Trusted the Lead
Because trust is never certain.
By Anna Antony | ajotworld
It was the same sunny day, noisy road, and rushing people, and she thought, "Am I not bored of this?" All day was the same. She walked the roads as usual, just a bit tired; she could feel her heart race as she reached the crosswalk—the same area that had always given her a heart attack. As usual, she looked around and saw no one, and she wished to wait until someone showed up, as always.
“Oh lord, I am in a rush; how long should I wait?” Five minutes passed, ten minutes passed, and no one showed up. The signal came and went, people came and went, and even cars, but she wanted to walk with people so she could feel less fear of being lost in that strip line. However, she couldn’t, as there was a huge rush; she was holding on to her fear. That had happened before. "What a shame," she said to herself.
She tried to step forward, but the rushing cars gave her a vision of that night. Suddenly, she saw footsteps approaching the crosswalk; she looked at those feet with a never-ending smile. It was like a lifesaver for her at that time. She tried to cross the road with that person as the sun shone bright. As she crossed the road and almost reached the end, she suddenly saw the signal change, and a car came dashing by, honking.
She was terrified; it was like her heart stopped beating out of fear. She tried to hold on to the man with whom she crossed the road, but her fingers weren’t stable; she fell to the ground and got hurt. She looked up and saw the man holding her with much care. The vehicles kept on honking and people shouted for her to move, while some kind bystanders came and asked, “Are you okay? Should we call an ambulance?”
She didn’t notice anything other than his big oval face with a well-identifiable jawline, long nose, cute red lips, and the fine muscular hand that strongly held her. “The wounds aren’t that deep, so I will take her to the footpath and check; if necessary, I will call an ambulance. You can go ahead,” he told them. They said, “Okay, then. Thank you, boy,” while some rushed off.
She could hear everything they were saying in a muffled voice but couldn’t reply. He took her and placed her near the footpath while she was still staring at him out of curiosity. He asked her with his strong and clear, light voice; he repeated it while tapping at her cheeks. He asked once more, "Are you okay? Tell me?" At a subconscious level, she heard those words twice and thrice: “Are you okay? Please respond."
After coming back to her senses by shaking her head, she replied, "Yep, I am," with a doubtful smile. Pointing to the wound on her hands and staring at her leg, he asked, "Really?"
"Yeah, I have to go. Take care." With a shaking voice, she said those words and got up in a rush, walking as fast as she could to avoid any other interactions, without giving a single glance to that man. From a distance, she heard him saying, "Take care of yourself, Miss." She looked back and tried to wave her hands, but there was no one to see it; he had already turned around, and she was just embarrassed by herself.
Just like earlier in the road-crossing scenario, an unhappiness appeared in her. She turned around and asked herself, “Why? Why?”
“Mm, leave it,” she said to herself with doubt, and she checked her watch. “Oh my gosh, 10:15! I’m dead.”
She ran as fast as she could to the Cedar Sky Hotel. She reached the lobby reception and asked with a breathless voice, “Hello, I’m Rubby. I had an interview scheduled at 10 AM with Mr. Brian.”
“Yeah, he is in the waiting room, and his assistant is here waiting for you, madam.”
Shit, she said in her mind. She turned back and showed an embarrassed smile toward the assistant, Mr. Jude. He came forward. “Oh, Madam Rubby, here you are. I guess you’re very early today for the interview with Mr. Brian. I didn’t know you would be this punctual.”
Rubby looked around with doubtful and scared eyes and said, “I’m sorry…. I’m sorry, Mr. Jude.”
“Don’t look around. Your friend isn’t here to save you, dear; she has another business to take care of,” he said, seeing those doubtful eyes.
“Yeah, I know. She told me. By the way, there was a mini accident, and I got wounded. See?" To be more convincing, she showed the wounds on her hands. "So, I’m late. Sorry.”
“Oh, my bad, then. Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m good,” she replied gently.
“She might reach here after finishing her work, I guess. Anyway, why didn’t you inform me? I’m really sorry for my stupid words; I will inform Mr. Brian about this, okay? So, let’s move on. I will take you to the interview room, and then I will accompany Mr. Brian, okay? He’s waiting for you.”
“Yeah, I know, it’s fine anyway. Let’s go; thank you.”
With nervous and curious eyes, Rubby scanned the room. She said hello and tried to have a conversation with the cameraman and the team. Even though she had done a handful of interviews, this was an exclusive one for her—a turning point for her career. She couldn’t lose this. She was rubbing her fingers continuously out of anxiety.
Mr. Brian arrived. “Hello, Miss Rubby, nice to meet you,” he said with a strong and deep voice. She was startled, turned back, and gave a pleasant smile. “Yeah, sir, it’s nice to meet you.” Even though she couldn't believe the young, rising star was in front of her, she smiled.
He looked at her, saying, “Oh, don’t call me that; be comfortable. I guess we have passed the ‘strangers' phase to 'friends' now. Andria’s friend means you're my friend too, right? So, how’s your hand? Jude told me about it.”
“Oh, it’s fine, nothing serious, and thanks for making me so comfortable and being a friend,” she replied.
“Do you need first aid or something?” Jude asked with much care.
“No, it’s fine; I can manage. And yeah, let’s start since you are a busy man. I’m already late, and it will be a mess if we don’t start by now.”
“Yeah, yeah, let’s start. By the way, you’re quite a beauty,” he said. She heard it with a shy smile, and Jude gave a cough while staring at both and left the scene to them.
The interview went on with Rubby's curiosity and doubts about the industry—the world of cameras and fame that she wasn’t well aware of until now. Maybe in the near future, she thought, maybe after this interview? Fingers crossed, she might achieve the dream she had held for so long: to become a well-known interviewer.
The funny and straightforward replies of Mr. Brian to her curiosity and on-the-spot questions made the session interesting, as did the game sections. “Okay, sir, with this we wind up the session. Thank you so much.”
“Yeah, my pleasure, and thanks to you too for being such a good interviewer.” Those words touched her very much.
“Thank you,” she replied.
“If I hadn’t said yes to Andria, I would have lost such a great session,” he said, which made her pause for a minute.
“Oh, thank you, sir, my pleasure,” she replied as quickly as she could.
“Don’t—just call me Brian. We are friends, remember? And that’s it.”
“Okay, Brian, okay. So, see you next time, maybe soon.”
With a great smile, he said, “Yeah, see you.”
“Oh, so now you have become good friends, ah?” a lovely voice raised from the back. Rubby turned back to look at that familiar voice.
“You….” she said with a glad sound.
“Yeah me! What happened? You look exhausted, dear.” It was her best friend, Andria, without whom she wouldn’t have been able to get an interview with the rising star who doesn't usually give personal interviews to anyone.
“I’m fine, just surprised to see you, that’s it.”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah.”
“But looking at you says otherwise. What happened? Say it!”
“I will explain it later,” she told softly into Andria’s ear.
“Okay, fine,” she said with a relaxed voice. “Seeing your friendship is so lovely.”
“Oh, now it’s ours. We all are good friends from now on, right Rub?”
“Yeah, yeah,” she replied with an uncertain voice.
“So, you guys carry on; I have other stuff to be done.” By saying this and with a happy face, Brian walked forward.
“Well done, Miss Rubby," Jude came forward and said. "Let me know when all edits are done and it's ready to be published.”
“Yeah, of course, and thank you, Mr. Assistant,” she said teasingly.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Mm mm, mm,” Andria teased them.
“Okay, okay. By the way, don’t keep anything on your mind about what I said when you arrived. I'm sorry for that, okay?”
“Oh, really? I had already forgotten it by then.”
“What did you say to my friend, ah?” Andria's voice raised.
“It’s nothing, Ann, leave it,” Rubby told her with a calm voice.
“Oh, my bad then.” They both smiled. “So are you coming or not?” he asked looking at Andria.
“No, I wanna spend the rest of the day with my friend. Look, she’s so tired too,” she said sadly.
“Ann….” Rubby called her name with much patience.
“Okay, okay, I guessed it anyway. I will handle the rest of the work. By the way, do you need any bandages or first aid, Rubby?” Jude asked with care.
“No, I’m fine.” Jude stared at her. “Really?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I will be better. Thank you for your kind words, Jude,” she replied carefully.
Staring at both of them, Andria stood there without knowing what was going on.
“Okay then, take care of yourself. Bye, bye,” he told them with joy. They shook hands and parted ways gently.
She paused for a moment. Without a second thought, her mind reminded her of someone—someone who said those same words to her. She was slightly lost in that moment.
Staring at them, Andria stood and asked her, “Are you guys... really?”
“What?” With a sudden start, Rubby asked.
“Nothing, maybe just my thoughts,” Andria replied.
“Yeah, of course,” she replied.
Then she thanked her teammates and walked to the lobby with Andria. By that time, her stomach reminded her she hadn’t had anything since this morning by producing a rumbling sound.
“You didn’t have anything, Rub? Are you hungry?” Andria asked with care.
“No, I was in a hurry, so I couldn’t,” she replied.
“Oh, my Rubby,” Andria said with a light, fed-up voice. “Come, let’s go to the restaurant and have something.”
“It's fine,” Rubby intervened.
“No, it’s not. Let’s go, come.” Andria took Rubby with her and ordered her favorite cappuccino and a garlic egg bread sandwich, and an iced americano for herself. While Rubby was rushing through her phone—a basic daily habit of hers—she didn't really read; she was just trying to look busy.
At that time, Andria told her to stop it and just focus on her food, which made her a little sad but made sense at the same time. While she looked at Andria, she also noticed a guy and girl, almost in their teens, sitting opposite her. Their lovely duo reminded her of the man—that one and only man. It was the second time in half a day. The moment she remembered him again, a thought popped into her mind: Damn, what? A complete stranger? No way. She never failed to look at that couple; she stared at them without their knowing or Andria’s knowing.
“Hey sweetie, what happened?” Andria asked.
“Yeah, hey, nothing.” She wasn’t focused.
“So how did your interview go? Was it nice?”
“Yeah, not bad.”
“So how was Mr. Brian? Was he good?”
“Yeah, he’s a good man.” She spoke with a pleasant smile while noticing the couple.
Which made Andria curious. “So how was Jude? Is something going on between you two?”
“What nonsense!” Rubby's voice raised, surprising Andria.
“Oh,” Rubby said with an uncertain voice. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean it.”
“Yeah, it's fine, I understood. I was just curious when I saw you guys.” Andria sounded as if she wasn’t interested, while she was actually very curious.
Looking at her, Rubby knew she was curious, so Rubby told her, “Nothing like that, just friends.”
“So what did you think about him?” Andria’s questions were fast.
“Nothing,” Rubby replied as if she were no longer interested in the conversation.
She was completely in another world; seeing that couple reminded her of the man she had met and who disappeared at the same time.
Seeing she wasn’t in a good mood, Andria said just to cheer her up, “Anyway, did you find my friend interesting?”
“He’s good, anyway.” “Oh, really?” Andria said with a little laugh. “That’s amazing, Rub.”
“Why do you smile?” she asked.
“I just remembered the lovely words you said—that he’s a great singer and actor and all.”
“Isn’t he?” she replied defensively. “Yeah, of course he is,” Andria replied, relaxed.
“So, my Rubby dear, what happened? You are really out of your mind. Why? What’s going on?” Her voice carried the weight of her care for Rubby.
“Oh, they left?” Rubby said in a quiet voice.
“Who?” Andria whispered slowly.
“Nothing. I saw some people.”
“Where?”
“Just behind you,” Rubby replied.
“You mean any boys?” Andria said with a teasing smile and turned back.
“Nope, a couple.” She said with a much lower voice.
“A couple?” Andria asked doubtfully. “Why are you staring at them? The one who didn’t believe in love, a complete workaholic like you.”
“Nothing, I was just watching.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, somewhat. It reminded me of something.” She kept her voice low.
“Oh, that's interesting. By the way, watching a couple, eh?”
“Yeah, they were so lovey-dovey.”
“Why didn’t I notice it?” Andria asked.
Rubby had an ignorant expression.
“Really? Next content for Rub’s blog, ah?” Andria asked excitedly.
“I have told you not to spill the beans; it’s not like that,” Rubby said suddenly.
“Why are you trying to lie?” Andria spoke as if she knew everything.
“Look, I just watched them; I’m not going to make them my content, okay?”
“Yeah, I know you might change the story slightly,” Andria said.
Rubby was silent for a minute and said, “It’s not like that……” and then replied, “Yeah, maybe….” keeping her eyes low.
“Look, I knew it. Don’t be desperate. Didn’t I just joke? Anyway, you are lucky to be doing what you love, having a great blog, and working as an interviewer in a high-class company. Really, I envy you.”
“Oh, doing the job I love? I’m not alone in it; the envious one is also there, I guess.”
“Yeah, working as a manager with my sweet childhood friend—it’s what I love, but I don’t have a great blog account that shares amazing stories and hides the personality info.”
“Okay, say one more word, and then you are dead.”
“Oh no, not now. I want to go shopping. Ah, sorry—so what happened to you? Did Jude or Brian harm you?”
“Nope, nope, not them. I just fell on the road and injured myself.”
“On the road? On the crosswalk again?”
“Yeah, somewhat.”
“Oh girl, how old are you? Still afraid to cross a road even in a crosswalk?”
“Yeah, what to say? My bad.”
“So, there was no one to help you?”
“Yeah, there was a guy who helped me.”
“And?”
“And I left, so did he.”
“Only that much?”
“Yeah, what more do you need?”
“Was he good looking, by the way?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t lie.”
“I don’t care.”
“So, he was.”
“Maybe,” she said in an ignorant voice.
“Oh, I expected a happy ending ever-after story, Rub,” Andria said with a teasing voice.
“In your dreams, Ann... that’s never going to happen,” Rubby replied with a confident and much stronger tone. “We are 28 years old; it’s about marriage time, but still, you’re after your career and stuff. You should date, love, and experience that stuff too, right?”
“Oh, again I’m getting lessons from the most experienced teacher, ah? About this boring topic.”
“Yeah, do you have a problem with that? From my dating experience, I would say you should date a few men before marriage; only then will you really know a man’s character. And this won’t be that boring if you experience it and feel it that way.”
“Oh, can we stop here? I’m not in the mood for this lesson; I have stuff to do. Okay, bye.” Rubby had almost finished her brunch and was ready to leave.
“No, no, come with me, we have stuff to do,” Andria told her with a rushing voice.
“Oh gosh.” Rubby was almost fed up for the day.
“Come with me; no escape, okay?”
“I can’t. I’m in a mess.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I will take care of my sweet angel. I will bandage you, okay? Come.”
“Okay, no need for that anyway. I will come, let that be a change,” she replied.
“Yeah, sweetie,” Andria replied.
By holding Rubby's hand with care and authority, they both walked towards the nearest mall, The Grand Mall. Their conversation didn’t end; Andria was taking much care of her friend.
“By the way, why don’t we change your dress first? Like you said, it looks more tired than you.”
“You...!!! I told you...”
“Fine, let’s buy something for you,” she intervened.
“I don’t need it. Let’s get your stuff and move on. I want to go, Ann...”
“It’s fine, fine, come on. By the way, what do you think about that man?”
“Which man?”
“The man that saved you today.”
“I don’t know; I didn’t have much time for him.”
“Oh,” Andria said in a sad voice. “Shouldn’t you treat that man in return?”
“Treat him? Why?”
“He saved you, right? Why don’t you give him a treat rather than just a thank you?”
“Thank you?” she whispered.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t say it!”
“Mm, mm.”
“You didn’t, right? You workaholic!”
“Somewhat,” she replied.
“How can you be so careless? Rub, he’s your lifesaver, and you didn’t even say thank you? So bad, very bad.”
“Hey, hey,” Rubby intervened. “I was in a rush, that’s it.”
“A rush? Still...”
“Will you please stop? I will give him a treat next time if we meet again.”
“Will you meet him? Do you have his number?”
“Nope.”
“Name?”
“Nope.”
“Anything?”
“Nope.”
“Rubby!” She shouted with a strange voice.
“It’s fine,” Rubby replied.
“What’s fine? It’s not fine. Would any other girl do this? You will be the first girl doing this to a man.”
“Thanks.” She felt like she had achieved something, and she smiled fully.
“Okay, here’s our shop. Let’s go,” Rubby said with a loud voice, while Andria was really sad for her behavior. Even though Rubby acted like nothing affected her, deep down she wished she could see him to give him a treat, or to say a word that was too hard to say at that time—a thank you. But her smile vanished in an instant as she thought about it.
As it was sale season, the shops were packed. “I can't breathe, I guess,” said Rubby, looking at the huge crowd.
“Come on. This is a piece of cake, right?” Andria replied. They walked into the crowd and checked the dresses one by one.
At that time, Rubby got stuck looking at a certain view. Andria was asking her, "Is it nice, Rubby?" She went and touched Rubby’s shoulder. Rubby came to her senses. “What?”
“What? I’m supposed to ask you that! Why are you stuck?”
“Nothing.”
“What, girl? Say it.”
“There... I think there... I saw him.”
“Him? What about him?”
“That man.”
“Oh, really? Amazing! Come on, let’s go.”
“Where?”
“To him!”
“Oh no, no. I’m not sure; I just think it’s him. I don’t know.”
“It’s fine; let’s clear it.” She dragged Rubby’s hand and told the saleslady, “Pack these. I will be back, okay? And we need bandages too for my sweet friend; we will be right back.”
“Okay,” the saleswoman replied respectfully. Andria ran toward the direction Rubby pointed, dragging her along. With curiosity, she asked, "Where? Where? Where’s he?”
“I told you I’m not sure.”
“It’s fine; let’s check over there.”
“There,” she pointed toward the men's jacket section. She ran toward there, avoiding the crowd, and reached the man. “Him?” Andria said.
“I guess so,” Rubby replied doubtfully.
“Hey,” Andria said to that man. He turned back and replied, “Yeah?”
The sad, doubtful eyes of Rubby brightened at that first glance. It was him. Her mind shouted that the handsome man who saved her a few hours ago was standing right in front of her. She lost her senses. Rather than speaking, she just stared.
“Rubby, Rubby,” Andria called.
“Ah, ah, ah,” she replied after a minute. It was the same as before. He made her heart skip a beat. What magic, she asked herself.
“Is he?” Andria asked, surprised, and she nodded.
“Do you know me?” he asked them. Rubby was surprised to hear that same voice.
Andria asked, “This morning you saved a girl while crossing the road?”
“What?” he replied.
Rubby replied, “Nothing. Let’s go, Ann.”
“What? Why? Wait... wait... Rub, wait!” Rubby dragged Andria back to the section where they had paused.
Andria said, “Maybe he doesn’t remember.”
“What? Remember?” Rubby told her. “Maybe it’s not him.”
“But you said it was.”
“Maybe I thought it was just a chance. And how can someone forget something from just a few hours ago?”
“Yeah, but it’s a hectic day, so why couldn’t he?”
“Stop it. Ann, pack the stuff. We are leaving,” she told the saleswoman.
“No, no, a few more,” said Andria.
“Ann...” Rubby said with a warning voice.
“Just a few minutes, please, darling.”
“I’m already this embarrassed, and you... just a few, a few...”
“Okay,” Rubby replied and waited for Andria. In the meantime, she rushed through her phone, even though her mind was stuck on that voice: “Do you know me?” Looking down at her phone, she saw feet in front of her eyes. She looked up slowly with a scared face and saw the young, smiley face that had just disappeared a minute ago.
“You?” she asked.
“You didn’t even have time to bandage your wounds—are you that busy? Or always this clumsy?” he asked her in a teasing tone.
“It’s just a small wound,” she replied.
“So? Busy people won’t mind things like this, right?” he teased again.
“Sorry, do you know me?” she shot the same sentence back at him.
“Oh, really?” he asked and smiled slightly. He knelt toward her, held her leg, and bandaged her ankle.
“Ah, ah.” She tried to refuse, but he held on strong. He put her phone on the sofa and bandaged her palm too. Their eyes met closely, her palm in his, feeling safe and cared for, just like the morning incident. He cared for her even more now; their eyes were sharing something without them even knowing it. She was startled by his look.
“Okay, ready.”
Andria, who was standing a few steps back to give them privacy, came over and said, “Wow.” Suddenly they came to their senses and stood up.
Andria asked, “So are you that man, right?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Then why did you deny it earlier?”
“Because I rescued a busy girl—a very busy girl—from danger, and she ran away within a second without a word. So shouldn’t I teach her something she’ll never forget? I can’t lose, right?” he said, making fun of Rubby.
With a doubtful face, Andria said, “Yeah, yeah.” Rubby just ignored those words; she looked at him and her friend one at a time.
“What? Why are you looking like that?” he asked her.
“Nothing, I didn’t expect that, that’s all.”
“Oh, I forgot to ask your name, by the way. What’s your name?” Andria took the lead for her friend.
“Oh, Griffin. Griffin Hades.” He put his hand forward for a handshake. Andria prompted Rubby. Rubby stayed there with a doubtful face. “Give it,” Andria said, holding her hand.
“And you two?” he asked.
“I’m Andria, and this is—” She pointed toward Rubby and gave her a look to speak.
“I’m Rubby, and... and thanks for earlier. Thanks for saving me,” she said in a light voice with shyness.
“Oh, I see, Rubby. So you’re as precious as a ruby, ah? Then the pleasure is mine to save a Rubby.” Without knowing if he was teasing her, she said, “No.”
“Oh, come on, I just wanted to tell a joke. Sorry.”
“No, it’s fine,” she told him.
“Okay, so are you done shopping?” he asked.
“Yeah, we are done. Do you want to grab lunch with us?” Andria again took the lead.
“That’s not necessary, right?” Rubby asked. Andria rolled her eyes.
“Still, we should treat Mr. Griffin for saving your life, Rubby, right?” she grit her teeth at Rubby.
She replied, “I already had my brunch.” Andria bit her teeth again—patience, she told herself.
“It’s fine,” he said, laughing, seeing Andria’s reaction and Rubby’s innocent act. “Anyway, I’m also in a rush; I have work to do, so I should be going too.”
Andria told Rubby in a lower voice, “Ask for his number.” Rubby rolled her eyes. Being lost in Andria’s gaze and swallowing her saliva, she asked, “Okay, so give me your number, and I will give you a treat next time.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, sure.”
He gave his number to her, and they saved each other’s contacts. Satisfied with setting her friend up with a cool guy, Andria walked with them out of the mall. They shared a lot of happy topics that gave all three of them a good day to remember.
As they reached the road, Andria said, “Thank you so much for saving her, Mr. Hades. She has a problem while crossing the roads, so thank you.”
“Yeah, I saw it; it's fine. Actually, what happened? An accident or witnessing one?”
“Saw? What?” Rubby asked. He cleared his throat and said, “No. While you were about to fall, I saw it in your face.”
“Whatever,” Andria said. “Okay, so what was your problem?”
“Nothing,” Rubby replied.
“Nah,” Andria said. Rubby pulled her hand to tell her not to say it, but she said aloud, “It’s not like he's a stranger anymore; he already knows, right, Griffin?”
“Yeah, somewhat.” Rubby looked away to show she wasn’t interested, and Andria continued, “One night when her mother and she went out to buy groceries, little precious Rubby ran away without holding Mom's hand and almost got hit by a truck. As she saw the flashlights and heard the horn, she became unconscious. Nothing serious happened as the driver was careful, thank God. From then on, she has a fear of vehicles and crossing the line.”
“Oh, that's bad. It’s fine; you can work on it and make it possible. Nothing is impossible if we give it a try, right?” He tried to give her a positive vibe, but her facial expression didn’t change.
“So, you know everything now. Are you guys childhood friends?”
“Nope,” Andria replied. “We met in college, and from there we became good mates.”
“Oh, you guys get along well. I was curious.” He appreciated them, and Rubby smiled too.
“So, you guys, which direction?” he asked.
Rubby said, “I... I'm this way,” pointing to the left.
Very fast, Andria said, “I'm this way!”
“What? Aren’t you going home?” Rubby asked, holding Andria’s hand.
“Nope, I have a friend to meet at that corner,” she replied with a teasing smile.
“Oh, I’m going to the left too,” he said with a pleasant smile.
“Oh, you see...” Andria replied excitedly.
“Come home, Ann... I know you’re lying,” Rubby said with an angry voice.
“Oh, sad. Anyway, I have to say goodbye to my sweet imaginary friend,” Andria whispered in Rubby's ear. "Bye-bye, enjoy..." She said those words so dramatically that they made both Rubby and Griffin nervous.
Curiously, “What did she mean?” he asked.
“Nothing serious, sir; she’s just weird,” she said with an embarrassed voice. “Let’s go,” she concluded. And you idiot, she told herself in her mind.
As they walked, he said, “We became close, right?”
“Mm.” The talk between them was much less; it was mostly the silence that covered them as they stared into each other’s eyes minute by minute.
Looking quickly at his watch, Griffin said, “Rub, I want to be honest.”
“Rub?” she asked in a light voice.
“Actually, I have a meeting with my client at Central Park, which means...”
“It’s that side, right?” she said very fast.
“Yeah,” he hesitated.
“Then why did you choose this way? Did you forget, or—?” She stopped there.
He said lightly, “Or? What do you say? From the moment I saw you, my heart raced and my mind whispered, 'I want to say something to you,' but I couldn’t. Even though I know this is wrong, I chose this path because I could stay a little longer with you—just you and me, maybe. But it's time I should go, or I’m going to be so late, so... so, I hope you got what I’m trying to say...”
She said with a hidden smile, “You can go; it’s fine. I can walk alone. See you.”
He pleasantly replied, “Rub, I wish to walk this long way with you…. and... and...”
There was a huge horn of a truck that appeared like a flash. She lost her senses. While it was passing by, she heard a voice say, "HELLO. WAKE UP, WAKE UP.”
She was shocked. Did I faint again? she thought. Her heart raced fast. Again, she heard, “WAKE UP, RUBBY, WAKE UP!”
She woke up really quickly to hear his voice—what he had to say. Opening her eyes, she thought he might be holding her with much more care than before, but then she realized she was lying on her bed, and her mom was passing by the door, looking like a shadow.
She again heard the horn and through her window she saw there was a block at the road.
She felt sad. After rubbing her eyes properly, she looked again to clarify and she thought, “Was this all a dream? Nope, it can’t be, right?” She couldn’t believe it. “What was he trying to say? Oh, I didn't hear it. What a good-looking guy he was... I wish I had one. Oh no, I lost it. I couldn't hear...”
She was mumbling like this; she was very sad that she couldn't hear what he was trying to say. Even though it was a dream, she wanted it to be real; she wished it were real forever.
"Get up, get ready. Did you forget about your interview?" she heard her mother's voice from the other room.
She got up to get ready. By that time, she got her friend's message: “I won’t be there, I have some other work to be done but I will catch up later, dear. Bye, take care.” “Yeah, bye, take care,” she replied.
While she was getting ready, she paused for a minute and thought, could it be...? The same? Nah, nah, leave it. She went out for her work as usual. While she was near the hotel on the opposite side, she stood to cross the road. There was no traffic signal, but people managed to cross. She stood there nervously, trying to find someone to cross with. She noticed a familiar handsome face among them; it was the same face but with a different look.
She asked herself, “Is he the one?”
He stood at the bus stop nearby, not knowing what to do. After five minutes of staring here and there, he took a step forward to cross the road to help her. She stared at him with a shocked and surprised look.
Did he cross from the other side for me? Did he notice me already? She looked up at his face slowly, and he looked towards her. She stepped onto the crossing, matching his stride. For the first time, the noise and fear of the cars faded from her. She didn't look at the signal or the surroundings around her; she only looked at him and his steps. For the first time, she took the steps not with some stranger as she usually did, but with someone who noticed her from far away. Someone who saw her. Someone who knew her with one glance. Someone she was familiar with even from a dream she wasn’t sure about. She decided to trust him and his lead. For the first time, she trusted the lead—HIS LEAD.
THE END.
Some fears stay with us from childhood.
Some strangers change us without knowing.
And some meetings feel too real to be just dreams.
Thank you for reading 🤍
If this story made you feel something, let me know in the comments.
