The One
To my followers, this might be a little out of the usual tech and work topics, but I’m going to give a go at writing more freely, to try out something different whenever I feel like it.
A loud rumble of a vehicle engine interrupts the otherwise quiet afternoon. “Not even a flashy car worth turning my head for,” Kelly thinks to herself. The gentle, cool breeze seeps through the slightly ajar window and kisses her arm. The leaves on the trees dance in the breath of the wind. They rustle, tickled by the sunlight bouncing off them. Their shadows wiggle in step. A larger object cuts in, intercepting the light, casting a larger shadow, looming over the slice of cake that sits in front of her.
“Why would anyone think that hiding a ring in a cake makes for a splendid proposal idea? You’d think they’d care for having the certainty of not choking the partner they so cherish, to death?” Spoon to her mouth, she thought aloud.
Edel chuckles through the phone. “It could be worse. I heard Dylan is going to propose to his girlfriend on their trip to the Maldives. And get this, on a yacht! It’d be romantic with the sunset in the backdrop — he says. You know what I think? I think it’s the scariest thing anyone can do. On a yacht with no way of escaping the situation if you need some time to think. What if she hesitates? What an awkward journey back. Or what if a wave comes crashing and Dylan drops that ring he spent so long saving up for into the sweet, sweet waters of the Indian Ocean?”
“Talk to you later. I’ve got to go. Love you.” Kelly hung up without waiting for a reply.
“Coming!” The doorbell was going off relentlessly. “For fuck’s sake,” she muttered and looked through the peephole. No one.
Unlatching the door, Kelly steps back, ready to spring after whoever that crazy was. A thump and a scratch. She brought down her gaze and there was Buttons, her neighbor’s black and white cat, pushing a small package around, taking in the strange object with skepticism and much curiosity.
No, curiosity did not kill this cat.
“Go home Buttons. What are you even doing here? You don’t have a license for this floor. Crazy kitty.”
Kelly picked up the package. There was no sign of anyone in the hallway, no sound of footsteps in the stairway. She shrugged the last bit of annoyance left in her away and closed the door behind her. Without letting Buttons in.
She placed the package on the table, along with other unopened packages, and slumped back into the green, velvety reading couch. It was barely comfortable but it had the prettiest deep emerald that added the much needed pop of color to her otherwise mostly white shoebox apartment.
She dozes off, book in lap, cake half eaten, the sound of the window thudding gently against the frame, the breeze creating a draught, the draught composing a hypnotic refrain.
