His return

“Don’t go….. don’t go, please!” That’s all it takes for her to jerk back to reality. In a state of panic and anxiety, she pants quickly, gulping down the water next to her bedside. Then, she slowly starts wiping down the rest that are gradually trickling down her slim neckline. Droplets of water form in her crystal clear eyes, ones which are sparkling like a gem, in the shimmering light of the sun. He isn’t alive and that’s it, period. She has had enough of these horrible nightmares. After all, today is going to be her very first day at the therapist.

She inhales and her breathing immediately becomes stable again. Sighing from stress, she looks at the time and stretches. No matter how much she tries, she couldn’t properly manage a smile on her face. However, when it does come, it always turned into a face adorned with grimace and hatred. She misses him. She wants him back by her side. But that is never going to happen. He is dead and that took place in front of her eyes. She saw the corpse, the evidence. She can’t exactly cry either, since that just makes her feel pathetic and weak.

Crawling out of her bed, she calmly stands up and puts on her warm beanie and thick socks. The cold is stressing her out, which only makes her day get off at a rocky start. She groans loudly and winces when she realizes her body is not listening to her and rather falling onto the matted floor. She curses for not paying attention and sits down on the floor instead. She looks at her fingers or anywhere that might have been hurt, but it is just a minor clumsy fall. Soon, she forgets that minute-throbbing pain and dusts her back all the way down to her bottom.

Making her way towards the bathroom, she decides to wear the toilet slippers, as it is only going to benefit her the most. Why? Because although the floor is clean, she is still wearing socks, which, as a matter of fact, she had brought yesterday from a well-known brand, aka FALKE. They are pretty and everything, but most of all they were made with thick cotton, designed to keep the owner merry and comfortable. Unfortunately, that is definitely not how they make her feel. They were tools for living, nothing less, nothing more.

When she is done using the small toilet, she lets her soft, white feet lead her towards the sink, while giving sole freedom to a yawn creeping towards her expectant body. She silently yet swiftly washes her slender fingers, making sure all the soap is out. Slowly grabbing her tooth brush from the glass cupboard, she immediately puts it in her delicate mouth, feeling a sense of satisfaction when her hand has successfully gotten rid of the disgusting morning smell from her now cleansed mouth.

Spitting from her mouth, she impatiently wipes it off of the large towel hanging in its place. Despite the mess she is in mentally, she is a person who never broke her values and rules simply due to some life problems. She is someone who is filled with the urge to clean whenever she has a problem arising in her life. So, keeping that thought in mind, there is not even a single speck of dust in her whole house, except of course her room, from which she just stepped out from.

Mornings for people like her are the worst part of the day. She despises it. Mixed thoughts swirl like a tornado. So when she snaps out of them, it looks like she has just finished brewing her coffee. She sighs, slowly and quietly making her way up the swirling staircase leading her towards the large walk-in wardrobe. The place screams luxury, so when she steps in, her mind becomes messed up heavily. Therefore, she does what she used to do, especially when she was with him. She picks the most random set of clothes, which includes a knee-length wolf fur coat, a pair of black boots, a red shirt and tight pants which are the same colour as her boots. Holding the clothes in her hands, she looks at them and concludes it is decent. At least her sense of fashion in the past few weeks has remained. But it feels as if she is in a very similar situation. How these clothes have been worn by her somewhere. A place which is all too familiar to her.

Flashback

He walks her back holding her hands, as if showing his sincerity, showing how much she meant to him. They were the type of married couple that were exact opposites. Although it was true that opposite attract towards each other, the rule somehow didn’t apply to them. It was bent and twisted. Literally. They were people who were never meant to meet, but fate had a different plan for them. Their marriage was arranged, and was obviously quite traditional considering how they were both very modern and followed the trends.

Although they didn’t reject, it was easily visible how much they disagreed regarding this aspect. But, to not disappoint their parent’s expectation, they hesitantly started a relationship. But it looked that’s where the turning point in their lives was. It took time, but all that pretending was giving both partners away and eventually they fell in love. Within a year, they were the most admired couple in the city who didn’t fake their relationship. They were happy, and lived quite a comfortable life.

“Darling, I still have work to do……... do you mind?” He asks his wife who was on the verge of another one of her explosive outbursts. Of course, they were the normal loving ones, but the types that her husband was scared off if they got serious. After all, they sometimes involved physical violence. That meant a shoe in his face as soon as he completely ruins the romantic atmosphere which built around them during the day. But instead, she smiles wide and hands him a package. He looked at her hesitantly.

“Go, shoo, I knew this would happen. I mean how can someone like you be off on a weekday? That my friend,” She points at the box, “is your food, I packed just in case. Aren’t I the best?” She said admiring herself, of course, expectantly waiting for him to shower her with praises. But after a moment or two, when they don’t come, she opens her eyes, taking in the surroundings.

He was nowhere in sight and she felt anger built up in her. “THANK YOU, I JUST KNEW MY WIFE IS THE BEST!” He yells next to her ears making her squirm in her spot. But when the she finally absorbs what she was hearing, she beams. She turns around and instantly she feels a peck on her lips which disappeared as soon as it came.

End of flashback

Who knew that it would be the last time she would see him. She regrets it so much -even now- but its not as if she can reverse time and be with him all over again. She threw on her clothes. Now they hold no significance. He is gone, so they are just clothes. It is not like she is trying to be attractive and dress up to impress him. So what’s the use of dwelling into the past? She has to move on at some point, and it will be a great thing if it would be right around now. She quickly sweeps aside her burning emotions. It was 5:30 in the morning, and she has to change quickly, otherwise it would spell trouble. If the neighbours saw her, they would ask how she is and pretending displaying their full hypocrisy. She won’t be surprised if they stuck to her like leaches and pretend to be ‘caring’ and ‘concerned’ about her.

Grabbing her iPhone, she set it into her pocket, and heads towards the door, getting the blackest pair of sneakers she could find in her current haste. Taking her headphones which were left last night due to the last-minute meeting, she makes her way out the door. She securely locks the house and notices something unusual. When she bends down, she sees a chewing gum stuck right in the corner, down the bottom on her door. She frowns, but just takes it off without making a fuss.

 Of course, just as much as they would like to suck up like parasites, there will also be others who will criticise, de-moralise, and put her down. She takes out a small piece of tissue from her pocket, and throws it in the bin with the disgusting gum. She can’t care less about what they think, but if they mess with her repeatedly, she won’t just stop at compensation. She will take it to court and involve the police, if necessary.

Shrugging the negative emotions off, she quietly just breaths in the chilly air which are like icicles wanting to latch onto someone. She sneezes, then makes her way to rub her nose. She already feels chilly, but this weather is just over the top. She shivers, putting an accelerator in her speed, running down the hilly street. She will regret it if she uses her speed like this. It isn’t like someone is going to her a lift from down this mountainous path, so she slows down, trying to catch her breath.

“Hey miss, are you alright?” A voice drifts onto her pants and heavy breathing.

“Yes, I’m fine. Apologies if I bothered you.”

Do you want a drink?”

“Thank you very much for offering.” Her hands are placed on her knees, so she can’t get a proper view of this kind stranger. When her breathing is normal, she decides to get up and puts her back straight. But her eyes disagree with her as they land on him. Starting from his shoes, she suddenly furrows her brows. But as she makes her way up, she realizes that her assumptions are coming true. The brands were the exact same worn by him that day. They are in his size and favourite colour. What the hell is going on? But the question is abruptly answered when she locks her eyes with his. She gasps.

Her hands flew to cover her mouth, and that’s when the click happens and the switches turn inside her, which makes her process what she is witnessing. Tears trickled down her face and she starts sobbing hysterically like a mad woman. She crumbles to her knees, and the eyes of the tall man soften considerably, thinking that he just has this playful glint in his eyes before. “Hey, hey its okay, I’m here. I’m back, okay?”

He hugs her, as if she would just calm down within that moment. And she does, which is quite unexpected. Usually when girls cry they go full out, but just hearing his voice, she is frozen and realized that all this, was real. His face, body, clothes, even the damned shoes were the same as that day. “You jerk; how could you make me bear all that?” She sniffles against his chest, grateful for the fog and the little possibility of people coming. She cries, and cries, which is honestly just small sniffles and sobs that escape from that tiny mouth. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry for leaving you all by yourself, I’m sorry you had to bear criticisms, heck I’m even sorry you faced those reporters all alone with no one beside you. Please,” He begged, which was very unlike him, “Please give me another chance to make it up to you okay Anne?”

She stops, as in stops at that very instant. Of course she would, she would rather die than live in conflict with him. She glances into his eyes, which are clouded with genuine concern and worry. “No, I won’t do that. You should have at least called me or notified me, or just left something. But,” She sighs gazing at him giving him hope with loving affection written on her face, she drops the bomb for him. “If, and I’m saying if you are really serious in asking and for us to work again, then you have to do one thing.”

What? Say it, I will do anything.” He replies.

“Carry me back up that hill.” She points towards their home and he looks at her confused, then roars with immense laughter.

“But isn’t that very hard? I mean you are heavy and all.” He jokes, his teasing personality slowly coming back into his system.

“Hmm, well then, let’s file for a divorce, my dearest Vincent.” She states, her arms crossed, giving him the ‘eye’.

“No! I mean there’s no need for that. It looks like I would just have to man up and give my wife a ride back. And from the way you look,” He looks at her carefully,” You seem to have lost weight.”

She giggles, totally exploiting his comment, making him pout. “Fine then, good luck in your ‘hard’ journey up the mountain. It seems as you must accomplish this task, otherwise the marriage is doomed, my love.” She retorted, making him chuckle and in return he earns the peaceful laughter from her lips as well. “Well, no matter what, I’m glad you’re back.” She whispers lightly, nuzzling in his neck. Fortunately, he hears her loud and clear. “I will do all I can to make it up to you.”