CHAPTER 13

Elysia transferred her hand to her waist after rubbing the sweat on her forehead due to the arrangement she had just made.

Tiredness got the better of her when she arrived the previous night, so she had to postpone the arrangement to the next day which had arrived.

One of the things she never did was procrastinate, and just like she concluded within her, she was done putting the place in order.

“That's it,” she whispered softly to herself but a disappointed look clouded her face as she turned to the last bag.

Not knowing what was inside, she opened up the bag, it was some of her photos. Framed photos to be precise.

One by one, she brought them out, running her finger through every one of them as she placed them together, till it got to the last one.

It was a photo of her and her husband.

Scratch that.

Her ex-husband to be exact.

She swallowed hard as the stare survived ten seconds…and twenty.

She stood at that very spot, rooted to it. She could not take her eyes off it; a perfect illustration and stark reminder that it was possible to leave your past, but is your past willing to leave you?

Following a sigh, she threw it into the waste bin that was almost filled up, and when there was nothing else to thrash, she picked it up and took it out.

The sun was not harsh; rain had fallen the previous night, so it was not surprising, even though the weather was hard to predict most times.

In the end, the best thing was that nature did not give her a harsh welcome, nor biting winds or icy chill in her new house.

Since it was no longer needed, she took off her gloves and tossed them aside with a sense of relief washing over her.

All that was needed now was a warm bath.

As she got in, she shut the door behind her and slid to the floor slowly, with her back against the wall; for a minute, she just sat there, stagnant, with her face cupped in her hands.

No one needed to tell her the journey she was about to embark on. A journey where no one would hear about her, not even her grandmother; the one she loved the most.

The one who was part of her daily routine at a certain time.

“Damn,” she muttered under her breath as she wiped the tears that rolled down her cheek before going into the bathroom.

Before she knew it, night had descended, and she laid down on the bed, her hands clasped behind her head and face directed blankly towards the ceiling.

For the past ten minutes, she was like that, unable to sleep.

Yet to adjust to her new house.

Although, it was silent as a graveyard but the thoughts that ran through her mind were as loud as a roaring waterfall.

In less than a minute, she turned, uncomfortable. Truly, a lot of things were different from her previous house so it was going to take time before she could adjust, but she was prepared for it.

Adjusting to a new house rather than coming to terms with the fact that she would eventually have to accept Orion was no longer hers, even if she would be seeing him most of the time.

After putting in so much effort, she got up and strolled to the sitting room where she turned on the Television with a glass of orange juice on the table.

If there was one way she could divert her thoughts, that was it.

×××××

Groans, sighs, yawn, then slowly, sunlight.

She stretched the remnant of the sleep in her eyes, she dozed off after falling asleep while watching TV the previous day.

Moving into the new house, she had plans, and there was also a small calendar she pasted on the wall, it contained everything she wanted to do and a bucket list, pasted close to it also.

Elysia picked a red pen from the small table placed at the center of the living room and walked towards the calendar, marking the date of the previous day with a decisive ‘X’ sign.

She was done with her chores that morning and she locked the door behind her as she left, throwing the key into her bag.

It was not up to a ten-minute walk from her house to the café, where she took her seat close to the window. Thankfully, no one was there.

“A cup of drip coffee, please,” she said to the barista, who nodded subtly.

“It's on the way, ma'am,” she responded with a smile, but Elysia just diverted her gaze to a book she was reading.

Not long after the lady left, she came back with what Elysia had demanded earlier on.

“Thanks,” her reply was brief, and after paying, the barista left.

Gradually, Elysia visited the place often, mostly on cold days, and the barista started recognizing her since she was one of her best customers, most especially, she was one of the rarest people.

“Drip coffee or french press ma'am?” It was the barista's voice.

She knew Elysia as one of the few people who don't drink coffee that contained espresso- so it was either Drip coffee or French press.

It was only once she tried Turkish coffee.

“The former,” She took her seat and brought out a book with a sigh.

“You've been reading that book since the first day you came here,” she met the familiar sight of the barista once more and she managed a smile.

“Funny how I don't read it at home,” she replied.

“I don't like to stare so instead, I just divert my attention to this,” raiding the book, she smiled. “And I don't pay attention to it all the time, so I have to go back.”

“Intriguing.” her response was immediate, and with that, she walked away, moving on to the table of someone who needed her attention.

Elysia turned her wrist to look at the time, and she pressed her lips into a thin line; that was the time she usually left, so she pushed the chair backward and was about to leave.

Unfortunately, the rain began so she went back, but just as she turned back, she collided with a man who took his stance quicker than expected.

“I'm sor-”

“Nah, no need for apologies,” he cut in sharply, turning away and she bowed slightly before returning to her seat.

She was still the only one seated there, after ordering another cup of coffee.

From a distance, he watched her, nodding unnoticeably whenever he saw her hand shaking with the cup of coffee in it, but he said nothing.

There was nothing he could say anyway.

“Hi,” he finally mustered up courage and walked up to her.

“Good afternoon,” her response was brusque, and without sparing him a second glance, she took her face off him.

“Do you need company?” She could say no, but she raised her head to him, sitting up with a void expression on her face.

He was calm, collected, and demure, at least his eyes were, but from the way, her facial expression changed; you could tell he reminded her of someone.

Someone who caused her great pain.

“Yes.” She responded and his smile was a testament to the fact that he was happy even though he tried to hide it.

“Who would have thought,” a sip of the coffee followed and that made Elysia close the book with a furrowed eyebrow.

“Please, you should learn to say things completely here,” she managed to smile, but it was not forthcoming; all that could be seen in her eyes was pain.

Nothing else, but pain.

“I mean, the rain,” Damon waved his hand. “I'm sorry for speaking that way, don't be offended.”

“Oh, about that, I thought it would not rain, provided that it was sunny in the morning,” her words tumbled out in a rush; it's been a while since she talked to anyone.

Her former number was removed from her phone already, so there was literally no one she could talk to.

“Do you really take coffees without a shot of espresso in them?” If there was one thing he could not hide, it was the curiosity in his voice.

Elysia scoffed. “As surprising as it may be, yeah I don't.”

“I should try it someday then,” he was cautious, weighing every word before it left his mouth.

But at least, he was making things easy for her, studying her expression before speaking.

“If you want to,” she picked up the cup.

The rain stopped before they were done with their conversation; although she was not placed in an inconvenient spot, she dismissed him in the most polite way ever, and they waved each other goodbye.

As she left the café, she walked in the dark street, with her hand firmly gripping her handbag; most of the time, she went out with the sole purpose of distracting herself from the harsh reality of her past marriage.

She fell to her bed after she stepped into her room, like the conversation she had, was tiring.

Long day, short night…once more, she was up again.

The ticking sound of the wall clock made her divert her divert her gaze to the wall clock, it was seventeen minutes past nine.

She was done with her chores before ten, and just like she did most of the time, Elysia shut the door behind her, but just as she was about to leave, she saw something that rarely happened.

A letter was in the mailbox, and as she brought it out, it was clear: there was no return address, just her name written in a familiar handwriting.

After a long stare at it, she bit her lower lips, unsure, whether to open it or not.