Reminiscence

As the sky started filling up with stars, Noah watched the city change its colour from his balcony. There was a neat whiskey glass in his hand. He stood up and leaned towards the railing, rested his hands on it, and took a deep breath. His eyes were wet, and her thoughts occupied his mind while his heart remained lost.

Noah swigged the entire glass of whiskey in two gulps, turned towards his room, and smashed the glass on the wall. He started to lose his balance and fell on the balcony floor, looked over towards his room, and saw the floor covered with pieces of shattered glass. In pain, he closed his eyes, and the past painted her memories.

It all started five days back when his path crossed hers. It was like any other day in Noah's life; he woke up, dressed for the office, had breakfast, and left his home. The radio in the car was playing, but his attention remained fixated on his schedule for the day. He was quite successful for his age and ran a business proficiently. He hardly gave himself any day off from his work and had just one goal in his life: to be more successful than yesterday. As he reached his office building, the guard came running towards the car, opened his door, greeted him, and took his car keys. He walked towards the lift while checking the time on his watch. As usual, he was 5 minutes early, and when the elevator reached the 15th floor, he stepped out of it and started walking towards his office door. As he sprung open the gate, his employees greeted him with “Surprise!” It was then he realised that it was his birthday today. The employees at the office greeted him, and the cake was cut.

All the staff requested that he should take at least today off. Noah argued that a lot of work was still pending, to which his secretary replied that everything has been taken care of and rescheduled. Happily giving up, he replied, “Fine, I will see you all tomorrow." He walked out of his office, reached the entrance where his car was already ready for him to drive away. On his way back, he realised that work was the only thing in his life. On the next cut, he turned around his car and decided to do something else for a change. He drove his car to a bookstore in the city where his mother used to take him often.

He parked his car, lost in his thoughts, started walking towards the store. It was then he bumped into someone, and once he returned from his thoughts, Noah realised that the accident caused her books to fall all over the ground. He started helping her pick the books.

He noticed that she tucked her hair behind her right ear, and there was this innocence about her that was hard to miss. She said, looking towards him, “It is okay, I will manage.” to which he promptly replied, “I insist.” and continued helping her pick those books. Her eyes, hazel, with a tinge of sadness, sparkled, and her half-smile left him enthralled. As he stood up, he handed her over the books and said, “Those are a lot for a person to read,” to which she smiled and started walking away in the opposite direction as his.

Lost in his thoughts, he entered the bookstore and started skimming through the books. It reminded him of when his mother brought him to the store every time she wanted to reward him. Melancholy filled his mind while he was still preoccupied with his recent encounter with the girl. Cluttered with thoughts, he picked ‘The light we Lost’ by Jill Santopolo and started walking towards the bill counter. His heartbeat momentarily came to a standstill when he saw her again behind the cash register. Awestruck by her presence, he handed over the book to buy. “Interesting pick,” she exclaimed.

“Have you read it already?”

“Few of the advantages of running a book store,” she smiled and returned him his change.

He walked out of the store towards his car when the most unusual thought crossed his mind. Who knew life would bring such a drastic turn to his otherwise normal day. He rushed back to the store and looked for her, only to find her behind one of the bookshelves.

“Oh! You, again? Did you miss something?”

“No, actually, I wanted to ask you out for lunch. I understand it is a bit sudden, but I didn't want to leave with regret.”

She looked at him with amazement at his audacity and replied, “I will go out with you but only on one condition.”

Agitated by her unexpected reply, he asked, “What condition?"

“You will have to promise me that it would just be a five-day fling.”

“And what makes you think that we will get along after the first date?”

“I just happened to know certain things. I am occupied as of now. Pick me up at nine at the same place we first met.”

In the anticipation for the clock to strike nine in the evening, he realised that time happens to move slow when you long for something special. He was getting ready for a date with a girl he just met and did not even have her phone number or name. He put on his black blazer, stole a glimpse of himself in the mirror, and left his house to meet her.

On his way to the place, he picked up flowers and reached quite well in advance. As he walked around while the clock moved past nine, he saw her coming towards him from afar. She adorned a black dress with a floral design, which complemented her and accompanied it with heels. She had the slightest of makeup done and let her hair loose and fall on one side ending into curls. She looked phenomenal.

“You showed up. Thank you.”

She smiled and, pointing towards the flower, asked, “Are those for me?”

“Yes, of course.”

He handed her the flowers and guided her towards his car.

“So, where are we going, stranger?” she inquired.

“Do you have anything in your mind?” he asked.

“You asked me out, so you tell me.”

He drove her to his favourite restaurant in the city and rushed to open the door for her. As she stepped out of the car, she exclaimed, "That's an expensive choice. Can we afford this?" and laughed.

He smiled and guided her towards their table.

As they talked, time went by quickly. Noah ordered food and they talked endlessly to know each other. Towards the end, he signed off the cheque, and they walked back to their car. Their hands brushed with each other, and both of them smiled.

“I think now we can tell each other our names,” he said, looking at her.

“June.”

“Noah.”

Then they exchanged each other's numbers and soon reached June's home. He got down from the car to open the car's door for her and looked at her with the same zeal as he saw her for the very first time. She leaned towards Noah, kissed him and whispered, "Four more days." and went towards the gate of her apartment.

As he reached his house, he realised how extraordinarily his day went by and texted her 'Goodnight.'

The next three days went with numerous texts getting exchanged. They explored multiple food joints and revisited all their favourite places. With June, he was his happiest self. He did not have to fit in, and she understood him for the person he indeed was. The places June and Noah went weren't new to them, but it was all exciting for them both in each other's company. Noah also took June to one of his favourite places in the city overlooking the mighty ocean. He shared with her how he used to love reading and enjoyed painting here while visiting this place with his mother. Noah shared his closeness with his mother. June opened up as well to Noah about her family and things she loved doing when young. And as they kept sharing stories one after the other, the sun started setting while the mesmerising sound of the ocean waves had them captivated. Noah kissed June, and soon they left for their respective places.

Little did Noah realise how swiftly the four days went by. He did not have the slightest idea of what the fifth day had waiting for him. As Noah woke up, he saw her text asking him to visit her at the same place they met for the first time in the evening. After office, he rushed to the bookstore in sheer anticipation. She was there, still every bit beautiful, looking at him with a longing smile.

As he entered the bookstore, she switched the store's sign to ‘closed’ on the door and took him to the little arrangement made inside the store. They spent a fantastic time talking and eating, and towards the end, she thanked him for the past few days.

“Wait, don't tell me you were serious about the five-day condition?”

“Noah, don't make it harder than it already is. I can not help it.”

“But I thought we were having a good time, was I wrong?”

“No, you weren't.”

She explained to him about her chronic illness and how she had to leave town for her operation the next day.

It was then that Noah realised the little distinctions of her illness in her looks while his heart started to break into million pieces. He looked at her with soft eyes and held her face in his hands, and kissed her softly. He then tucked her hair behind her right ear and asked if he could accompany her. Noah and June both knew what June's reply was going to be, and they hugged each other and stood there for a while.

As Noah left the store, he looked at her once again and still was mesmerised by her very presence. Trembling, he walked towards his car and could not control the tears in his eyes. While driving to his place he paid attention for the first time to the radio playing, ‘...You have beaten my heart…Don't want no other shade of blue but you…no other sadness in the world would do..’

He sprung open his apartment door, threw away his keys, filled a glass of whiskey for himself, and went to the balcony while the stars started filling the sky as he watched the city changing its colour, while his mind painted his thoughts with her memory.