met. They stared for what must have been a full minute until they heard a loud cheer and people counting down. They separated and dropped their gazes as the countdown began. 

‘Ten!’ the crowd yelled out. 

‘I wanted to ask you-’ he began. 

‘Nine!’ 

‘If you would like to get a drink-’

‘Eight!’

‘With me sometime?’

‘Seven!’ 

‘I would love to.’ she said, honestly glad he had asked first. 

‘Six!’

‘What’s your name?’ he asked, taking out his phone to get her number next. 

‘Five!’

‘What?’ she asked, not being able to hear him over the ruckus.

‘Four!’

‘What is your name?’ he yelled louder. 

‘Three!’

‘Oh,’ she said, realising the whole evening they had spoken they had not even mentioned their names. 

‘Two!’

‘My name is-’

‘One! Happy new year!’

Fireworks went off and everyone cheered. The man, who had taken out his phone, closed it as he looked around, wondering how on earth he had gotten there. The woman in front of him seemed just as dazed as he was, taking a step back and analysing her surroundings. They both put their champagne glasses down on separate tables and headed for the exit. A happy new year indeed.