Insincerely Yours

This present sucks.

But then again, so does my life

Cairo sighed and dropped the pen from the gold book. She couldn’t think of anything more to say, those two unfortunately but embarrassingly pathetic sentences had covered how her life had been so far. So much so that her birthday presents to commemorate her eighteen years on this earth had been celebrated by a book voucher from her brother Russ (it expired the day after), a jade necklace from her mother, a book on archaeological digs from her Father and a used cashmere jumper with ink on the bust from her older sister Cleo. But somehow a book had found its way to her doorstep that very morning with a simple note with two lines on it.

 

“You’re like a never ending well, Use this book to help you realise just how important you are”. Cairo had laughed at it initially thinking it to be Alexei her morally repugnant shallow best friend who turned up three hours late for dinner stinking of girls and cigarettes and fell asleep at the dinner table to her father’s delight, and said he knew nothing of it.

So here she was, sitting next to her sleeping best friend, an empty bottle of wine at his feet, a film still flashing on the television and wondering what it was that she was good at. She couldn’t play the guitar or play sports like Russ could, nor could she shine within a crowd or mesmerise people (especially men) the way her sister could. She was quiet around most, always stuck in a dream world or thinking of things to input in a conversation but never having the bravery to put them in, in case she was laughed at.

She looked at Alexei as he half swallowed the family’s cat buttons in his sleep, the fur going deep into his mouth. He was everything that she wasn’t, bright vibrant and more importantly beautiful because of this. Blonde hair the colour of white gold sticking out in awkward angles, the closed lids hid eyes of light blue, so blue Cairo had heard girls writing poems about them since he reached maturity, Slavic cheekbones showing his Russian heritage and full lips that always looked like they were smiling.

It was amazing that they had stuck together this long. Shoved together in the same kindergarten class they fought like cat and dog, she didn’t like this pretty child who kept putting glue in her hair and he didn’t like the girl who made him seem stupid. But eventually they became friends, and despite his ability to draw crowds and girls with a crook of his finger he had never forgotten that little girl hiding behind her hair and how much she needed him.

They had other friends of course, many of them girls hoping that one day they might be able to tame Alexei and had visions of him abandoning his womanising and declaring his love to them. Cairo hadn’t been so stupid. She knew him better than to ever entertain ideas about them being something more than friends. she knew his methods, the techniques he used and the break ups, one of them being him speaking only Russian to a girl in an effort to get her to break up with him, but the last time this was used it didn’t work, she got a Russian dictionary and began to learn out all the dirty phrases to respond to him with, though that had been Cairo’s idea- brought on by pity.

Silently she picked up the pen again and began drawing the fairytale, handsome Adonis sitting next to her, drooling on her cat and farting in his sleep. She had gotten as far as the eyes when one opened suddenly making her in her tipsy state nearly fall off her couch.

“Are you drawing me while I’m asleep again?” He asked, one eye still closed but with the Petrov mischievous grin spread across his honey coloured face.