The Flower You Didn't See | Mystery

Chapter 25

She took out her phone. As their hands lay side by side on the stone bench, he felt her little pinky touch his. She read out loud, "Stay close to anything that makes you glad you are alive."

A few weeks passed by. Alex met Ruby's friend Mary one day, who would sometimes come to their spot and disturb them while they worked together. Things were going pretty well. Ruby and Alex had once even performed together at the restaurant.

And then one day when he arrived at the stone bench, he saw Ruby sitting with her head down. In her left hand, she was clutching a piece of paper.

"I failed Legal Aspects of Business. What do I do?"

Alex didn't know what to say. He sat by her side and said, "I thought you were doing much better. You said you were handling both well."

Ruby didn't answer him. Instead, she just spoke her mind.

"I should have never taken that subject. I shouldn't have taken the stream. Shouldn't have even come to this college. What do I tell dad?"

"Maybe you can talk to the professor to get you a retest," Alex suggested. Ruby shook her head, "He won't let me."

"Give it a try. Just once."

"I know the professor. He doesn't like me. He will not allow!"

As her voice rose, Alex didn't feel like pushing it anymore. Had he been in her department, had he known the professor, he would have gladly requested him. But at the moment, he sat by her side quietly.

"It's so difficult to satisfy and impress everyone. We lie so much, talk a lot of shit that even we dont believe in, to get through this world, to survive on this planet. We kiss up to a bunch of assholes of superiors and seniors who think it's fun to put down others. We pretend to be okay with satisfying the delicate ego of some people who instead of seeing our potential, sees our ability to suck up to them. All for what? Power? Money? Is money everything?" Asked Ruby.

"You need money to pay your bills Ruby. For food, shelter."

"What about passion? And letting your soul be alive? Enjoying the moment? Living? What about all those things?" Asked Ruby.

Once again, Alex was at a loss for words.

That evening, he walked her to her apartment, got her food and asked her again to consider requesting her professor for a retest.

After that night, Alex couldn't get a hold of her for a whole week. She didn't call, didn't pick up any of his calls and didn't show up at their spot. He felt stupid for never saving Mary's number. If he'd go to her apartment, it would be locked. If he'd go to the restaurant, she would have left early or wouldn't have turned up for work at all.

Did he do something wrong? He wondered.

Then one day, by luck, he happened to see her.

Alex had spent a few nights perfecting her song and had gone to her apartment in the hope of catching her. As expected, it was locked. So, he had left for the recreation centre. The administrators of the center were visiting today, and they had requested all employees, including Alex, to show his presence.

But as soon as he had walked into the parking lot, he saw her in the park nearby. He had seen her from behind, but he was sure that he wasn't mistaken that it's her.

Running to her immediately, he called out her name. She turned at his voice, and seemed to lose the color of her face when she saw him.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her, a little angry, at the same time a little happy.