Song: This Town - Niall Horan
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"Careful, they bite"
I jumped back, startled at the sudden voice. Turning to my left I saw Carter standing a few feet away from me, wearing a grey buttoned shirt, his hands in the pockets of his jeans.
"Oh, you scared me" I replied, trying to regain my calm heartbeat.
"You shouldn't bring your hand so close to their mouths, they'll think its food too"
I was at the park, standing near the rail of the lake. I bought some swan food on the way here and was trying to feed them. It was five in the evening, the sun slowly and at the same time hurriedly setting down.
"May I?" Asked Carter, streching out his hand, it took me a moment to realize he was asking for the food.
"Yea, sure" I said handing him the packet, making sure not a slight inch of my skin touches him.
He takes a few pieces out and bends down, throwing the food towards the white swans who had gathered around here when they saw me with food.
"Here, try it" he said looking up at me.
I hesitated for a moment, then bend down next to him. Grabbing the packet from his hand I took the food out and just like Carter threw it in water. The swans hurried to where the food was.
I watched their white furs, trying my best to avoid the person sitting next to me, forbidding my eyes from turning left.
I wondered why Carter was here, teaching me how to feed swans. I didn't understand this casual attitude today. He had been ignoring me ever since I came back, nothing more than a greeting. Why was he talking to me?
After a few moments Carter stood up, placing his hands on the rail and looking down in the lake. I threw some more bits of food before mimicking him.
"Ally told me about your mom" he said as I stood next to him.
A shiver ran through my body, I didn't know if I wanted to tell Carter about my mother's sickness. About what's happening in my life.
"I'm sorry" He said, turning to look at me.
I took in a deep breath, refusing to look back at him.
"Yeah, well things had been going smooth for a while now, it was about time something came up" I replied.
This caught me by surprise. I didn't know where my bitterness came from or more importantly why it came now, my anger at everything that had been happening was bubbling inside me. I had stuffed it so deep down since I heard the news that I forget these sharp emotions existed. I thought all I was left with were tears.
I wonder why these emotions came out in front of Carter.
"Eva," said Carter softly, still looking at me. "She's going to get better"
I wanted to say 'Don't talk softly with me, it brings back too many memories' but instead I nodded.
"Yea, yes, I mean she has to"
After a few more seconds Carter stopped looking at me, turning to face straight ahead again. I watched the swans as they swam away from us to people who had food.
"So, Kaisey!! She seemed really nice" I said in a chirpy voice, trying to get rid of the silence and the growing awkwardness.
I turned to face him, waiting for a response. After a moment he looked back at me, observing me. I remember that look, he was reading me. 'Eva, your an open book for me' his voice ran inside my head from years ago.
"Yeah, she really is" he replied.
"Im happy for you" I said, hoping my voice sounded sincere because I was.
"I'm happy things have worked out for you in Canada" he said, looking back ahead.
I stared at his expressionless face and then turned away too. I wonder if he really meant it.
"You...you're handling your dad's business now. I thought you didn't want to do that" I said, something I had been thinking about ever since I saw him on the TV.
"Yea well, things change" he said looking at me.
"Yea, they really do" I replied, looking him back in the eye.
We stared at each other and the time stopped, it felt like everything had disappeared except us. It had been years since I had looked at him like this and suddenly I realized how much I had missed him.
This moment between us that would have last two lifetimes was suddenly interrupted by the shrill sound of my ringtone. Eveything snapped back into focus, time started moving again, Carter realizing he was staring and looked away.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket, seeing Cole's name flash on the screen.
"I should get going" said Carter.
I looked up at him and saw he was staring at my phone.
"Yea, okay, well it was nice seeing you" I replied.
His eyes shifted hesitantly from the phone to me. Nodding once he turned around to leave. Watching his retreating back I answered the call.
"Hey! Eva?" Came the ever so sweet voice of Cole.
"Yeah, hey!! How are you??" I replied, looking away from Carter.
"I'm good. How are you? How is your mom?"
"I'm good, my mom is doing good too I think" I said.
"Don't worry too much okay? She'll get better"
I nodded, desperately hoping that was true.
"How's work?" I asked trying to divert the topic.
"Its fine, the usual. I miss you though, I miss going to movies with you"
A smile appeared on my lips.
"I miss you too Cole"
"Really? How much?" He said playfully.
"Hmm....well there is this big lake in front of me, that's how much I miss Leigh and there are like fifteen swans inside it, I think that's how much I miss you"
A chuckle escaped Cole's lips.
"I'm just glad you miss me"
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I was in the kitchen drinking water when I heard the car horn from outside. It was six in the evening, time for Henry to come back home. I finished drinking and walked towards the main door to greet him.
Henry came in holding a shopping bag, placing his briefcase on the chest of drawers.
"Rough day?" I asked, looking at his worn out face.
"Its just been a couple of rough weeks" He replied.
I nodded, its been a couple of rough weeks for all of us.
"Is your mom sleeping?" He asked walking inside.
"Yeah, fell asleep half an hour ago. She was more exhausted today than usual" I replied following behind him.
Henry nodded as he turned towards the kitchen.
"Do you want to have some cake?" He asked looking at me with a small smile.
I'm always amazed by how people find things to smile about even in the midst of pain, of fear. Forming a smile of my own I nodded.
We sat on the chairs around the table in the kitchen. The cake was good, reminded me of Kaisey and Ally's cake.
"So I met the mayor today, he is an old friend."
"Oh really? I didn't know" I perked up to listen to him. Thankful for the distraction so I dont have to think about Kaisey or Ally. About Carter.
"Yea, we were just catching up when he mentioned that he wanted to start a local magazine for the city."
"That's a great idea, people love to read magazines"
Henry took a bite of his cake and nodded.
"That's what I thought too. He said he was going to form a team soon and was looking for suitable candidates for it. Do you know who is a suitable candidate for this?"
"Who?" I asked.
"You Eva" he said with a laugh.
"What?" I said, stopping midway in eating my cake.
"I told him about you, how you were working in a huge publishing company, in their magazine department in Canada."
"Yea but Henry, I'm here to take care of-"
"Eva, we already have a maid to take care of your mom. You're here to love and support her through this. Besides, its already hard times for all of us, you need a distraction too. This would be good for your well. And you know your mom will say the same"
I didn't know what to say, a part of me knew he was right. I was starting to lose my mind now, sitting at home vacant. Being left alone with your thoughts all day wasn't nice. All I seem to be doing these days was thinking and thinking and thinking. I missed my job and this was exactly the kind of work I liked doing.
But on the other hand I wanted to stay at home and be with mom. I wanted to give her all my time, hold her hand as she struggled with this illness and see her heals from this eventually. Which she would.
"Think about it" said Henry getting up, taking his plate to the sink to wash it.
I nodded, finally taking that bite which was stopped mid air.
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Hello everyone, I hope all of you are okay. Sorry again for not updating. I will try my best to be consistent this time.
Hope you like this chapter
Comment and love
Love,
S. Maham Fatima
P.S: Stay inside, Wash your hands, Wear masks, practice social distancing and Boost your immune system (sleep well, exercise and eat well). Also Take care of your mental health, listen to music, Read books, Paint, play games, do yoga, dont watch the news continuously and Pray. Donate if you can to help others in need.
We'll all get through this together, like always.
