Streetlight

6

Shadows cover where night can reach.
Stars are visible in the sky, and they're like glimmers of hope, and yet so little compared to the blackness of the space that surrounds them.
Andrew is not facing the sky, though.

He is looking at the boring, dull floor, that's being lighted by the streetlight above his head. It would flicker from time to time, but he did and does not care. He was, and still is, just too focused on what was going on, and what is about to unfold.

At one point, he looked at the bin next to him and simply went "Same."
But it happened only once, to laugh, to find some entertainment before what was to come. He wasn't, and still isn't, in the mood anyway.

Andrew is trembling. It's rather chilling tonight, and that's also why he was keeping his hands stuffed in his deep blue sweatshirt, but he is actually trembling out of fear.
He had not been sure if he had to continue with his plan, ever since he decided what to do, so he decided to visit the park, a place where he built happy memories with many people, to find any reassurance or solace, even if just a fraction, to make up his mind. But...

He has to do it now, it's too late to turn back anyway. He knows there's no better option, that there is no way out of this for him.

'Ugh... why is this happening? I can't hesitate.'

It's a loop he didn't ask to get into, and it is devouring him in this very moment, not even leaving him a moment to breathe.

He liked to tell himself it wasn't over, that he just could build his hopes again, but after so many tries, he's exhausted. He's at a loss, and he's so tired of hearing the same problems circling around in his head. Doubts and shame are the remains of what he had built, and nothing else.

So he gets up and dusts off the back of his black jeans, head hanging low, eyes closed.

He rubs off the few tears that he had, and pulls back his brown hair that was hanging on his forehead.

It's time.
After all, actions have consequences.
Life is an action, and that is just a consequence, nothing simpler.
Part of him is screaming to turn away, his cowardice is trying to pull him to the other side, so he ends up walking ever so slowly.
And ever so slowly.

He barely makes two steps along the sidewalk that crosses the park, and he hears footsteps.
Or better yet, running.
He pays no attention to them for the first seconds that pass, but, as he gets closer to the edge of the circle of light created by the streetlight, the footsteps sound closer, and he starts to hear huffing.
The rythm of the footsteps, the voice behind that huffing.

No.
It couldn't be.

Andrew freezes on the spot, rising his head and looking in front of him, to where he was headed, the opposite of where the sound of running and the huffing came from.
He slowly turns around, and finds himself faced with someone so very familiar, in the spot exactly opposite to where Andrew was, in that circle of light formed by the streetlight.

She is holding herself on her knees. Good thing she is wearing long clothes to protect herself from the cold at least, but of course she still looked elegant, as usual. Yet she is still breathing heavily.

"... Ana?"

Ana manages to take a deep breath and stand up properly. She pulls a few of her blonde hair strands back, showing her face fully, only hiding her eyes by keeping them closed. She looks as if she cried a few minutes ago.
And delicately, she opens her eyes, shining, to look at Andrew.
"I thought I'd find you here. I know you well enough."
Andrew feels a bit frustrated. He did not expect this.
"What the hell are you doing here, Ana?"