She sat and looked at the message, her heart racing. Seth had not called her after that conversation, he had not tried to see her or talk to her as she had asked him to. But now, he was reaching out, and something about the pureness of his message made a combination of curiosity and fear rise in her. She did not think for long and then she decided to go.And it was getting late when the sun was setting and painting the park in the warm golden light and Phoebe walked up to the bench by the lake. She saw Seth standing close to her, he was still a silhouette against the dimming light. He looked round as she came up, his face gentle and thoughtful.“Thank you for coming,” he said, his voice was polite as if he was the one begging the guests to come over.Phoebe simply looked at him, her eyes still wary but she finally agreed. “What is it, Seth? Why now?”Seth sighed deeply and raked his fingers through his hair. I understand that you wanted to be alone, Phoebe. I wanted to respect that. B
Phoebe breathed out and looked away, out the window where the sunlight was streaming in and warming the table they were sitting at. “Seth... He’s complicated. It’s not something that can simply be wiped out clean, there is a history there that cannot be done away with. But there is another part of me that sometimes thinks that the only way to be able to move forward is to let go.Sarah inhaled and chose her words very wisely. Phoebe, people don’t get manuals when they are born, and no one ever told me that I should be happy. Sometimes, we are compelled to make decisions that are not black and white. But I can notice that you are also struggling to carve out your own niche for yourself and that is what really counts.Phoebe beamed a gracious look at her friend. “You’re right. This is the first time I feel like I am really finding out who I am, what I want not what others want me to want.They settled down and remained motionless, taking the liquor, each woman engrossed in her own medi
One evening while coming back late from work, Phoebe was surprised to find Christian sitting outside her apartment. He was standing with his back to his car, his hands in his pockets, gazing at the heavens absentmindedly. The view filled her with warmth in the region of her chest that she had not even known existed.“Hi, how come you are here?” she asked friendly as she stepped nearer to him.He grinned and stood up. It doesn’t really matter why I’m here, I just felt like you could use some company after a hard day at work. Hope you don’t mind."“Not at all,” she said, then opened her door. "Come on in."They entered the apartment, and as she put her belongings, he glanced around the room and saw the little details she put to the place such as warm lighting, the art on the walls, and the throw on the couch. It was very ‘her,’ that is, the kind of person she was and that he found so interesting.Phoebe prepared tea for them and they got on the couch to wait, the low sound of the city’s
Christian could tell when she was upset, and they were partaking of a delightful dinner at a romantic Italian restaurant with the scent of burning candles light and fresh baked bread lingering in the air. Christian gave her a worried look, ‘Are you okay?’“Hi,” he whispered softly and took her hand into his own, as he sat down beside her. “You seem… distant. Is something bothering you?”Phoebe frowned slightly and chose her words carefully as she replied, Though I don’t know how to say this she hesitated. She paused for a moment before answering and whispered. “I’m sorry, Christian. It’s just… I think I am still in a state of shock. In your company every moment was so great, but at the same time… at the same time I began to think if I really want to get over it.Christian smiled and his eyes looked less harsh, though there was a brief moment of suffering. “Phoebe, I understand. I think you need to know this, and it is about us. I just do not want to be a r
Seth looked at her for a few seconds, then he sighed softly. ‘I am not asking you to run away from him.’ I’m just asking you to remember who we were.” He looked at her and for the space of a heartbeat, she was back in the old days. But Christian’s face was brought to her recollection and she was brought back to reality.Several weeks later, Christian took Phoebe to his most favorite secluded area near the lake. They sat together in quiet, listening to the water flow beneath the stars.“Phoebe,” Christian started and his voice was so full of emotion that she turned to look at him, “I can’t lie anymore and tell you that I am fine with him being around.” I know you have my best interest at heart, but… It’s the same need as to know whether you are the one who wants me.”Phoebe could feel the gravity of his words as they hit her chest and she could feel the palpitations. She glanced at him with her tears swelling in her eyes. ‘Christian, forgive me for making y
Phoebe felt her heart pumping with blood as she waited for Seth’s reaction to her words. She knew that this was not just any casual utterance that flowed off his lips, but a deliberate reminder of the friendship that had characterized their relationship in the past. She drew a deep breath to calm herself down.“Seth,” she answered meekly, ”we cannot keep going back there.” Instead, she said: “My heart now is with Christian.”But Seth’s look did not soften, he kept staring at her, his eyes burning. “I know, Phoebe. But that doesn’t change what we had or the fact that… part of me never stopped loving you.”It suddenly struck Phoebe as she could understand the temptation to be drawn into the din of their past and how this could blow up everything she was setting up with Christian. She stepped aside, creating some space between them and whispered, “Then it’s time to move on.” For both of us.”She then walked off the balcony and returned to the heat of
Phoebe nodded, she was overwhelmed with guilt and frustration deep down inside her. She believed that she had shed off these aspects of her past, but they seem to follow her as if they wanted to ensure that she does not let go off the past completely. And as she thought of the things Marlin said, she knew that she must make them understand her and tell them all, once and for all, that she wants Christian and everything that they began between them.Unyielding, Phoebe made up her mind to face Marlin the following day. She met him at a local café, where he had wanted to discuss with her. But this time there was no friendly welcome as before.“Marlin,” she began, her voice harsh, “I understand what you are up to.” But I have a life with Christian now and I will not allow anyone ruin it for me.”He frowned, but the self-assurance did not leave his face. I know that you still love me, Phoebe. I know you haven’t erased what we once had.”She shook her h
She did not even pause, and when he offered her his hand, their fingers touched, and they immediately locked their fingers. It was the most charged and yet the most serene time that I felt could be lived and nothing more. They felt as if they were surrounded by a veil, which separated them from the rest of the world, and left them alone with each other.They went on hand in hand, and two of them perfectly coupled as their feet marched them further into the dark. The sea murmured, the day brightened up and only then Phoebe had the feeling that she is really somewhere without any pretense.And the more they strolled along the shore the less words were necessary, the more the silence between them was sacred. They didn’t need words. It was a relief to move their hands and lips, to speak the halting words of a start, the weight of everything they had shared their pasts, their doubts, their hopes lightened in their long, comfortable strides.Finally, they came a