Found You

Aaron: Part 9

We finally reached the lodging house. It was exactly how I had imagined, a three-story old style building with partially dusty windows. The air was hot and salty andthere were a few cars in the parking area.  All around the house were patches of grass and Bougainvillea vines had enveloped every inch of the transient walls. A peaceful silence hung in the air, I could hear the waves hitting the seashore, as the beach was within walking distance from where we were.
We both entered the building. An unexpectedly younger guy was seated at the reception. He greeted us as shocked as we were to find that we were all the same age.

"I'm Blake,” he said, as we introduced ourselves nervously. “Glad to meet you guys."

"Has this place been renovated since 1997, if you don't mind me asking?" Olivia asked.

Blake replied, "As far as I can recall it hasn't been renovated since then, why do you as-"

Olivia interrupted him. "Then by any chance are rooms number 5 and 10 on the second floor available?"

"How did she know that they're on the second floor?" he muttered quietly while checking the guest list.
"Room no. 10 is available but room no. 5 is currently occupied, though it can be made available to you by 10:00 PM. We have other rooms you could consider as an option as well by the wa"
Olivia cut him off again. “No, there won’t be a need for that. We'll just take room no. 10 then." 

Thankfully he didn't question us any further and gave us a key to our room.
I rested my hand on the rough paintwork that coated the wooden door and pushed. The hinges squealed and soon we were in our room, It was cleaner than we thought. The vines covered the windows from all sides, pale yellow curtains were neatly fastened on either sides and the warm sunlight sprayed in. There were two beds a few centimetres away from each other, an old TV right in front , and an ancient air conditioner just above us. The wallpaper was a bohemian aesthetic style, I was surprised that it was still intact after all this time. We were in the room in which Olivia's dad had stayed all those years ago.

14th June, 1997

I found out this morning that April was staying  at the same place that I did. The lodge  served  a combined menu for the residents so we met each other at breakfast. I asked her out on a date around noon, I just couldn't stop myself, I just took the risk and to my surprise she said yes. We went out at around 4 o’clock, as it was less hot and got some ice cream at a nearby place called " The Wisps." It turned out that the two companions of hers were not her friends but her cousins, and they were all here to attend a family wedding,  which was to happen in a few days’ time.  At around six o’clock we went to the beach and talked for hours. We had so much in common, I was astonished. Time skyrocketed when I was with her. She told me she had  already seen me at the lodge a few days before but I hadn't noticed her and I was surprised but delighted by this sudden confession. The cool air surrounded us, and the stars shined faintly as the sun sank slow and steady into the ocean. I looked into her eyes and we kissed. The stars shined brighter.

Olivia collapsed onto the bed, exhausted. It was almost 12:00 PM. We decided to take a little rest, Olivia turned to read her dad's diary again. I sat down on the other bed and took a nap. We were summoned to the dining area downstairs at around 12:45 PM for lunch. Eating there was the best option as it would save us a lot of bucks.

We had asked the owners about the ice cream place. It still existed, they told us, but it wouldn't be open till 5:00. As it would be pointless to go out now, we returned to our room.. We had a lot of time to kill and I was nervous, anxious about being left alone with her.
"Are you gonna get into trouble if you don't get back home today? Because it really looks like we won’t be able to do anything if we don't stay the night. I mean your mom might be worried,” I asked.

"It's fine she won’t be coming home for a few days. She’s working at the hospital." she replied. 

For a few hours we passed the  time by watching the TV.  I kept glancing at Olivia. She untied her hair, which fell to just right below her shoulders and closed her eyes. I glanced away.

She turned towards me suddenly. " You know after reading all this, I didn't really know how to react, I was shocked at first, happy next and before I knew it, I was crying.  All these memories rushed into my mind at once. You kno" Her voice broke. "The longer I kept looking at these memories, these happy memories, this utopian life I once had, the sadder it beoames. They suddenly became soo distant, Aaron.

“Have you ever wondered what hurts the most: saying something and wishing you had not, or saying nothing and wishing you had? I'll tell you, it’[s the latter, I should've told him I loved him more, I should've eaten with him more often, hugged him when I could, and I-- I didn't do all of that. I didn't do it enough and I should have said everything, everything but I was late.

“I was so late I never wanted to say anything to anyone anymore, I was so afraid of being left alone again, I couldn't let my heart be crushed again, and I tortured myself with loneliness. But it hurts, and now I'm with you and I can't do that, this being-distant thing I'm so good at, I can't do that when I'm with you. I keep talking to you , I keep thinking about you, I keep wanting to get to know you, hear you out, and just give up and  I'm scared I'm --"
I hugged her. I wrapped my arms around her in that moment and she let go.