The Space in Between

Chapter 8

The moment Dre opened the door, my eyes caught the rooftop wall. He may have stopped my plan the first time, but he showed me an alternative. I smiled.

"Do you like it?" I heard him ask.

My eyes were still fixed on the wall. Without looking at him, I nodded.

"Let's go! I'm going to show you my favorite spot." He dragged me, and we sat on a bench at the platform in the middle.

The rooftop was turned into a garden and there's a small enclosed section at the right side for a butterfly sanctuary. In front of us was the view of the sea and behind us were the towering skyscrapers. Dre seemed excited in showing me around, but I couldn't care less. My mind is already transported to another time - the time I'm going to be back here alone.

I noticed Dre looked at the right side near the butterfly sanctuary and waved his hand to an older man. He shouted, "How's it going, Mr. Clint?"

The old man shouted back, "I can't complain."

"Talk to you later." Dre smiled at him and turned to me. "That's Salvador, but I prefer calling him by his last name, Mr. Clint. He takes care of this garden."

"He's doing a great job." I answered so Dre will not get an idea that I'm not minding the entire surrounding.

My eyes were still fixated at what's in front of me - the wall. In an ideal world, I might be enjoying the view, the sun as it slowly touches the sea on the horizon. I can sense Dre was watching me.

He followed my gaze and asked, "Isn't it beautiful?"

"It sure is." I answered then smiled.

*****

The rooftop is my favorite place, and I wanted to share it with Liv. That's where I found the silver lining, and though I'm not 100% sure she can get it from here, I still wanted her to see this.

I saw a glimpse of a smile from her face when she saw the view of the sea. For sure, the sunset, the garden, the sea breeze, all these will help to clear her head and think things through.

She's ultimately quiet and I couldn't get through her head. I felt there were a lot of things messing with her mind, and I wanted to help her.

I wish she could get the chance to get to know Mr. Clint. I was meaning to walk up to him and introduce Liv but obviously, she's consumed by her thoughts, she's disconnected.

Seeing that she's enjoying the sunset, I let her be and joined her as we watched the sea gradually engulf the sun, as if the former owns the latter - bursting orange in the sky.