QUARANTINED

Day Thirteen

The sun was shining through the windows although it was evidently gloomy inside. It was evident to them that there is a storm of change coming towards them and there was nothing they could do about it so they remained scared in their conjoined beds, caressing each other while afraid to let go. They were too engulfed in the atmosphere, not wanting to separate themselves from each other. They were bonded by love and lust. Each of them wondering where the universe will lead them. The same question had been haunting them since the sun rose from its slumber.

Where to from here?

These women have found something they didn't know they lacked, from each other and now they were expected to pretend like their lives haven't changed. Tomorrow they would be strangers again as neither of them have voiced their opinions about their now ending relationship.

Before the pandemic, Cordelia had been adamant about expanding her business to other continents. It wasn't her dream but she knew that it was the only thing that would distract her from the realities of her life. She was after all, a lonely middle aged woman with countless amounts of escorts and broken women although it didn't bother her much as she thought that was all she could ever be and yet here she was, resting on the pillows that she loved the most. It was strange knowing that she was afraid of losing the girl, she has never cared much for anyone she slept with, not even Steward.

Before university, Cordelia had asked her father to enrol her in a drama school because she truly liked the arts of music and acting. She had heard that her grandfather was a musician, not a famous one but a good one as it was only a hobby to him. She would listen to jazz and pretend to act when her mother wasn't watching, her father enjoyed these moments with Cordelia as she was truly happy in them. Her father would feel nostalgic and think about how joyful her childhood home was, all that was taken away by Susan although he is too blinded to even see that. To him, he was the stranger he fell in love with. A beautiful stranger at that, intoxicated by her natural beauty and venomous brains.

"How are the applications going?" Cordelia had asked her father.

"What applications?" Susan had walked in with a wine glass in her hand, she did love drinking anytime of the day.

As if bound by a spell, John spilled the beans to Susan "Oh Cordelia wants to go to drama school and possibly become a renowned actress as she is good" Susan stared between the father and the daughter with so much confusion.

"Well that is stupid" she muttered

"It isn't ma'am, it is my dream" Cordelia had said, tears already threatening to dance on her flushed face.

"It is alright to dream, I had dreams too but that is all they can ever be. Dreams. You are ought to be the greatest business woman of all time, not some actress" Her mother had bitterly said and Cordelia's tears rolled out of the curtain and started dancing on her angry face while her mother stared at her with a bare amount of envy.

"But Papa?!" Cordelia had cried, her voice creaking as she tried to remind her father of the little moments they had shared.

"Your mother is correct, I cannot believe that I was at the verge of supporting such" He had said.

"How could you do this to me Papa?' she had asked the only parent who would sometimes show her love.

"Stop whining Cordelia, we are doing all this because we love you" her mother had said. She knew that Cordelia longed for parental love, she longed for a normal life with her parents so she used that against her. Susan was very manipulative, to everyone at that.

She stormed out of the room without saying a word, anger and confusing hanging over her head as she didn't know what just happened. Her dreams were snatched from her hands all because she was destined to become a business woman. It was never even her dream but as days passed Susan made sure she planted it in to her brain. "You will be famous" she had said or she would caress her back and say "I am so proud of you for choosing business law" knowing that Cordelia would roll over due to those words. A woman with the power of her slippery tongue.