A Rooftop Encounter (Short Story)

chapter five.

Without any explanation, Smitty hopped up from her sitting position next to me, detaching our close proximity which I was somewhat disappointed about.

She then walked forward to the edge of the roof. I was very curious as to what she had planned now.

Wordlessly, she began carefully manoeuvring her way down the make-shift ladder that was travelling down the side raised part of the building. I pushed myself up on the palms of my hands to get a better look at where she could be going. I saw her jogging towards the stairway, which led down to the main shopping centre below.

"Where are you going?!" I yelled after her, bemused by her sudden change of behaviour. First she had mentioned listening to music and then she had run off and deserted me. I kind of assumed that she would be back, but it was still odd that she had left with any explanation. Maybe she was trying to surprise me.

As I waited for her to return, I chose to lie back fully and place my hands behind my head. I took in the sheer beauty of the blanket of stars that twinkled above me. I had never bothered to stop and truly look at the infinite world above us. It made me realise how absolutely insignificant we are compared to the endless stretch of space.

It was as though everything we ever did was meaningless because once we were dead, that was it. Life carried on without you. The stars still glistened, the moon still shone and the sun still set. It was a frightening thought really. I shivered violently.

Smitty was taking longer than I had expected. I sincerely wondered what on earth she could be doing or where she could have gone. What if she wasn't coming back at all? Perhaps it was all a big excuse to leave because she was getting so bored of my presence. But even I knew that was unlikely. In spite of only knowing her a few hours, I knew she wouldn't do that to me. She wasn't that mean, was she?

I then found myself drifting off after getting lost in the sea of stars above my head. They were, after all, very calming to look at. My eyelids drooped for just a few minutes before I was abruptly jolted awake, ripping me from my thoughts.

"Hey, sorry I took a while..." Smitty grumbled, nudging my arm to get me to wake up properly. Groggily, I began to sit up again, scratching my head in a sleepy fashion.

"Look what I've got!"

In her hand was a small, wooden ukulele with a price tag swinging from the neck. She clutched it to her body proudly with a wide grin painted across her mouth.

"I took it from one of the shops below," She grinned slyly. However her smile soon dropped when she noticed the shocked expression that was now spread across my face. She rolled her eyes at me and laughed,

"I'm gonna put it back, sheesh!"

She ran her hands gently along the smooth wooden edges of the instrument and I had a feeling this wasn't the first time she had played one. A ukulele was such a unique thing to play. All the people I knew played crappy things like, the recorder. I was eager to listen to her play.

She strummed the strings lightly and I watched her in awe. Her head then shot up quickly.

"Ever played?" Smitty asked, gesturing for me to take the instrument in my own hands. I debated with myself for a second whether or not to take it because I had always wanted to try. But I also really wanted to hear her play too. I was torn.

"No... but you should play something though..." I urged, crossing my legs and turning on my bum, so that I was sitting directly opposite from her. Our knees were practically touching.

I was getting more comfortable with our intimacy, although my heart was still beating a mile a minute. She looked shy for a mere moment before shrugging at me.

I held my breath and keenly listened as she started to pluck the strings again. But to my absolute surprise, she also began to sing along gently with the chords. Quietly as first, but getting a bit louder after a few notes.

"When your legs don't work like they used to before"

"And I can't sweep you off of your feet."

Her voice was husky and authentic. I had to admit I hadn't expected her to like someone such as Ed Sheeran or play the ukulele for that matter. Her zesty appearance gave off the impression that she only listened to blaring rock and punk music.

Obviously I should learn not to judge a book by its cover. I was just so used to doing it and she had blown my expectations out of the water.

"Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars" She sang beautifully, her eyes focused on her own fingers as they strummed at the strings.

"Thinking out loud"

"Baby, we found love right where we are."

It was at that line when she glanced up for a second, catching me off guard. I had been gawking at her like a love struck school boy. A grin grew on her lips and she scrunched up her nose cutely. I swallowed hard.

"People fall in love in mysterious ways," She continued, moving her attention back to the ukulele. Meanwhile I sat and merely taking in the tone of her sweet voice.

For some reason that line resonated with me more than it ever had before, simply because she was the one singing it. She almost made it seem more believable. Maybe love was real. Maybe you could fall in love in the most unexpected of way, the most unexpected places. I felt as though it was trying to tell me something.

Soon she ceased singing and placed the instrument down in her lap, smirking to herself. I loved how happy it made her to play. She was so much more talented than she realised, I could tell. I couldn't stop myself from beaming ear to ear also.

"That was... amazing..." I breathed, truly meaning it as well. I was discovering new things about her every second and I loved it. Was this what falling in love with someone felt like? But that wasn't possible; I had known her less than a day. You cannot fall for someone in that short period of time. It was impossible, wasn't it?

"Cheers..." She replied, a little unsure of herself. Her eyes glared at our knees that were practically touching. It was such a subtle intimacy but I liked it a lot.

"Y'know... I've never sung in front of anyone before..." Smitty admitted in an almost timid way. A strange feeling bubbled through me. Knowing that I was the first person she'd ever sung to was satisfying. It made me feel rather special.

"How come?" I asked,

"I just never had the confidence... I suppose" She shrugged honestly. It was so strange to see her vulnerable side. With her tattoos and smoking habit, she seemed fearless but she wasn't. There were things that scared her and that was kind of comforting. I wasn't the only one that was terrified.

However it was then that remembered something she had said earlier,

"Hey you lied!" I cried, unintentionally making her jump.

"Huh?"

"You told you weren't good at anything," I quipped, watching her confused look fade immediately. She rolled her eyes before letting out a small chuckle and shaking her head.

"Alright...fine, ya got me. Maybe I'm good at one thing..."

"I think you're probably good at more things than you realise."

I didn't know why I had just said that. It was a bold thing to say and was extremely out of character for me. It seemed quite a weird thing to say, but she seemed stunned by it. I guess this whole rooftop encounter had been an overall surprising experience for us both.