Looking For Leo

4: Hope

Angela stayed in her bed, her window still open. She felt it--he left. She glanced outside and the figure was gone from the shadows. He really did leave. He really was not interested in wasting his time. Instead of closing the window, Angela moved closer and carefully clambered out her window. She settled on her window pane and sat at the edge in her usual comfortable position. She sat there and looked up the night sky.

She told herself to calm her heart before returning inside her room and closing the window completely. Secretly, she hoped the night would have ended differently. But that was too impossible.

Angela sighed and watched the night sky.

From the building next to her, Leonardo crouched at the rooftop, watching her. He couldn't leave just yet. He wanted to take one last look at her.

Then, she saw her slowly climb back inside. She closed her window and her lamp light faded into the dark. He knew he had to leave now.

-----

A month later, when Angela thought she had moved on from her fictitious fantasy of the mysterious hero, a news anchor mentions the infamous name reminding her of the feelings she buried deep in the past. Instantly, her heart fluttered as if her feelings were just waiting for her to emerge out again.

Angela sat by her bed, watching the news intently. A famous criminal gang was reportedly sent to the precinct with a rope tied around them with a cardboard attached to it. She wanted to keep watching to find out if it really was his doing and not another mysterious hero. But eventually, she realized it would have been him.

She turned the television off then clambered to her window again. She wondered if he even remembered her. It had been a month since she stopped staring into the night sky. She grew tired of waiting, also convincing herself that he was not going to return. But that day, she knew tonight would be different. She would return to her usual spot and she would gaze at the dark sky, waiting for him.

Angela flipped open her laptop and visited her account where she once published the article. She deleted it when he asked him to.

But then she felt the urge to write again. 

A few blocks away, down in the sewer, sat Leonardo with his phone in hand. Everyday, he would sneak and visit her account, wishing she would defy his order so he would return to her. He wished she would. Every night.

Angela stared at the icon on her screen. Then, she clicked on it and began to type:

Mysterious Hero

Do you ever wonder if this hero would ever grow tired of saving the city? What does he get from it? Does he ever wish he had time for himself? Does he ever defy the law at least once? These are just questions that bother me sometimes. I can't help but think about him.

She hovered the mouse to the post button. She thought about it. Would he read it? She hoped not. She just wished she had someone to talk about it to. She also wished he would see it somehow. But also hoped he would not be angry like last time. Angela felt desperate and she cringed at herself. But then again, her desire for him grew throughout the whole month when she tried to forget about her silly fantasy.

Angela published the article. She shut her phone and convinced herself to continue doing whatever it was she was supposed to do. From afar, Leonardo did not even touch his phone until he felt the need to. He told himself he would completely stop looking if her account was still empty.

But as fate would have it, he saw a new published post from her, and his heart fluttered, his body froze, and his eyes widened. Blood rushed through his veins. She was still thinking about him, and he had never felt so alive.

-----

Angela played a song and sat by her window, browsing through her laptop. She tried so hard not to look at her post. She busied herself with work. But she was too comfortable that she felt relaxed.

She shut her laptop and looked out the window. Then, she opened her phone and saw that not one replied to her post. "Huh." She sighed and left her phone on her bed. She clambered to her window pane and stared outside. She opened her window and sighed.

Angela stared out of nowhere and shook her head. She could not believe herself; until now she was still infatuated with him.

Suddenly, the metal by the ladder made a sound. She froze. She hoped it would be a sign that he was there. Slowly, she turned around and there he was. The same, huge figure in the shadows. She could not help but smile at his return.