When Night Falls (Complete)

10

IDRIS

Today, there are no games. Today, Idris pays a visit to a hotel of his for a business meeting. It took him quite a while to get through, because business nowadays only revolves around how many zeros one can offer. Never about how they can better said business.

Idris's patience has already run thin. Now he sits out on the balcony on the twentieth floor with Croff by his side. Croff's attention seems to be on the liquor only, which is the only reason the guard decided to stick around. Meanwhile, Idris turns his attention over to the city below. The population has begun growing in number, seeing as midday has just hit. So many lives scrambling to make do.

Idris sees a crowd of three. Must be a friend group, though the third seems like an outcast, because only they walk behind the other two. He sees a couple walking hand-in-hand, and then another who are much less romantic than the first. They're in an argument. It probably won't be long until their relationship dissolves.

Then he sees a family of three; a mother, a father, and their son. Idris studies that group a bit more than the rest so far, taking in the smile on the boy's face. They seem happy. But happiness is a short-lived dream. It is never guaranteed a permanent stay. Idris theorizes that the happiness in that boy's life won't last long. Because life is a packaged deal, and within that package exist misery, despair and anguish. It is inevitable.

Idris tears his eyes away from the family and redraws to himself. Then his mind starts to drift towards Josi. He hasn't bothered her for the past two weeks, mainly due to his own schedule. So imagine his surprise when he finds her below by a café. At first, Idris thinks she's in a meeting. But then he takes a look at her partner and finds it's none other than her boyfriend. A date. It's surprising she still has time for that, considering Idris's side games have been ceaseless. She must be clinging on to her relationship with just her fingertips.

Idris takes a bit more interest in the couple. He studies their body language, their posture. The air around them. From what he can tell, they seem completely lost in themselves. A bit cheesy if you ask Idris. But they don't seem to care about anything else. Just themselves.

Josi laughs at something her boyfriend said, and Idris makes a face. It couldn't possibly have been that funny. Now she has her head against her boyfriend's shoulder, while he continues on with his story. Idris zeros in on his smile. He seems as content as Josi is. Yet he has no power to his name. No influence. Idris scoffs. What is there to be content with?

Besides Idris, Croff begins a conversation that flies by him. It's about some target or the other, that much Idris knows. But as the seconds pass, the words turn to mush. The sight of Josi and her boyfriend has completely captured his attention.

Then just for a minute - a short minute only - he cuts out the photo of Bradley and hangs himself on the wall instead. That could be him. That could be his portrait beside Josi's. It's a foreign concept - someone to share his canvas with. He's never once desired that reality. But now he marvels in it. And to his surprise, it soothes him.

Idris only returns in time to hear Croff's offer. "You coming?" The guard asks him, though the rest of the conversation had been a haze. It seems Croff is on his way out.

Idris spends more time thinking, his eyes still on the couple. Then he shakes his head no.

Croff eyes him a bit weirdly. But he asks no further questions. "I'll see you later then."

Once he takes his leave, Idris turns back to the couple. So happy and merry they seem, as though the world were unbeknownst to them. As though nothing else mattered. Idris doesn't buy into it. Such happiness never lasts. It's never authentic. It must all be an act.