AFTER DARK

Chapter 8

I woke up in the middle of the night and went up to the hotel balcony. The wind was dead, and so was the City. Not a single soul breathed in the silent streets of JVC. It was all but empty; only a faint noise of a car screeching could be heard at a distance.

In that quietness, I found myself contemplating over the conversation I had with Daria earlier. As I reflected on her words, it all started to make sense. Why would it not? Daria was always right.

A new fear sprouted in me; only this time, where I was a bit scared, I was excited too. Fear of stepping into an unknown territory; probably somewhere I wasn't supposed to be, but couldn't hold myself back.
But what if this was all just in my head and there was nothing there to even begin with? What if he wasn't even thinking about me?

My mind slowly filled up with all these conflicting thoughts, and soon I got up to go back inside.

The next morning, I spent half my day thinking about what to wear and what to say.

"Oh God! Just wear this one!" Daria said, as I was taking too long to pick a dress.
"I was just ..."
"Don't," she said, interrupting me mid-sentence. "We both know what's going on in that mind of yours."

I passed a wry smile. There was no point making up stuff; Daria knew everything.

Dressed in long ice blue dress, I stood in front of the mirror. I was doing my hair when that unpleasant memory arrested me again. Another flashback from the past; of how I used to dress up for Danial and he just didn't like it. He used to in the initial days of our marriage, but later on, maybe I was no more beautiful for him. I just couldn't simply live up to his standards. Whatever it was, my confidence was shattered and I felt worthless all the time.

"Okay, come' on now ..." Daria said, picking up her hand-bag. "Let's go now, shall we?"