Oh Hamora!

Nice to meet ya

The ball was hosted on a crispy cold December night, in an open garden, that edged with beautiful wild and tamed flowers. Spencer Hospital's Charity Ball, was joined by Politicians, Doctors, Entrepreneurs, Artists and Students as well, the crowd itself was a source of proud for the hosts. The hosts, Mr Edmund and Mrs. Katherine Spencer expected fewer people because of the harsh weather but as it turned out to their luck or dismay (the author can't tell which is which due to the Botox) one of the most famous Business man of New york made his first appearance after 12 long years. He was also a major shareholder of Spencer and Companies, which in turn spiked people's curiosity enough to join this event.

'You don't know how happy you made us by joining us today, Mr. Romano', said Mrs. Spencer while trembling a little. The five shots of vodka she took while sneaking away into corners were doing its magic.

Hamora wasn't planning to attend any 'charity balls' when all of her efforts to become a med student finally yielded. She thought it would be a waste of time for her because if she did have such huge amounts of money to spare, she would just pay off her student loans or even better, open a clinic. But she had to attend it today.

Dr. Sanders had assigned it to the class.

" I need social interaction from you guys! Lighten up! Take a break! All of you've done great this semester except obviously whoever wrote mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell in their answer. okay, wait, i have an idea. Your assignment for this Saturday is to attend the ball on weekend and meet me there."

"I'm kinda suspicious over this idea being yours Dr. Sanders" yelled someone from the backbench. Williams, probably. He was right, Dr. Sanders isn't the guy to force you to party, he is the one who tortures you with assignments.

"Well, you might be right. meet you guys at the ball!"

The weekend arrived soon. A bit too soon for Hamora. She preferred if meeting strangers in front of a huge ass crowd wasn't a thing in this world.

Camille, her roommate was wearing a shimmer silver gown with a low back and a long slit that accentuated her thighs.

Hamora decided on a black gown with multiple straps all over it that would've choked her if Camille hadn't helped.

'Woah, Look at this beauty. Honestly, what these straps lost in inconvenience they amply made up with elegance, come on babe, give this dress a twirl- and so she did.

"Magnifique, baby doll, Magnifique. oh by the way, Adrian said he liked your interview from the magazine" Camille was referring to the Interview Hamora gave as 'most Promising med student' in Spencer Magazine. It was an honour to hold that title for two consecutive years. She had worked day and night to earn it but even after achieving the validation that she will be where she always wanted to be, she still felt a void in herself.

"Adrian went to Chicago, last week, didn't he?"

"Yes. Uhm, actually i wanted to talk to you about something, do you mind if we sit down?"

"That sure is a good conversation starter, you are making me nervous."

" Shut up, remember Adrian brought flowers and a cake last week?"

"Yeah, the pink lilac ones, they were beautiful."

"And you know how much he loves me, right?"

"Are we going to discuss the moral, spiritual and emotional aspects of your relationship? If yes, then i suggest we do it after the ball because we have only 20 minutes."

" Yeah, no, well, the thing is that he asked me to move in with him to Chicago"

"Oh my god! That's awesome cam! Congratulations! I'm so happy for you."

Adrian and Camille were the dream couple for Hamora. They both were rom-com way in love with each other. She knew Camille would move to Chicago someday or Adrian to New York, but she didn't expect it to be so soon but she was happy for her nonetheless.

Sometimes, She wished she had a relationship like that. But in these long twenty - two years she didn't find any one her type. She did date one of her seniors in her junior year, for two dates to be exact. All they talked about was medicine, its history and its progress. After full day of gruelling in college, She wanted to be anywhere but there. She loved medicine, more than she should but she wanted to feel fresh in a relationship. She could talk and hear about medicine for days on end. At times, Hamora, Camille and their neighbours, Tara and Michelle, went to the restaurant downtown for dinner, their conversations were always about medicine and their passion for it and occasionally bitching about people around them.

Hamora's phone pinged with a text from their Uber driver," The cab's here, let's go!"

After they settled in the cab and more pressing matters like the next door neighbor's cat's Instagram were discussed, Camille asked jokingly," hey, what's with the romance guy? Is he alright?"

"Romano, you mean. Yeah, you can end the joke now, i stopped stalking him 6 months ago"

It was an old joke Camille started in their first year of med school when she found hamora's incognito tabs open with searches and searches of someone named Romano. She knew there was something she was hiding so she always tried and hoped that hamora would tell her who he was but she always gave the same non-commital answers.

What she thought she ended six months ago was coming back tonight, into her life like a whirlwind.

"It's a fucking masquerade. How lame could they get?" Hamora had asked when she looked at the people around her wearing pompous masks. Although she accepted that the black mask Camille brought for her did look gorgeous.

"When does dinner begin?" asked Hamora, leaning a little closer to Camille.

"We ate approximately 30 minutes ago, already hungry?" On a second thought, Camille wanted to eat something too.

"I'm just bored!" said Hamora.

"Dr. Magget brought her toy poodle as her date. Over your left" Dr. Magget was Camille's role model. She lived in a apartment Camille always dreamed to be in with her pets. She was one of the most successful surgeons of New York.

They were looking around the ball and presenting their valuable opinions to each other. Although they called it 'Honest Observations', it feels more like brutal judging to the narrator.

" Why does Mr. Spencer looks like he is a robot and why does it feel like the remote is in the hands of Mrs. Spencer?" Hamora said with a giggle. Hamora heard Camille snicker but after a millisecond she realised that Camille's voice didn't sound so endearing.

She turned to her left and came face to face with a man in a black suit with a similarly black mask. She saw the tiger embroidered on his mask.

She was wearing a yellow tutu frock. She was nearly six and It was Dante's Tenth Birthday
" Why izz da thim of your birday party tigers, Dante?"
"It's because Tigers never forget their enemies. And neither do i. And it's theme not thim silly" He said with a proud smile.

Tigers. Vengeance. His Childhood Obsessions.

She could feel his hot breath over her forehead. Hamora took a step back.

The light on her skin reflected back as if it was glass. He knew her since her birth. But what he didn't expect was that the little girl in floral tutus would look like a divine goddess when she grew up. Her black gown went low with straps over her neck and her back. It made him want to do inappropriate things.

"Hamora Kingston, I am glad to meet you here" he glided his mask over his hair, ruffled.

Hamora took a sharp breath.

"Dante Romano, N-Nice to meet you"

XX anivarya