Walls of Fire

12: My New Destination

"Oh I see."

My breath hitched, but the words came out of my mouth as if I was a fortune teller who had proficiently predicted his affirmation beforehand.

"That's it? Only freaking three words! Are you happy?" His blue eyes manifested signs of severe unhappiness, and grew more and more despondent. He was wretchedly discontent and uncomfortable with my aloof input, which clashed heavily against his articulation.

"We both had a presumption about my departure." Propelling the harsh words out of my mouth with severe difficulty, I stared with warmness in my eyes for my roommate. "It's for our own good."

An air of melancholy encompassed us as we both were battling with our individual sentiments. Neither of us were equipped with the strength for a heart throbbing goodbye. A span of two weeks was what it felt like two years. This was the kind of agony where the disloyal tears would rebuff in revealing themselves. Silently and secretly, each of our world's was tumbling down with the coursing down of time.

I made a small endeavour to compute the cluster of extinguished firecrackers reeling across James's mind, but my terror oversized the operation of my intellectual capability. Nevertheless, I had the minimum knowledge which said, judging by my ruthlessness, James had considered me to be an ungracious, churlish, and insensible lady.

The silence was not helping (it never did) so masking an unconvinced cough, and purging the poignancy, I commented with gratification, "I want to be an independent woman and hurdles do come along the way. The time to take the big step has breezed in."

His eyes were still pointed downwards, and were shut. With his vision being blocked, his other five senses were highly active. Now, he must be more focused on my confrontation.

"Thank you for being with me during the toughest hour and your constant encouragment. You taught me to listen to my heart." I concluded my speech with a bright smile. Every cloud has a silver lining and I was sure my life would not go in vain. I had the belief in myself, and in order to achieve my dream of being economically independent, a part of me was readily excited to take the plunge. The other half was mourning at what I was about to lose.

It seemed that my words, like arrows, were stabbing him right in the chest. His eyes popped open, and his anger erupted upon me like a dormant volcano. "And you're trying to tell me you're happy and satisfied, right?"

I shook my head and retorted, "Of course not."

"Save your Oscar speech for later and tell me first whether you like me or not?"

"What!?" I said in bewilderment.

Like him as in the sense after omitting the factor of him being my friend and roomate? Basically, my brain could not cook an appropriate answer to his trifling unpolished question.

"Am I a bad roommate? Do you think I will be a bad neighbour?"

The way he broardcasted his questions was turning my mind into a
maze of surging perplexity. I shook my head promptly, and even in my befuddlement, I managed to vocalise my opinion quite (if not completely) decently, "I don't understand a single thing. Please put an emphasis to your explanation."

"WHY DON'T YOU CHOOSE A ROOM IN THE SAME FLOOR AS MINE?" With the the announcement flying out from in between his gnashing teeth, it was obvious that my words had unintendonally offended the hell out of me. The next step, where he deposited his head in between his palms, as if he had renounced all his hopes, provided me with a better explanation.