"No red lights for me today!", he exclaimed to himself as he ran a red light by the alley. He didn't know where he was going. His phone kept ringing. It was Ellie. He cranked the volume on the car audio to avoid her. The blaring speakers drowned out the scream of a little girl across the street. The car tail lights lit up imminently, the screeching of the car as loud as his own heartbeat...
He sat down in his cabin, frowning at the long list of sticky posts that decorated his notice board. His colleague smiled at him. "They say you're the one who's going to be the next GM. So stow the belly ache will you now?" He buried his head in his arms for a few seconds, listening to the silence, broken only by the occasional rustling of the air conditioner. "What if everything just went wrong at the last moment?", he thought...
The phone rang at his apartment. Uncle Jim called in to mention about Aurora, his estranged sister. "She's decided that she's getting married." There was no expression across his face. Uncle Jim's words voice were like mini explosions in his ear, somewhere along the lines, he was only able to make out the explosions of syllables like P, T...
The bouquet fell from his hands. His heart skipped a few beats. Ellie's room wasn't spick and span as before. Her favorite flower vase lay on the ground, broken into a million pieces. Her roses had been stepped on, dead and lifeless. Curls of her hair lay on the floor. He felt the strong sense of foreboding as he walked in. He called out to her, feeling the rise of the hair at the back of his neck. There was no sign of forced entry. He heard her shouting at someone in her room. Quickening his steps, he grabbed a broken piece of furniture, inching closer to her door...
"Aurora, can you get me the ketchup please?" He yelled over the sound of the game on TV. "Come get it yourself", she yelled back from the kitchen. He sneaked up to the kitchen and picked her up in his arms as she laughed. "You're growing heavier each day, Dad would have been so proud baby girl!" he said to his 15 year old sister, seating her on the table to have dinner. "Can we watch anything more sensible than thugs running after an oval shaped ball?" She said, changing the channel...
The car crashed into a nearby coffee shop. He had turned to avoid the little girl on the street. Clutching his forehead, he stepped out of the car. He saw the little girl lying on the side of the road, blood leaving her body. Tears streaming from his eyes, he ran, as fast as he could, pushing and shoving until he was lost in the crowd...
There was something strange about office on Monday morning. Everyone seemed silent. The weekend hangover held an abominable lull across their faces. Dodging those mindless drones as they were zombies lost in apocalypse, he inched closer to his cabin. An increased state of nihilism seemed to engulf him, questioning his purpose in life. He thought of the things that they all did just to get by. They worked on things they'd never wanted to do, for dreams they did not have, for achieving the dreams of the people they did not like. Life had become so very mechanical... His cell phone trembled in his pocket and pronouncing "Ellie" shortly after. Though it brought a smile on his face, he couldn't answer her now. The notice board reminded him.
"I love this place." Ellie said, looking gleeful as ever. They sat by the park near their college, watching the sun drown behind the tall buildings in the city. The park was over a hill which made people and cars on the road down below seem smaller, less noisier. She rested her head against his shoulder, looking up at the sky, breathing in the fresh air. "You know I'm glad I decided to join this school." She said quietly but loud enough for him to hear. "Why?" he asked. She snuggled under his arm. "I met the biggest mistake in my life!" She said, giggling...
"You'll never have time for me." Aurora snapped angrily as she was leaving home. Over the years, he'd managed to get home only late after work. It was her big day with her future in-laws and he had agreed to show up for dinner with them, after work. His boss had called him at the last moment to finish an assignment. He couldn't excuse himself for even a call...
Ellie stood breathless at a corner of her room. Broken articles were scattered all over the floor. There were deep shadows under her eyes, dark violet scars lining her face and tears streaming like he had never seen before. The other guy in the room with her tried to pounce on him before he could say anything. Swinging the piece of log in his hand, he pinned him to the wall. His arms shivered, anger gripping him as he struck harder while Ellie tried to stop him. Suddenly, he shuddered, losing his strength. "I've wanted to tell you... We've been close... I don't know why..." Ellie said, between her sobs... He did not wait to hear. Broken pieces of glass crunched under his shoes as we ran out of the room, ignoring her...
"Congrats, you deserve this." The pretty lady in the red dress shook hands with him as she handed over a token of appreciation from the company. He felt elated, for all the hard work he had put in had finally paid off. He couldn't wait to meet Ellie. He picked up flowers from the flower shop below her apartment later that evening. Running up the stairs impatiently to give her a surprise, he used the spare key he had to enter the room...
What had he done? What was going on? He kept asking himself. Tired and weak, his knees swayed as he climbed up the stairs to his apartment. Ellie's words were drowning him. "You never deserved anything" he could hear Aurora in the back of his head. He thought of the little girl's body on the street... Ellie's car pulled in, in front of his apartment. The curtains of the balcony swayed behind him as he watched her walk into the building...
He could hear her calling, she had reached his apartment hall. Her voice was lovely as always. Closing his eyes, he let himself go off the ledge. He felt the plunge, but it was like gravity waited for him to see her looking out of the window of his apartment hall. The ruffles of her hair spread over her face hiding the scars beneath her eyes. He did not feel anything as he fell. He felt only the softness of her arms around him...
He opened his eyes to see himself on the floor. Aurora barged in the bedroom door, short of breath, inquiring "What was all that noise about?" "Did my big bro fall off his bed?" she added laughing. He sat up, still dazed. It was still early on Sunday morning...
It was late afternoon when Ellie finally emerged from her apartment. She didn't seem to be her jittery self today, quiet & intent on listening to the song on the radio. He looked at her with concern written all over his face. He was nervous himself, checking if the ring he bought for her was still there in his coat pocket. They would always go to the park over the hill, near their college. This weekend had to be their special day.
Just as he stopped at a red light, an elderly lady and a little girl crossed the road. The little girl smiled and waved at them. Ellie seemed to notice. "Does she know you?", She asked. He pondered for a few seconds, remembering her from the dream. A sense of premonition seemed to cross his mind...
"Swear you'll always be with me?" He asked. Attempting to strike up a conversation with Ellie, while they were seated at their favorite spot in the park. She pondered for a few minutes. The strands of her hair exposing a half healed cut on her neck.
Looking at him, she smiled...
