TST, 2020
A romantic story that started on his first day in school was on its final page. Leo’s eyes escorted Isla who vanished out of his sight, without looking back. Leo believed that when a girl leaves knowing that she’ll never come back and the girl just leaves without looking back, love is no longer there. The garden didn’t smell good any more. Leo headed to his room.
The room was very dirty. Spider webs dominated the ceiling, windows were full of dust and his properties were roughly dispersed all over the room. When he left, he didn’t get time to pack his stuff. He left everything in the room. But he left them in order. Unless someone entered his room searching for something there was doubtless a ghoul who scattered his belongings.
He sat at the table. Not only his heart but his whole body was aching. He wondered how a girl could do something so bizarre to another girl because of a man, a man she didn’t even know well. Was love that influential? Of course, it was. It was love that made him sit feebly on the table, not knowing what to do. He remembered Benjamin’s words, you can spend minutes, hours, days, weeks, or even months over-analyzing a situation, trying to put the pieces together, justifying what could’ve, would’ve happened or you can just leave the pieces on the floor and move on. What was he supposed to do? He wished Benjamin was there.
Someone knocked on the door.
Leo wiped his tears using his shirt.
A knock proceeded.
“Come in.” Leo said.
The door opened. Rachel entered. She was on a red Sheath Dress, sitting just above her knees. The dress showed well her gymslip-thin, mermaids figure.
“Hello.” Rachel said.
Leo smiled.
“I thought you needed some help cleaning the room.” She said as she scrutinized the room.
Leo smiled. His smile dazed him. It was a chaste smile. He didn’t remember the last time he smiled like that.
Rachel opened her arms. “Aren’t you hugging me?”
Leo stood and the two hugged.
His heart stopped aching and his body was at peace. There’s something in a simple hug that always warms the heart. It welcomes us back home and makes it easier to part.
“Rachel, I’m back.” Leo said.
“I always prayed for you to come back.”
“You can now hold my hand, forever.”
“Really?”
“Yah!”
Rachel hugged him tightly. He could hear her smiling.
“I’m glad you are back, Leo. I really love you.”
Leo’s hands were on her waist. He glanced up to the ceiling. He once read the book called The Zahir by Paulo Coelho. He remembered the words in one of the scenes, my heart might be bruised, but it will recover and become capable of seeing the beauty of life once more. It’s happened before, it will happen again, I’m sure. When someone leaves, it’s because someone else is about to arrive. I’ll find love again.
Was it really that he found love again? Or was it as Fabian said, that he was just looking for a distraction to fill his emptiness?