Callux's heart raced as he picked up his phone, the familiar voice on the other end sending a shiver down his spine. "Happy birthday, Lux," Seraphina's voice whispered, and he froze, his mind racing to process the unexpected call.
"Amel... Seraphina?" he stammered, his voice filled with a mix of surprise and uncertainty. There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line before Seraphina finally responded. "Yes, it's me."
Callux walked over to the fridge, where he kept the photo that Seraphina had sent him. He reached out and stroked the image as if she were there with him. "I've missed you," he admitted, his voice soft and filled with longing.
They continued to talk, with Callux updating Seraphina on their friends' lives. He told her how Olive was now dating Raymond, and how he and Caitlyn had been trying to make things work, although he couldn't help but tease her about the surprise of him and Caitlyn making it work.
Seraphina chuckled softly at his comment. "Well, you always did have a way of surprising me," she admitted. "By the way I am joking about me and Caitlyn," he admitted.
Before they said their goodbyes, Callux couldn't resist asking a lingering question that had puzzled him. "By the way, why did you make those funny faces at the camera, Seraphina? It seems like the last thing you'd want to do if you were trying to keep a low profile."
Seraphina paused for a moment, her voice filled with warmth and a hint of nostalgia. "It's actually very silly. You see, when I was a little girl, my mom used to make funny faces at me whenever she wanted to cheer me up or just make me laugh. I didn't show it to her, but those moments were precious to me, and making those faces at the camera felt like a way of keeping her memory alive in my heart."
Callux's heart swelled with understanding. "Thank you for sharing that with me." They both smiled, a profound connection bridging the distance between them. "Who would have thought you would be so sentimental?" Callux teased affectionately.
As they prepared to say their final goodbyes, Callux's voice grew solemn. "Seraphina, before you go, I want you to know that I'll wait for you, no matter how long it takes. Even if it's in this lifetime or the next."
YOU ARE READING
The Enigmatic Stairwell: Amelia's Vanishing Act
Mystery / ThrillerIn this short story, a seemingly ordinary stairwell in an apartment building conceals the baffling mystery of Amelia Kingsley's vanishing. Amelia, an unconventional and vivacious woman known for her penchant for making silly faces at security camera...
