A Tempestuous Journey Home
“Grace,” Isabelle waved from her seat. Her friendly smile never ceased to intrigue me. I had heard stories about perfection, but I had never seen one in my life. Oddly enough, the girl sitting before me, who looked ordinarily cute, seemed to shine a bashful confidence and an aura of perfection. An incredibly strong one. So strong that I wondered why Arthur left her. For me.
“Hi, Belle! I wouldn’t have expected to see you here. You lived on the other end…” I was praying it did not sound too suggestive of what had been weighing in my mind.
“Pretty much, yeah. I had to submit a few documents to the university office,” she answered calmly, yet cheerfully, while sipping her peach tea.
“Here?” I was too stumped to say anything more intelligent.
“Yup. I was selected for the joint research programme. It’s a nice campus that you have here, Grace. I’ll be around here for the three days – a pretty nice change,” she replied.
“Umm, but don’t you have to travel too far?” I asked for the sake of asking.
“About an hour on the train everyday plus a few minutes of bus ride. I don’t think it’s much of a problem for me, though. I’m kinda looking forward to it. I believe this research is worth my extra effort,” Isabelle answered enthusiastically.
“Eh, you know what? You can actually stay at my place for the next few days. It’s only five minutes from here. Saves you a lot of time and energy,” I blabbered out before realizing what I actually said. I offered a girl I barely knew to stay at my apartment. Sheila, my best friend since junior high school was the only person who had ever stayed over at my place.
I found it extremely queer that something about Isabelle keeps drawing me towards her. I just couldn’t leave her alone. She seemed so effortless in handling everything. She said yes and thanked me without the slightest tinge of doubt.
We did not mention Arthur’s name in our conversation, but somehow I felt that his name kept ringing and whispering into my ears, pounding in my head. I heard it in every single breath we took. It echoed through every silence and filled up every pause. I could see Isabelle gliding gracefully through the thin sheet of ice as we talked while I... I was struggling to breathe inside the dark, cold water, almost drowning.
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