Mahogany Blues

19

" I love you, girl"

She replayed the exact phrase over and over again, still not understanding how she had gotten to this point with him. She assumed that they were on a good track but she didn't think that they reached the peak that was love, a strong affection: yes but love, that was too hard for her to even compute. 

She began to regret getting into this, love wasn't her thing and she wasn't entirely sure that now was a good time to pursue it. Perhaps, it was one of those spur-of-the-moment kinds of things, sometimes people blurt out things they didn't mean to say.

Satisfied with that, she continued to go on with her day. She had to get the studio for the pivotal scenes in the film adaptation of What Binds Us, to make sure that things were going according to the script. Surprisingly, the producers had been quite lenient in letting her attend the set and help with navigating the film narrative well.

With only a couple of months to go, she was still in complete awe of how much she had achieved since the book's release. The book quickly climbed the rankings of major publications as a bestseller as well as became the hot subject on every book influencers' lips on social media.

There wasn't anywhere you couldn't go and people weren't talking about it and for that, she was grateful that her little piece of work had been able to spark such a fiery excitement within critics and audience alike.

The set was bustling as usual with the cast getting into positions for the plot twist scene, she had positioned herself next to the other screenwriters who regularly asked for assurance on changes to the script she had adapted for the book.

They started filming, using a one-take approach as the cinematographer opted to move from wide shots to medium shots to close-ups whilst using a dolly. At first, she was unsure how this would work but seeing it in person cemented how truly genius it would look when it was part of the final cut.

It wasn't long before a few more scenes were done and she was out the door to a panel with other authors that had book-to-film adaptations done in Central London.

" How would you describe the feeling when you heard your book had been picked up for an adaptation?" One of the audience members asked.

Sabrina could only sigh and beam at such a question, there were so many feelings to describe how she felt.

Raising the mic to her lips, she finally uttered these words: " It was like I was completely in bliss and shock, never did I believe that I would be in such a position to able to tell the kind of story I craved for as a child. I hope that this inspires young girls to write no matter what they say"

A round of applause echoed in the room, filling her heart up. More questions were fired at the panel including herself.

Until she heard the question that made her think addressed to all panellists: " Have you considered what would happen if these film adaptations fail? In terms of how the book themselves might perform after the fact" One audience member probed.

" Well for me, you can't guarantee the outcome of the films given how volatile that market can be but even if they do somehow fail, I think all of us can say that our book successes and popularity are based on the books themselves so I am not in fear of that" Sabrina proclaimed with the other panellists nodding in agreement.

When it ended, she signed a few copies of her book for eager fans and took pictures with them.

This was her last event for the day so she made her way home by bus. It was only when she entered the looming silence of her flat that her thoughts felt the need to creep up on her.