A Thursday Night
Half-past eight read the clock on the wall. Late again, sighed Scarlet. Guess I should grab dinner at Joey’s, she said to herself. She finishes the report, emails to her boss before shutting down her computer. On her way out of the office, she grabs her coat and locks the office.
Scarlet, an early 20s woman, has been working at Eddie’s — a small firm that does paperwork for folks who either find it hard or too busy to do. She thinks it’s neither two but laziness — after graduating from college. She is grateful to have a job even though it’s menial for it’s enough to take of herself not relying on others.
It was dark when she reached Joey’s. She grabbed her dinner at Joey’s and took a short cut to her home. Ignoring the eerie feeling, she walks down the lane. As she was walking down, she saw a person under the dimly lit street light looking at his surroundings. Shouldn’t have taken the shortcut said to herself in her head. Look straight, look straight, she repeated in her head. As she was passing, she couldn’t ignore her curiosity and glanced at the person from the corner of her eyes and saw him troubled.
Instead of speed walking down the lane, she stepped to the person and said: “Is there anything bothering you, sir?” The man looks at her, surprised, and replies, “Yes. I lost my way. Could you tell me the way to West Street?” “It’s two blocks away down the lane” replied Scarlet. “Thank you,” said the man and continued “I’m Dave. Nice to meet you”. “I’m Scarlet” extending her arm introduces herself. Dave shook her hand and asked where she lives. “Down the lane a couple of houses away” Scarlet replied. Dave insisted walking her home as a thank you to which Scarlet accepted the offer hesitantly.
Dave noticed her nervousness, and to ease the situation strikes a conversation with her. “I work at Eddie’s as an assistant” replied Scarlet. Slowly both were talking about their office work. “I worked at a publishing company, and now I’m looking for another job,” said Dave. Scarlet finds him attractive and kept glancing. Though he observed her, he didn’t say anything because he finds her attractive too. Soon the conversation died, and they reached the end of the lane.
“Which way?” asked Dave. Scarlet was deep in thoughts about Dave didn’t hear his question. “Which way to your home?” Dave asked again. “It’s the eighth house on the left,” said Scarlet, and Dave walks her to her door. Scarlet lives in a quiet neighbourhood and everyone goes to bed by 09:00 PM. Getting home late was usual for her because she lost track of time when she’s in work. Even her boss mentioned her to leave home early to which she smiles and resumes her work.
She thanked Dave for walking her home. Before she enters, Dave pulls her into a tight embrace and snuggles into the crook of her neck. Scarlet was dumbstruck. She could feel his hot breath on her neck and smells his cologne. He hovers his lips on her shoulder blade and bit. As an instinct, she moves closer to him and wraps her arms around his neck. Then he kisses the bite. He places her hand on her cheek, looks into her eyes and closes the distance between them for a kiss. She leans into his kiss; tugging his hair. The kiss was gentle and yearning. They pulled apart with flushed faces for air. He pecks on her lips and kisses her cheek before saying goodbye.
Turning back, Dave waves his hand in the air with a smile on his, and she mirrors his action. She watches his back as far as she can see till he disappears down the lane. Scarlet enters her home, locks it and walks into the kitchen to re-heat her dinner before taking a long bath. After dinner, she went straight to the bed, and a falls into a deep sleep remembering Dave.
Friday came the next day, and she gets ready for work. Jo, a colleague of her, walks into her office and shows her a news article on CIRCULOSE. But something caught her interest. Taking the paper from her colleague she reads the headline “A car accident in the early hours on West Street”. The article said a man, named Dave Hamilton, in his mid-20s, died in the car accident near West Street on his way to meet his family in the early of Wednesday and funeral was held yesterday, and his family, lover, and closer relatives attended it. The picture of the man in the article is Dave, who walked her home last night.
