Two Camellias

Open Wounds

        The next week was filled with an endless amount of distractions that prevented me from following through with my search for the girl of my dreams. I was so busy settling into my new apartment I almost didn't realize that it had been a week since my emotional embrace with Raine. The apartment building I moved into was awfully secluded; It was surrounded by miles of trees and was the only building in a large empty clearing at the end of a long road, but it did have the absolute best view of the stars in the nightsky that I had ever seen. The day was Sunday; The very first Sunday of my new life in a new place. I told myself that this would be the day where I found her, and so I rolled out of bed trudging towards the shower so I could clean up and brush my teeth.

    As I stepped out of the cold water that rained down upon my back ever so gently my phone would begin to ring. That was something that caught me off guard considering I hadn't even handed my phone number out to anyone. I assumed it was a bill collector or someone trying to confirm where to send my mail so I picked up the phone without any expectations as I wrapped a towel around my waist, listening to the voice on the other end.

    “Mr. Hope, good morning sir! This is Dominik Chang from the front desk of your building. I'm calling to tell you that you have a delivery from a Miss Raine Melody waiting for you down here. That's all, have a nice day sir!” He sounded awful rugged, sort of like he was just going through the motions, but with a bit more pep than usual. Regardless of how he sounded I gave him a typical thank you, placed the phone back on the receiver and grabbed a pair of shorts with a plain white tee so I could head downstairs to see what could possibly be waiting for me.

   And there at the bottom of the stairs I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I must have been dreaming still because there she was, standing right in front of me next to a tall man at the desk. She spun around to meet my glance and I'm certain that my heart skipped a beat. I don't know how it was even possible but she was even more beautiful than the first time I saw her, my heart was beating a million miles a minute as I walked towards her trying to mask my obvious infatuation. She waved at me with a soft smile that was rather ordinary for most people, but I envisioned a thousand doves flying over the ocean in perfect harmony. You could have stuck a fork in me because I was done right there, I couldn't hold back anymore.

    “How did you find me here? I can't believe it.” I was completely caught by surprise, I was trying to make sure she knew how excited I was that she was here. I was holding back my feelings just enough though, it was almost impossible for me not to shout my love for her to the heavens. It's shocking really, somehow a girl I had barely seen let alone knew had me caught in love.

    “Well I reckon I just thought I could come visit you and welcome you and your folks to town. I heard that you were living here, so I decided to swing by.” She was full of joy and excitement; A total 180 compared to the day we met. I smiled and let out a soft laugh before her words began to ring through my mind as if they set off some kind of trigger.

    “Uh, I'm.. I'm really sorry. I really appreciate the gesture but you should go. You should definitely go.” That was the last thing I ever wanted to say to her, but my voice began to shake and I could feel tears coming.

“What? Why? I just—” She was visibly upset and surprised but I had rushed up the stairs as quickly as possible before responding. I instantly regretted my actions as I burst through my door full of sadness. Slamming it shut behind me I'd proceed to sink down against my door and put my head in my hands.

   What followed that was a series of endless tears, I mean I knew I was alone right now but it still hurt so much. I couldn't contain my sadness, I was just unleashing all of those pent up feelings in a swift instant there against my mahogany door. I don't know why this was happening, usually those kinds of things rolled off me and I wouldn't bat an eyelash, but this was different. Raine made me feel something, something I had been longing for for ages and I had no idea what it was to tell you the truth. She had inadvertently caused me to let out my deep rooted sorrow for the first time since the death of my parents. The events leading up to it, the event itself, and everything after it, all pure torture. Back on the day we met, Raine had helped me forget my own problems. I finally felt like I was helping someone else, I felt selfless and that felt good.