To Express Happiness || Fayne ✔✔

~Epilogue~

15 years later....

It's a new world, as Aaron peeks from the view of a rooftop restaurant, sipping his traditional minted black tea as he adjusts his spectacles. San Francisco looks so different now, when he last visited here 15 years ago. The memories still linger. The sun, is still there. Putting the tea aside, he opens his Macbook and starts playing with the digital keyboard as he writes another chapter of his story. Suddenly, he gets a call from his publisher.

'' Hello?''

'' Morning, Mr. Reeves. This is Pamella from Gabwell Publishing Limited. I'd like to inform you that your book topped as this week's best seller. Congratulations, sir! Have a nice day!''.

Aaron smirks, and replies, '' Haha. You too, Pamela''.

With a heart inundated with excitement, Aaron brushes his beard and leans back, putting one leg over another and again diving into his imaginative world when a voice calls from behind.

'' ...Is that Aaron Reeves?''.

Aaron sits back just as he turns his head sideways. A tall, pretty, dark-skinned woman, with a white turtleneck sweater and an orange scarf stands  just meters away from his table, as he stands up too. He briskly rubs his hands with the tissue and adjusts his glasses, scanning the woman top to bottom.

'' Sorry miss, I couldn't recognize you...'', he says, head tilting in confusion.

'' You're still dumb, aren't you? I'm Irina! Irina Mabonn''.

His rubbing suddenly stops, and so does the world. Aaron feels like the ground is breaking beneath his feet, along with the sky. A stream of anonymous feelings gush out of Aaron's heart, and they spread into all directions, like completely freezing him; until Irina snaps a finger infront of him, and smiles and she says, '' Still that dreamy Aaron you are''.

He could feel tons of emotions inside him now, but his emotion machines feel too dilapidated. They don't process anything, and even when they do, the result isn't what Aaron expects it to be. He feels nothing, as they both shake hands and Irina sits, facing Aaron. She orders a glass of champagne while Aaron sticks with another cup of black tea.

'' Soo...what's up with life?'', Irina asks once the glass arrives. 

Aaron takes a gentle sip, the emotions still being processed inside, as he speaks. '' Nothing much''.

The conversation suddenly dies down as Irina picks it up with a laughter. '' Ahaha'', she sips her champagne, looking away, as she finishes and tucks a whisk of hair at the back of her ears, when the first emotions are done processing.

Her hair. It's her. She is Irina Mabonn.

Suddenly, Aaron is taken back 15 years earlier, in that very exact room they were together. The face is exactly there, the face that bore his skin and so are the lips; but the things to feel them, are not. This hollowness falls heavily on Aaron, as some part still wants him to see the rainbows, others just want a sunny day with nothing on the sky.

'' Damn. We never met after that night, did we?''

And it becomes rainy, instead; as the day flashes clearly inside his brain.

'' Nope'', he replies, closing his eyes and shutting the flash.

Irina wipes her mouth. '' Life got...hella hectic after that night. Neha and Malcolm went weeks without talking to each other, when suddenly one day we saw them again, holding hands and talking to each other. Man... the previous week we celebrated their second anniversary, isn't it unbelievable??''.