Before Sundown

Strangers

This evening, the bond between me and Vlad seemed to shape up even more clearly, and I felt like it was becoming stronger and stronger with every new thing we'd impart with each other. He offered to drive me home and I accepted, as it was already getting dark; but this time, it was a kind of a darkness that felt comforting and secure. I was sitting on Vlad's right and I was shifting my eyes between him and the window on my right side. The trees' leaves were slowly starting to turn dark and fall down on the damp ground, through the almost dried out blades of grass. 

At a red light, I noticed a small orange cat crossing the street along with some pedestrians, which made me lean forward and disrupt the silence that had installed in the car.

"Look at that cat!", I excitedly said, smiling. "So adorable", I said turning to Vlad, making sure he'd seen it as well. 

"Are you a cat person?", he asked, once we took off.

"Yeah, I guess I am", I replied briefly, still thinking about the orange cat I saw earlier.

"That's a good choice", he replied, and I quietly looked in his direction. He was still focusing on the road, but I could notice he was gripping the steering wheel tighter than usual. "You shouldn't trust a dog, nor a wolf, nor anything like it", he continued, with a sense of irritation in his voice. I frowned softly, as he concluded: "They're bad news, always."

"I suppose", I answered with uneasiness. Truthfully, what he told me was somewhat confusing. Dogs are said to be the most loyal animals amongst all, why wouldn't I trust them? But I didn't have much time to think about it, because we were already on my street, almost in front of my house. "Thank you for today", I told him, as I was getting ready to leave his car.

"Thank you too, Blair", he kindly replied. "I hope you had a good time with me."

"Of course", I said contented.

"I'll see you at school", he continued, then he softly touched my hand with his, dragging his cold fingers along mine a few times. I warmly smiled in response, then I made my way out, watching Vlad's car quickly drive off into the distance right away. 

I was standing in front of the gate, roaming my bag in order to find the house keys. The old trees were creaking as the wind was starting to blow harder, and some hair strands got pushed right into my face. I quickly lifted my head in the direction of the wind with my eyes closed, helping myself with a hand in order to move the hair out of my face. As I opened my eyes, I could swear I saw Robin in the distance, implausibly holding onto a thick branch and slowly balancing on it. Although he looked extremely different. My heart started racing, but as I blinked, he disappeared in thin air. I desperately looked around as if I was a very disoriented owl, trying to find him again. But with no success.

With every day that went by in Sigswood, I ended up diagnosing myself with yet another mental disorder, because of all the strange things that were happening to and around me. What could had Robin been doing here at this time, balancing on breaking branches? And where had he been all this time? I wasn't even sure if what I'd seen was real or just part of my imagination all over again; because frankly, it was quite vivid.

***

Monday.

Yet another cold and humid morning in Sigswood. We were already in October and the season's emblems were proliferating by day. I was already walking towards my high school, when I noticed Vlad next to his car in the parking lot nearby; and my day suddenly became better. I was waiting for him to notice me as I was walking in his direction, but when our eyes met, he didn't illustrate any trace of emotion. I presume he didn't recognize me, so I smiled widely and waved at him; and still no reaction. Instead, he moved his eyes back into his phone. I awkwardly let my hand down, as I tilted my head with confusion. I changed my direction back towards the school's entrance, trying not to think too much about what just happened. I genuinely thought me and Vlad were on the right path, especially after last Saturday. Could I be mistaken?