0.1 | No Exit from Deception ✓

0.09 | I Thought You'd Forgotten Me

Without having heard of Joseph or anyone for a week, Ruby also didn't give serious consideration to the impractical idea of seeing herself take a leap from rags to riches; a seemingly next to the impossible idea. It was something that would appeal primarily to crazy people who would go to any height of nonsense to loot money. Ruby, was not one of them.

Anyway, there were a guaranteed number of moments in days and nights where she recollected her bickering spree with him, resulting in a frown and sometimes a cute pout on her face. The reason for the remembrance could also be her uninvolved state with any man till now. He was the first guy who approached her and had a good talk with her ─ no matter how senseless and obscure the subject was.

Generally, if any boy winked or showed any kind of mating interest in her, it only lasted momentarily. Not progressive and satisfying at all. As soon as the party ended, they went away in different directions. That's it. She wasn't used to talking to men. But, this particular person took the talk to seven minutes. On the surface, he appeared so much satisfied with himself that he would forgo the thought of being in a relationship with any woman.

He didn't care about the world. He had some other mystical motives.

Was she missing him? A man at whose place she had a mere stayover? A man who shouted at her as a volcano burst?

She stumbled over a rock and Emily immediately held her arm, helping her to stabilize.

"You okay?"

"Ah, thanks," Ruby replied inattentively.

"Ruby, is everything okay?" Her lost state illustrated to Emily that something was wrong with her.

"No, I'll not be okay if you keep on asking me the same thing."

The unswallowable lump moved up and down as Ruby's throat muscles constricted. Emily knew something was not right with Ruby and her mood swings throughout the day also gave a major hint about it.

Emily began talking about other stuff.
"I bought rayon fabric instead of artificial silk. The fall of this gown will come out nicely," she announced, as they were walking down the silent streets. The sky lost its blue and the orange hue of the streetlight was at its peak.

Ruby cast her mind back to Joseph's cruel words ─ calling her a brat, "I'm a girl, Emily . . . deprived of the parental love and the necessities of a normal life. I can't speak softly to people cause I've never gone through such an environment. People label me as an ill-bred and rude brat, how should I explain to them?"

"It's perfectly alright to be one. By the way, who said all this to you?"

"Joseph." Ruby glimpsed at her, smiling painfully. "I don't know what expectations he had from me?"

By not touching the freshly cut wound, Emily proceeded, "Anyway, what are you going to wear to this hootenanny?" Emily laughed as she pronounced the word. Releasing her fingers and curling them in, she tugged at the handle of her plastic bag with a strong grip.

Different tall structures blackened by age and flanked them from both sides as the lane grew narrower toward the end. Inside the garbage box that was overly dumped near the corner, cats and dogs played the game of hide and seek.

"Have not thought about it. But this is something new, I mean we have never called the audience up on the stage to sing along with us. This is going to be different." Ruby shrugged her shoulders before her eyes swept across the road and landed on the woman standing against the car, who didn't look less than any busty mannequin.

Ruby strained her eyes due to a lack of clarity in the dense nighttime. And as she saw her, Ruby started taking measured steps toward the mysterious lady. Her mouth fell and jacked up within a minute to its original place.