Egress

Two: MEMORIES & DREAMS

🎧 Music Recommendation: Titanium by Sia 🎶

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  School ended in the blink of an eye, and my friends and I headed towards each of our houses. They laughed and discussed about everything and anything. However, I could not share their good mood as mine had already disappeared after remembering my late mother. I stared at the backs of my three friends, feeling strangely alone, as they walked briskly in front of me.

  It seemed Silas was the only one who noticed my darkened mood, and he began to follow my slow pace. I forced a smile and asked, "Why did you stop talking with them?"

  He frowned. "How can I continue talking with them when you're in such a bad mood?"

  My smile grew genuine, and I said nothing in reply. When he noticed I was not going to reply, he questioned, "What's wrong?"

  I pursed my lips and stared at my muddy Converse as I walked. "It's just... just this strange phenomenon happening tomorrow night. It reminds me of my mum."

  Silas wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him. With eyes fixated ahead, he said, "I know how it feels to lose a loved one to the cold hands of death. But, you know, sometimes, thinking about them brings us sadness when they clearly wanted us to be happy."

  I nodded in agreement; I remembered it was as though my mother lived to make me happy and contented. She was my first best friend, my carer, and the first woman who stood by side and supported me. She was amazing, and I believed Silas was right; she would want me to be happy.

  As I stared at his glistening blue eyes, I whispered, "Thanks, you're right."

  Silas turned to me and smiled back, looking absolutely stunning with his gentle smile that seemed to light up his whole face. I realised we had stopped walking and were staring into each other's eyes, drowning in each other's orbs. His face came closer to mine, and I could feel his breath fanning my face. But before any other thing could happen, Mason turned around and caught sight of us in an intimate position.

  "Yo, lovebirds, you're slowing us down." Mason smirked, making Melissa turn around to stare at us. Suddenly, as if my body was on fire, Silas released me and created a certain distance between us. I could not help but giggle as I caught the tips of his ears rosy.

  Perhaps it was my terrible eyesight or a hallucination, but I thought I caught her staring at Silas with a strange expression. But after I blinked, her face was expressionless, and she began walking faster without waiting for us. I turned to Mason and Silas, and then, we began to follow her, matching her speed.

  My friends walked me to my house and waved at me in farewell. I waved back at them and turned to knock on the door, knowing my dad would be home. The door swung open almost immediately, revealing a dishevelled man I recognised as my father. His white sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and the first two buttons of his shirt were unfastened, revealing a little of his bare chest.

  "Green, you're home already?" he asked with a nervous smile I was so familiar with.

  I smiled and hugged him, feeling his oddly wet shirt. He hugged me back and asked, "You've never hugged me after you come back from school. Did anything happen?"

  "Nope, everything is fine," I muttered before pulling away with a small smile. "But why is your shirt wet, dad?"

  "Oh, yes. Uh, things got a bit out of hand, but everything is back to normal now," he replied as he tried smoothening his wrinkled shirt.