Winter Hearts

In Which Siana Comes Back to Reality

She let go of the button and the doors slid shut. She spent the next six floors looking blankly at the next floor number on the panel.

On the plane, Siana's eyes flew open, and she snapped her mouth shut. She looked up to see Mark watching her as he stood in the aisle next to the trolley. He held a sippy cup in one hand as he stared at her for a moment. Then he smiled brightly and handed the sippy cup to the mother in her row.

"Here you go, fresh water. Anything else?" The mother shook her head and proceeded to feed her daughter. Mark looked at Siana.

"What would you like to have?"

"Oh, do you have chicken?"

"Yes, one chicken coming up." He retrieved a tray and took off wrappings and placed a bun and mineral water on it. As he passed it to her, he mouthed, "You okay?"

Siana nodded, flushed. She took the tray and put down her food tray. As Mark rolled the cart further down, she sat up and put away her phone. Maybe he had seen her gasping involuntarily in her seat with her eyes closed while she imagined Leo almost kissing her. No wonder he was checking if she was okay. She hoped he didn't think she was acting weird.

She screwed up her mouth into an angry pout.

She wondered at herself for imagining such odd things. That instead of a kiss, she would imagine Leo using his magnetic sexuality to trick her into thinking he was interested.

She groaned and stuffed a forkful of rice into her mouth. She was embarrassing herself, she thought. "Magnetic sexuality"? Who talks like that? Even worse, imagine fantasising about your favourite idol and ending the dream like that!

She chewed thoughtfully. But she was Siana. Siana never let things escalate. So of course, the Leo in her daydreams wasn't a player, but liked to play.

She smiled and laughed a little. Because if there were such a thing in real life where you bump into your pop idol on the street, share a weird unspoken intimate connection via eyeballs, then meet in an elevator and then he just walks up and kisses you, well...

Siana thought, yes, that would be an unrealistic and frankly, unnecessary escalation She laughed and looked down at her food, noticing that the little girl beside her was watching her intently.

And now even this child sees my insanity, she thought.