This is essentially a brief description of a scene from the post that I’ve been working on for close to a week. What was originally supposed to only be a short post of about this length eventually grew into a short story. It’s nearly done but, since it’s taking a bit longer than expected as it has changed so much during writing, I’m posting something a bit closer to the original idea for the story in the meantime. Since the idea was originally for this blog, the finished story will be posted here in several parts as they’re completed.
— Kumoma
Fareeha closed her eyes as a stiff breeze blew past her. She inhaled deeply and smiled for what was likely the first time that evening as the night air of late summer chilled her inside and out. She could just barely feel the coming change of the seasons, a welcome thought as it brought a much needed moment of peace. Of the changes brought by autumn, her favorite was people’s natural inclination to begin preparing to withdraw for the winter. She loved the cold for the same reasons she loved the night: Feeling as though she had the city to herself was one of the few ways she could find peace.
Leaning against the balcony railing, she turned an unfocused gaze toward the lights of the city fifteen stories below. A placid smile fixed itself into place, her comfort finally overtaking the unusual sensation of her smiling contorting her face in an unfamiliar way. Being high above the city also brought a sense of solitude and serenity; seeing the familiar sights of street lamps and illuminated windows as nothing more than tiny points of light as the wind moved freely past her without being impeded by the towering buildings that normally surrounded her on all sides, it seemed as if she was the only one that could be seeing the same view. For her, the sky itself was representative of tranquility.
It was almost possible for her to forget the party still taking place on the other side of the glass wall only a few meters behind her. Inside, a few continued to pour drinks and offer hollow laughter in response to equally empty conversations, ignoring the uncomfortably growing calm as the excitement from earlier in the evening slowly died out around them. Fareeha could feel their desperation as they clung to what once was. Even the party itself, with its stifling warmth and stale air, seemed to be an attempt to hold onto the glow of summer just a little longer before everyone in attendance finally resigned themselves to the coming chill in the air.
Thinking of the different worlds separated only by a few panes of glass, Fareeha unconsciously glanced behind her and into the penthouse apartment. Her smile slowly faded as the sight reminded her why she’d come out to the balcony. People delicately held stemmed glasses and laughed just a little too hard to be believed, their smiles disturbingly reminiscent of the lifeless expressions of porcelain dolls.
She could almost smell the air inside, heavy with clashing perfumes and colognes competing for dominance as much as those wearing them. It seemed to be a running theme. Finely cut suits, flowing evening gowns, talk of professions, tales of accomplishments, and intricately detailed descriptions of worldly possessions were commonplace to the point that it seemed to be the only reason anyone had attended. It was as though there was a competition taking place among the guests. Only having attended as the end result of a favor to a coworker, Fareeha had no knowledge of it before she arrived, and she had developed no interest in it after.
There was, however, one exception. In the midst of dutifully taking mental notes on the flood of information she was clearly expected to take an interest in, her focus was shattered when she looked up to see someone’s gaze fixed on her. Fareeha stood transfixed as she stared into eyes as blue as the sky she cherished. Bright blonde hair framed elegant features that showed a warm and inviting smile, a world removed from what Fareeha had seen so far in the evening. She only managed to come to her senses long enough to look away when she realized she was staring; the woman finally looked away, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks shortly followed by gentle laughter.
In spite of her best efforts to remember the woman staring at her, she was certain they’d never met, even at the party that evening. Confused as to how she’d drawn so much attention to herself as much as why she was suddenly so flustered, Fareeha forced herself to put the thought from her mind and returned to following the conversation she was supposed to be involved in, largely to keep from driving herself mad with curiosity. Minutes later, however, her efforts proved to be in vain during a sudden and inexplicable lull in the conversation. Feeling the touch of what she initially thought was silk, she turned to see the woman standing behind her and politely tapping her on the shoulder.
Turning back to the balcony, Fareeha’s smile returned as she remembered the moment. Her heart raced seemingly without reason, her skin tingling beneath the woman’s touch. She had introduced herself as Angela, which Fareeha immediately toke note of. No surnames, no titles, no announcements. No competition. It was the only time in the entire evening she found herself speaking with someone that seemed genuinely interested in the conversation they were having rather than simply taking their turn to speak.
Unfortunately, their conversation was short lived. Fareeha couldn’t argue that it stood to reason that there was no way she was the only one that would be captivated by Angela. Though she had finally found a reason to attempt to take an active role in a conversation, there weren’t any opportunities to enter it without entirely abandoning common decency.
Worse was the fact that Fareeha seemed to be the only one with an interest in being decent. Angela was quickly swept up in a wave of names, businesses and lists of influential friends from all sides as everyone around her redoubled their efforts to assert their dominance. After more than an hour of waiting patiently, Fareeha finally abandoned her attempts to wait patiently for her turn and politely excused herself, her footsteps seemingly slowed by the weight of her heart.
Looking up from the city lights, Fareeha searched for signs of light on the horizon. In spite of herself, she’d stayed far longer than she ever intended. Initially, she only intended to stay as long as politeness and the parameters of the favor she’d agreed to demanded. As night began to give way to morning, however, she finally admitted to herself that her reason for remaining had shifted dramatically. Hoping against hope was the only thing holding her there, and there was no getting around the fact that she’d wasted her time.
As the excitement of the evening dwindled down, people had been slowly disappearing from the party, most often in pairs. It seemed to have been another reason for attending that she hadn’t been aware of before agreeing to go. Worse, it was a reason that she’d unintentionally become invested in, herself. She didn’t bother looking through the glass wall behind her again; it seemed a foregone conclusion at that point that Angela had long since done the same, herself. Judging by the reactions of the other guests, she was certainly spoiled for choice.
Taking another deep breath of the night air to clear her thoughts, Fareeha finally decided to salvage what little time was left to her before sunrise and make her way home. Steeling herself to take the long and uncomfortable walk to the front door filled with stares and murmuring reserved for those leaving alone, she found herself jumping in surprise as she heard the balcony door open and music from the party shattered the near silence. For the second time, she found herself standing motionless as she stared into deep blue eyes.
Angela stepped cautiously through the glass door and pushed it nearly shut behind her, largely restoring the balcony’s serenity. She smiled as she quietly stared, looking as though she were waiting patiently for something to happen. Fareeha struggled to compose herself long enough to speak, but only came back to her senses as she saw a small group on the other side of the glass making their way to the same door. She let out a sigh as she admit to herself that any expectations of the moment she had been forming were clearly too good to be true.
As though in response to Fareeha’s sigh, Angela pushed the door closed with a bit more force than was necessary, its frame thudding heavily and its latch clicking loudly into place. As the handle began to turn, she casually leaned against it and smiled with an air of mischief. She ignored the slight moving of her body and pressed her heels into the floor as someone on the other side attempted to push it open. Fareeha could only watch incredulously as Angela lifted a hand to her mouth as she stifled her laughter.
As the group on the other side of the door walked away looking affronted, Fareeha struggled to make sense of what had just taken place. Though she was lost for an explanation as to why, she slowly came to the realization that, in spite of what she’d just been forcing herself to accept, Angela was again standing right in front of her. There was a wall of glass separating her world from the one inside, and Angela had just quite deliberately stepped onto her side of it.
