Convincing Clara

- PROLOGUE -

           

November 30, 2005

  Darkness began to swallow, in large quantities, the whole sky and in just fifteen minutes after the sunset, the sky was pitch black. Few stars were crystallising in the sky like diamond rings on women's index fingers. The Eiffel Tower, placed in the heart of Paris, was switched on with white and gold lights striking in all directions like lightning bolts. The air seemed to be so frosty that even my hands placed in my pockets of my thick brown leather jacket seemed to have felt a tingle. All I could smell were the warm chestnuts being cooked outside in this cold weather. I sat next to a coffee shop on a wooden bench where I began contemplating my life with a warm cup of hot cocoa placed on my lap gently. The watch on my wrist was ticking rapidly as if a whole hour was approximately just over a minute. The time was just 17:30 when I glanced at my watch which left me glaring at it for moments incredulously since I could not believe that it was so dark at this moment.

   All the nation was shopping for Christmas trees since the tradition in France was to put them up on the 1st day of December. Although, the shops were already decorated with plenty of ornaments hanging from their ceilings or nearby the signs of SALES 50% since the last week of October.

   November hasn't even finished yet and the temperature was freezing cold. This weather hasn't arrived so early for the past forty years in Paris or France. It was -9 degrees Celsius which eventually enabled all the massive concerts to be cancelled due to the snow and the terrible cold weather. 

  Many people didn't seem to be upset or complain about this weather since they were all satisfied to stay indoors near the fire. The children were the happiest because the schools had closed for the past week due to the weather.

  I quickly got up and began to walk back to my apartment in central Paris where everything was excessively expensive. The roads were filled with cars honking and people swearing because many people were parking in the middle of the road causing them to not have any space to pass through. It was just a ten minute walk that I needed. I walked all the way to the building and opened the door to my apartment door. Room no 357. It was covered with white carpets and even white bedsheets to match the room. Secondly, the walls were covered with fresh red paint and the brown leather sofas were decorated with Christmas pillows and the bathroom was always kept spotless and stainless. The lights were usually turned on to make the strangers pass by think that I was indoors at all times and that they wouldn't break in since Paris was one of the main places in the world where thefts would happen. It was just five minutes since I have been in the apartment and then the door bell rang. I checked through the key hole to identify who it was but it was a suspicious figure which barely seemed human but I thought that maybe it was just an illusion.

  I opened the door slowly keeping the golden door knob firmly. It was Clara. A tall, thin girl with white pale skin with probably five pounds of make up on her face as if she just graduated from a school of clowns. She didn't seem happy.

"Clara?" I asked in utter surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing. I was just roaming around and wanted to pay a visit. I mean today is my last favourite day because...." she interrupted her sentence with a sarcastic cough signalling me to try and finish it for her.

"Because.. December's here?" I answered puzzled.

"That is correct." She answered. "And Christmas is here. Woohoo!"

That 'woohoo' was a very ironic one. She didn't mean it. She hated Christmas.

"I'm off. See you tomorrow. I am going to go enjoy my last favourite day of this year."  Carla said cheerfully.

She closed the door behind her with a loud bang which made me jump from fright. I stood there puzzled as I glared at the wall.

The clock struck 23:50. At that exact moment, I received a message saying:

From: CLARA

'Enjoying my last favourite 10 minutes!!! WOOOHOO.'

Ten minutes later, as soon as the clock struck twelve, my phone buzzed loudly, vibrating quickly on the small, wooden bed side table causing it to wake me up.

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Author's note

Hey everyone! This is a new story I've been working on for about a year; meaning the idea and concept of it. I would highly appreciate it if you would comment your impressions and opinions! Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you! <3

-Matthew