The Heart Of The Lonely

CHAPTER 5

He could smell the delicate scent of roses and lemon from his spot as his body numbly laid on top of the bed. He would have recognized it anywhere and the familiarity brought him a certain sense of peace.

He had closed his eyes, ironically tired from his twenty-years slumber and was battling not to fall asleep. It wasn't that he was scared of going back to sleep but he felt that he had been inactive in the real world for far too long.

Unfortunately, he knew that he had a long journey ahead of him before he could leave the bed he'd called home for nearly half of his life now. And it certainly didn't help that sleeping was the only occupation he had, if you didn't count the television he wasn't sure he'd know how to work.

As light sounds of heels clicking on the floor resonated in the nearly empty room, the smell, however, got closer and closer to him.

He could detect it even more and although it was stronger to him now, it was never overwhelming.

'She had always known how to apply the right amount', he thought.

He hadn't expected her to still wear this floral scent, after all these years. Hell, he wasn't even sure what he had expected, if he had to be honest. But he was happy to see that not everything had changed.

For an instant, he had forgotten that twenty years had passed; it was a dangerous game to trick himself into thinking that it was still 1991 but, to him, it very much felt like it was. He had not quite registered yet that reality would not be as easy or, rather, he had chosen to turn a blind eye.

He would need to get back into the world as though he was stepping outside for the first time, stepping into the great unknown. He already felt like a deer caught in the headlights; it was clear that nothing he had known would be the same anymore.

And, if there was one thing — or one person — that still remained, almost unchanged, as though time had frozen like trapped in a fairytale, he hoped that it'd be her.

A silence fell upon them as Ariel took an halt by the foot of the bed. She observed his relaxed figure, tucked into the white sheets and tilted her head, admiring him with an affectionate look upon her face.

She wondered if he could feel her presence and if she'd get the chance to talk to him or if he was going to remain asleep during the entirety of her visit.

Then, almost like he had read her mind, she watched him shift. His nose began to ever so slightly move, sniffing the air.

She immediately took it as as sign that he was waking up and with a newfound confidence in her step, she strolled to his right side, standing right above him.

At this very moment, his eyes fluttered open and a tender smile graced his lips. He was oh so happy to be able to smell her and to be greeted with the sight of her. It didn't take long for tension to build up in the room as he glanced in her direction.

There, for the first time in two decades, she was looking at him and he was looking back.

They held eye contact, never breaking it; for what seemed to be an eternity, both consumed with emotions. His breathing was heavy and she could distinctly hear him inhaling through his nose.

She was surprised that her heart wasn't racing, it was like it had simply stopped beating.

His smile had faded momentarily and if it hadn't been for the fact that she was delighted to see him, she'd have started second-guessing herself again. She'd have wondered if there was something that he was looking at that he was displeased with or worse: that he wasn't recognizing her.

But the light in his eyes indicated otherwise and as quickly as the smile had left, it came back followed by a heavy breath. His chest moved up and down to the rhythm of his exhalation and she couldn't help but let out a small gasp, a wide grin appearing on her face.