radiance | baekhyun

67

the wind was gentle and soft.

she'd finished her tea.

roma got up, scraping the chair a bit too loudly against the stone patio. an indigo fogginess had settled in between the garden furniture and contrasted the dulled greenery of the bushes and plants.

the kitchen was quiet and fairly tidy, as she stepped carefully through the doors. no lights were on. each cupboard and item stood dimly in the unlit room, somewhat ominously. matched the quiet of the house.

she treaded across the large tiles towards the sink.

"mum, would you like another cup of tea?" she called out, having heard her mum typing on her laptop in the room next door.

the yellowish but also dimmed light filtered in from the living room, brightness in the corner, matched by the muffled sound of the television in the background. roma waited a few seconds for a response; mum was probably just finishing typing her sentence, or signing off an email.

six seconds of silence.

"umm, no, darling, i'm alright...thanks."

her voice was stiff and uninterested. distracted yet calm. the usual.

"alright," was all roma said, chucking her stuff into the sink.

she began to clear things up a bit, yanking the dishwasher open, trying to be careful with the plates and cutlery so as not to disturb the quiet.

a knock sounded at the front door.

roma placed one of the plates down that had been in her hand. metal against the glass. she rinsed her hands quickly, and heard the sound of her mother's typing cease. roma's eyebrows wrinkled together, as she was confused as to who it could be.

she thought she was mad, as he drifted into her mind, the lump unnecessarily rising in her throat. stupid girl. of course he wasn't here, in london. god knows where he was right now. dark blue and indigo outside.

took a deep breath.

opened the front door.

"hey, girl," mia greeted, smiling widely and in a kind manner, her hair pulled back, work clothes still on.

"mia, hi," roma breathed out. she fell into her open arms, unaware of how much the sight of mia--of familiarity and of remembrances of happiness--could uplift her mood so much in the current moment. "it's so nice to see you."

it really was.

"ha-ha, you too, babe."

the two girls hugged for a moment, as roma breathed in the flowery scent of mia's perfume, grateful for her strong grip on roma's slightly smaller frame. it hadn't really been that long, but it felt like it.

"i didn't know you were coming," roma smiled.

she took hold of mia's arm and pulled her into the hallway, shutting the door behind them, not before revelling in the sensation of the cool, summer-night air. misty and foggy and very blue.

"just thought i'd come and stop by. seems like ages since we've seen each other even though it's only been like...a few days, or something, right."

mia was giggling whilst she kicked off her shoes, arranging them neatly as she knew she had to. roma caught a glimpse of the mia she hadn't seen in a while. her eyes were shining and her hair was a little messy from working all day, and most of all, she was smiling. teeth bared and lips perked, and her countenance was bright and cheery.

roma felt uplifted.

she'd been feeling like utter shit all of today.

"hi, lydia," mia was beaming, as she entered the living room, disrupting her mother's work.