A Mad Man's Clause

5| The Only Chance

Stars littered sparsely across the night sky, its radiance camouflaged by the brightly lit suburban setting. Mai strolled along the streets in no particular direction, barely appreciating the show of life around her. She did this every evening to get out of the lonely space she called a house. Being alone brought on thoughts, thoughts she had no desire to entertain any longer.

A chilly breeze blew around her, bearing the promise of rain. She stopped and looked up. Gray clouds were indeed floating across the dark sky. That was her cue to head home. She followed the trail past the empty playground and past the club house, quickening her steps when the wind picked up.

The twenty five story apartment building drew closer with each step, a colourful art on the dreary Accra skyline. The twin Villaggio Towers were truly remarkably. She rushed into the foyer when she reached the building that housed her apartment; then turned and watched single drops of rain stain the glass doors she just walked through. She smiled, relieved she had missed getting wet just by a minute. Others weren't as lucky as they ran in visibly annoyed and drenched.

She saw the elevator doors open in her peripheral. She abandoned the chaos in the foyer and ran into the elevator, already occupied by two teenage girls. They chattered animatedly behind her as they made the ascent. Mai stood ramrod in front of the doors watching the floor numbers change on the tiny monitor above like a hawk. The apartment she was heading to was on the twentieth floor.

A long narrow hallway revealed itself as the doors finally opened on her floor. White lights bounced off the beige walls on either side. The girls had gotten off sometime earlier, leaving her the sole occupant during the rest of the journey up. She crossed over onto the marble floors and made her way past similar intricately designed cherry wood doors to the one at the end of the hallway.

The number 52 gleamed on the gold plate drilled into the door a head above her. This was her stop. A loud drum of thunder startled her momentarily. Standing on her toes, she leaned over the gold coloured tree vase to look out the small window. The streets were awashed with running water and people were trying but failing miserably to ran from the wrath of the rain. They looked so tiny from that distance. With a sigh so heavy, she turned away from the window and stood before the golden brown door.

All she had to do was reach out and type in the pass-code that would unlock into an entry way but she was stuck. The door represented a crossover to her new life, a life she was abashedly well adjusted to now. It was always a mental battle at the end of each evening stroll. It was a simple matter of gratitude really, but each day she returned to this very spot, the guilt that came with being grateful weighed heavily on her. Another roll of thunder cracked outside and with it came a struck of lightening. She wasn't going out in the rain, that had suddenly become certain. It was the push she need. Quickly, she punched in the pass-code and went inside.

Soft instrumental music played from the vinyl record player on the drawer situated on the opposite side of the living room. This could mean one thing, he was home. She didn't know why that scared and relieved her at the same time. It was his apartment after all but Mai had become acquainted with his absence well enough to sometimes forget she didn't live alone, not any more at least.

She had stayed just as he said and he allowed her to; that was five months ago. Their living arrangement was strange but it worked well for them. They weren't necessarily close friends since, strange as it may sound, they rarely saw each other to develop any form of close relationship. He was barely around and if he was, he stayed holed up in his study. She was okay with that because she knew no matter what he was there. The sounds of footsteps, the occasional muttering and clanking of dishes all served as a needed reminder of the life around her