Ginger and Cardamom | Moon Knight

07 | Astha

Astha's stomach grumbled, reminding her that it was almost time for lunch. She checked her phone again, hoping for a response from Marc, but there was nothing. She sighed and stood up from her desk, grabbing her wallet and phone. She took the tube to a nearby cafe where she could grab a quick bite to eat.

As she stood in line, waiting for her turn to order, she couldn't help but feel a little anxious. It had been a while since she had heard from Marc. She quickly shook the thought out of her head, reminding herself that he was probably just busy.

After grabbing her food, Astha decided to text Marc again. "Hey Marc, I know you must be busy but I was just checking in." She hit send and sighed.

She felt a pang of disappointment as she checked her phone for the umpteenth time that day. Still no message from Marc. It had been a week since their first date, and while she had texted him a few times, he hadn't replied to any of her messages.

It wasn't like Astha had been bombarding him with messages. It started with her sending him a couple of happy texts, thanking him for being there for her when she couldn't sleep and telling him about her day. She had even sent him a cute picture of a cat she had seen on her way to work one morning.

But as the days went by, her messages became more and more indifferent. At first, she had assumed he was busy with work or something, but now she was starting to worry that he was ghosting her. She told herself that she didn't care if he replied or not, but deep down, she was hurt and confused.

"We could have just talked about it like adults instead of you ghosting me. Real mature Spector."

Astha kept busy with work and her weekly DnD nights with Alice and Jessica. On top of that, she had daily and weekly chores to do, like grocery shopping and laundry. She would take the tube to work, and sometimes she would see a couple holding hands and smiling at each other, and she couldn't help but wonder if she would ever have that kind of connection with someone.

As days crept up to the two-week mark, Astha's messages to Marc became more desperate. She told him that she was worried about him and that she hoped he was okay. She even called him a couple of times, but he didn't answer. She tried to distract herself by throwing herself into her work and her hobbies, but her thoughts kept drifting back to Marc.

One day, as Astha was getting off the tube, she saw a man who looked like Marc walking towards her. Her heart leapt with joy, but as he got closer, she saw that it wasn't him. She felt a lump form in her throat, and she had to take a deep breath to stop herself from crying.

Astha didn't know what to do. She didn't want to come across as clingy or needy, but she couldn't stop thinking about Marc. She didn't know if he was okay or if he was just not interested in her anymore. She tried to tell herself that it didn't matter, that she didn't need a man to be happy, but it was hard to believe that when her heart felt so heavy.

The following week, Astha was on her way to work when she received a text from Alice. "Hey, just wanted to let you know that Jess and I won't be able to make it to DnD tonight. Jess has to work late and I'm not feeling too well."

Astha replied, "No worries, hope you feel better soon. See you next week."

As she got off the tube and made her way to work, Astha felt a pang of loneliness. She had been looking forward to DnD night all week, and now she would be spending the evening alone.

When she arrived at work, Astha tried to focus on her patients, but her mind kept wandering to Marc. She couldn't help but wonder what had happened to him. Had he lost interest in her? Had something happened to him? She tried to push the thoughts aside, reminding herself that she couldn't control what he did or didn't do. She needed to focus on herself and just get back to a time when she hadn't allowed that stupid injured man into her home and her heart.