Setting Suns | A Coania Short Story

8 | No Time for Crying

Octogenarian

(n.) A person of between 80 and 90 years.

To say that Vania didn't expect it would be an understatement. After all, if there was anyone good at getting information it would be her sister. The door shut quietly behind her, footsteps soft against the carpeted floor like a cat passing through a street.

She hadn't even hung her coat yet when Harumi sat up from her bed—startling her in the process—and began bombarding her with questions.

"So? Did you kiss?" Was the start of the invasive interview.

Vania made a face as she slipped into her pajamas, there was no need to be quiet now. "Don't be ridiculous."

"Why is kissing ridiculous?"

"Because it's only the first date."

Perhaps Vania should have taken time to go over a script of what she was going to tell her sister before she spoke. Because the amusement on her face was enough to make her wish she hadn't said anything at all.

"So there's a next one?" Harumi asked with more teasing than curiosity.

Vania could only roll her eyes, slipping off her bunny slippers and pulling the comforter over her figure. "If you really must know, he invited me to his grandmother's birthday party this weekend. And before you say anything, yes, I'll be careful and I'll make sure to take my pills before I leave."

She laid her head on the pillow but the feeling of the ground against her back lingered, the tips of her lips quirked at the reminder of what had just happened a few minutes ago.

From across her, Harumi sighed. "You know I only remind you because I care about you, Vany. And—are you smiling?"

"No!" She said, defensively.

"The people in space can see you smiling, Vania." Harumi rolled her eyes despite the obvious grin on her face. "You like him, don't you?"

It was around 5 in the morning already, the sun preparing to take its place in the sky as it slowly shifted from dark to light. The creek of the hinges on her parent's door echoed through the quiet halls of the house and forced both girls to close their eyes for good measure.

When the footsteps retreated from their door and down the stairs, they released a sigh of relief. A cold breeze flowed through the open window and grazed her already reddening cheeks. It sent a shiver down her spine and forced her to sink further into her comforter—which probably did not look so good in Harumi's point of view, especially after her question.

But Vania had taken the ride home with Cole as an opportunity to contemplate that question herself. There was no doubt the boy was good looking, but Vania wasn't one to judge based on appearance—though she wouldn't deny the fact that it was an added advantage.

He was nicer than he appeared and it was that very fact that made Vania want to dive in deeper and try to understand what made him like that in the first place—though she did get a glimpse of that earlier—but a part of her wanted more.

Sure, he was serious all the time, and he sucked at flirting, but he was more than capable of keeping up with her train of thought and even sharing his own insights. There was nothing better than having someone understand you on a deeper level.

And it was obvious on his end that he liked her. Why would he ask her out on a date in the first place then?

Crushes have never really been part of Vania's life before, let alone having a romantic relationship with someone—that was more her sister's area of expertise—and now that this was happening, all sorts of questions popped up in her mind, nothing like the ones she always asked.