The wind on the roof of the building hit her face like cold knives. The sky swirling around her was full of purple clouds, with the setting sun cutting through like bright yellow blades. Her boots crunched over loose bits of gravel as she gingerly stepped over the various piping and ventilation shafts until she was near the railing. Here, a ladder led up to the top of the small bit of housing that contained various electrical panels, which Ari climbed up to, plopping down to the floor and leaning back on her arms.
She whistled as she exhaled deeply, finally letting every question she had come up with since the morning wash over her.
Ari didn't like processing in front of others and as such, had made a habit of shoving aside her thoughts until she found solitude. Usually, she would unwind on her bed but she was a long way from home. Suddenly missing every small detail of her room - the posters of her mishmash of interests haphazardly stuck on every wall, her bed which was always unmade and messy, the table on the opposite side where she studied, decorated by a litter of merchandise - Ari curled up and buried her face in her knees.
It was the strangest thing to her, to be loved so casually as soon as she had walked into the building. People from her past, a past she had buried so deep even her brain didn't remember, were apparently ready to accept her with arms so open that her fight response was getting harder to stuff down.
Ari had been rejecting advances of both friendship and romance her entire life. She hated the very idea of introducing herself, of opening up to new people, but more than that, she didn't want to ever deal with the hole of losing someone she cares about. And suddenly having that hole plugged by the one person she had lost so far back was making her head spin. It felt silly to be so frustrated, alone by herself on a rooftop, but for the first time in her life, Ari was unable to put a label on her feelings.
She heard the door to the roof creak open, followed by footsteps following the same careful pattern she did. Assuming it was Imti, she kept her eyes closed, letting her head spin with memories of lying in bed at night with her first love letter, recollections of struggling to ignore the group of girls in her class giggling about the same band she was wearing a gaudy t-shirt of, and running her finger over the only surviving picture from that night, in which a younger version of herself posed with a family, whose faces were all burnt off.
The cacophony of shoes clanging on the ladder stopped as a girl peeked her head over the unfinished concrete ledge.
"Oh, hey," She said brightly, prompting Ari to look over her baggy cargos inquiringly. "I didn't know anyone else knew about this spot."
Rachel crawled over the ledge, walked over to the woman and sat down beside her. Ari found this inherent comfort strange, but she didn't want to be the one to move away.
"There's a lot goin' on downstairs and I usually come up here for a break," The girl explained as she pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter.
Ari kept her face buried but her eyes squinted in disapproval. "Those are bad for you."
Rachel smiled as she lit one and took a puff. "I've had worse."
"Yeah?"
YOU ARE READING
FALTER
Misterio / Suspenso"Do you remember what we used to say?" "Never falter." "Yeah. Forever after." When a familiar cult emerges from the shadows of Youth City, underground rockstar Imti has to choose between hiding his demons behind a mask or finally facing everyone bur...
