January Ember

3. Reunion

" Mia. "

Her name rolls of my lips like a droplet falling off a leaf, so pure and untouched. She glances at me and then her cigarette for one more time, before dropping it and crushing it under the heel of her foot. I can't help but notice a few disobedient strands of her hair framing her small face, freeing themselves from her ponytail.

I want to step closer, breath the same air as her. I want to touch her, hold her and be the one in whose arms she'll fall asleep every night. I want to let her know she deserves nothing less than the world, that
her flaws have me hypnotized forever.

But she's a forbidden fruit, a lone star in a dark sky. She's a destination with the path made up of thin ice, one wrong step and I'll drown in the sorrow of never seeing her again.

" You look like you didn't expect to see me again. " Mia says, her eyes never leaving mine.

" Where were you? " my voice is still dreamy, as if my eyes aren't convinced that she indeed is really here. Yet it manages to let out the question that has been haunting me since she left.

Since she left because of him.

Her smile returns, only this time it's more of serenity. Her eyes are warm and deep in thought, even though they're staring right at me. She takes a few steps towards me, slow and languid. She stops right in front of me, her body only a few inches away from mine. How bad I want her to close those few inches too is something she'll never know.

" Missed me? " she asks with mischief, tilting her head to the side playfully. Even though she's shorter than me, I'm always the one being intimidated by her. Nothing about her is plain or ordinary. She's the epitome of a sinful goddess, whom I worship with all my heart.

You'll never know just how bad I missed you.

" You didn't answer me. "

" Nothing changed about you, I see. I'm glad. "

I don't hesitate to roam my eyes all over her figure, trying to find anything displeasing for my eyes. She knows what I'm trying to do and her next words just confirms that she can read me like an open book.

" Relax will you? I didn't try to kill myself nor am I taking drugs. I'm perfectly fine. "

" You never answered my calls, my texts. I even stopped by your place so many times. Your so called friends didn't know where you were. You just... disappeared. "

" Things happened. "

" Doesn't give you an excuse to ghost me like that for almost a year. " fuming with anger I let those words as calmly as I could. She seems to notice this as her eyes lock on mine for a solid minute, saying nothing but everything through them.

She faces away from me, looking into distance which I hate so much. It feels like she's here but not at the same time. She's in a world where I'm not allowed, and I don't like that one bit. An almost inaudible sigh leaves her lips, showing her restraint of not wanting to tell me where she has been all this time. I know her pretty well to know she won't answer my question that easily. But I have to keep trying, the thought of losing her again is scarier than the thought of dying.

So I do something I know I would regret. Pulling her fragile arm roughly towards me I slam our bodies together, holding her tight in my embrace. She doesn't hug me back, which only pains me more. She wouldn't touch a man other than him.

That's how much she loved him. And the delicate chain still resting on her neck is a proof of it.

But I don't care.