Whisper's Deception

False Love

Every hour passing was in the way of five o' clock. She felt like a fool for thinking the man would meet her again at the bench. It was most likely a joke, and she would be waiting the whole day for this one thing to happen, only for it to be nonexistent. After all, he only knew her name; what could he possibly see in her? Sad eyes.

It felt as if Bella stepped out into a different town; it looked nothing like usual, but how could anything go back to usual after the war? Vibes of gratefulness radiated throughout the streets, but an underlying sting of loss and guilt seeped through the cracks. As if there was anything she could've done to prevent her father's death.

A small bell rung and the door slammed shut behind her at the post office. A tall man in dark brown clothes dashed down the steps and stomped to his car. The bell rang again as the familiar man dashed from the building and ran after him holding a letter. "Wait! Sir!"

As if he was deaf, the man closed his car door and lit his cigarette before peeling out.

He turned to Bella and shrugged before he turned around to go back inside. His head swiveled back to do a double take realizing he knew the girl sitting on the bench.

"Yo! It's you!" He skipped over and sat next to her. "You actually came back."

She smiled shyly and nodded.

He held out his hand. "Come on, I want to show you something."

Seemed like a creeper move, but she had nothing to lose at this point and took a firm hold of his hand.

He took her up to the post office and threw the letter on the table.

"Yo, Micheal. Clock me out." He waved to his coworker and turned back to Bella. "Alright."

Bella followed Murad down the sidewalk blindly. She had no idea where they were going, but she felt a sense of trust for the stranger. He turned the corner and walked down an alleyway, glancing back at Bella to make sure she was still following. They stopped and knocked on a gray door on the side of the building. A knock from the other side tapped a pattern. Murad repeated the pattern with three extra taps to signal his membership. The door cracked open.

"Hey, Murry! My man! Come on, in my friend." A dark-skinned man with long braded hair welcomed us into the building. "Who's your lady friend?"

"I'm Bella." He shook her floppy hand.

"It's a pleasure doll, welcome to Club 56. I'm Harry, the owner, that hot mama on the keyboard is my gal Susan, and we got Mike at the bar. He's a wiz with the grasshopper you should try it. Oh wait, you're lookin' a lil young. How old are you, doll?"

"Uh, I'm only sixteen." She fidgeted with her fingers, questioning if she was safe.

"I was only joking doll, ain't nobody care. We're here for a good time not a long time." He leaned back as he laughed and slapped her on the shoulder. "Alright you two, I'll be in the back. Just holler if you need something."

Bella raised her eyebrows at Murad as if to say, that guy is something else.

"So, this is it. We can dance if you would like..." Murad held out his palm for her delicate fingers to rest in. He led her onto the dance floor masking his anxiety under false confidence. As he slid his fingers along her waist, she suddenly felt self-conscious of every insecurity of her body. "Is this ok?" He asked politely.

She nodded and smiled at him, her mind in a confused haze. What was she doing? Sneaking off to dance in a club with a stranger, this wasn't Bella. Or, it wasn't the usual Bella, but she liked the change, even if she had no idea how to act.