BRADLEY
Work that day is the same as the day before. The view from the office is relaxing. Up high on the twentieth floor, overlooking the grand labyrinth of the city.
So much hassle below. So much hassle above. But Bradley only has to deal with the hassle above. He works away on his computer, chiseling at some codes that need his attention. Sometimes he wonders if this cycle will ever end. Work today, work tomorrow. Work the day after. Did life always used to be this grey?
His supervisor, Mike, comes to him all in smiles, like he always does. Bradley thinks he's there to chat away again, like he always does. Some issue about his family or the other. No, Bradley doesn't know what it feels like to have a wife who snores in her sleep. But he suspects Mike won't go away even if he told him so.
The smile Mike has today seems brighter, much less artificial. This is something new. He comes to a stop by Bradley's desk, and immediately his smile widens. And Bradley, ever the model coworker, returns the smile.
"Guess what?" Mike begins, but Bradley has no interest in guessing. Good thing Mike doesn't actually make him do so. "You're being promoted!"
The news swims around Bradley, but doesn't quite hit him just yet. It takes a couple seconds, and when it finally does, Bradley's smile actually grows authentic. This is it. This is good news. The only good news he's had in a while. He grabs Mike's hand and forces a handshake. "I'm very grateful, Mike."
"Don't thank me, thank your hard work," Mike tells him. Then he turns to the rest of the employees. "Did you all hear that? Hard work gets you promotions. Let's give a round of applause to our newest Senior engineer!"
They all clap for him, some with genuinity and the others out of obligation. Bradley shrinks back against his seat, not too keen on Mike's decision to make a big deal in front of everyone. But still, he feels grateful.
Once the applause dials down, Mike resumes his chatter - this one about his wife's something or other. Bradley tuned that part out. He sits there staring at his computer, while his supervisor continues on with his story. Though the promotion brought him happiness, that feeling didn't last too long. It has begun fading. Like everything else in his life. And now he waits for the next good news.
__
Work lets out on time for Bradley. He doesn't like sticking around any more than he has to, so he packs his belongings and begins his descent to the world below. Now as he bypasses a couple strangers, he hears their whispers. Whispers about the recent news.
Bradley has seen the news. Idris Night Verdonni, they call him. The man who stole his happiness away from him. He's been tried and sentenced accordingly. Needless to say, Bradley was happy. So happy that he watched the news over and over again; turned the volume up until it hit the highest bit. This is what he deserves. A life behind bars for eternity.
But then it hit him. With Idris gone, Josi should have been free. She had to be out there somewhere. But she hadn't come to see him. Bradley made the mistake of thinking she no longer loved him. After all, it's been two years. But he rejected the idea. Josi, the love of his life. She couldn't possibly have fallen out of love with him, because he was - and definitely still is - the love of her life.
She still hasn't come to visit, but Bradley has stopped giving it thought. He arrives at his home some time after 6:00 P.M, more exhausted from tomorrow's day of work than today's. It's as he makes it to his front door that he sees the little envelope. He picks it up and looks it over, and before he even reads who the sender is, he realizes instantly. It's Josi. This is her handwriting.
Bradley tears the envelope impatiently, but makes sure not to harm the actual letter. And now he reads it through.
Dear Bradley,
I hope you forgive me for not coming to see you after so much time apart, and that the first you're hearing from me is from a letter. Believe me, I wish I could come see you. I've dreamt, since the day I left you, of nothing else but returning to your side. And I wish I could explain it. I wish I had the words to make you understand. But I can't come to you as I am right now. You could say I'm being unreasonable. Or that I have no reason to be scared. But I can't let you see me. I've been so caught up in my own world that I'm not sure if you'll look at me the same way, and that scares me more than anything, Bradley. It scares me so much just picturing the look on your face.
And I'm truly sorry for making you wait all this while. I don't want to tie you down any more than I have these past two years. I don't want you waiting for me any longer, because I've realized how truly selfish it is. You deserve true happiness. You deserve more than a person like me could ever give you. And if you happen to find that same happiness somewhere else, then I wish you all the best. If you choose to move on, I completely understand. But if you decide not to do so, will you wait for me?
Maybe one day when I've found the strength to face you, and you still haven't forgotten about me, I'll return. Then everything will be as it was those years ago. Me in your arms, and you by my side. Though this may not necessarily be a goodbye, I want you to know that there's no one I've loved more than I've loved you. And that I'll never stop loving you, no matter how much time passes. Even if I'm all grey and wrinkly. Even if my own strength fails me. But I can't speak much about the afterlife, because while you deserve a seat in heaven, my seat may be reserved some place else.
This is a goodbye for now. Not permanent, because my place will always be besides you. And if you happen to move on then, well, disregard what I just wrote. But if you don't, I'll make it back before you even know it.
Goodbye, Bradley. And never stop laughing. The world deserves to see you happy.
Before he reads the last word, Bradley looks away from the letter. He doesn't even take time to sink into the words. He dashes out the building and down the street. Josi must have delivered this letter herself, because his address isn't listed on the envelope. She must still be there somewhere. He just needs to see her. Just a split second will do.
So he runs down the street, searching every corner he can find. Any alleyway. He looks at every stranger, every passerby. Because any one of those people could be Josi.
Bradley turns a corner onto a new street, where the crowd is bigger. He keeps his search, trying to weave his way through the crowd. But the crowd has no care for his quandary. He bumps into a stranger who gives him a flurry of insults, and falls to the ground. The rest of the population pass him by, unbeknownst to his dilemma. He checks to make sure the letter in his hand is safe. And it is; only a couple scratches.
Then finally he sees someone. Someone in the crowd. He only sees their back, but they look so much like who he's searching for. Now amped with more determination, Bradley climbs to his feet and picks up the pace once again.
The energy he has seems to soar, and he breathes as though the air has become part of him. Then he reaches out, his hand so close to happiness. And when he latches on, his heart swells. All the countless nights of longing climb their way up, ready to be freed. Because he's just found the person that matters to him most.
But this person is not Josi. A stranger, like the rest of the crowd around him. The woman gives him a glare, snatches her arm away, and keeps up down the street. Now Bradley has been left with a hole too big in his chest. A hole that first appeared two years ago when the love of his life left. When she disappeared, and all he could do was lay there and allow it happen. And as he stands there still gripping the letter in his hand, that same hole widens.
Bradley brings the letter up and reads it through once again. Then again. And again. He reads it so much, he begins reciting the words even before they come up on the paper. Then before he realizes, his eyes become moist. And before he can prevent them, the tears flow.
He knows it's not a permanent goodbye. It's a temporary one. Josi will find her way back to him. She will return. One day.
So Bradley will wait. Now until the end of time. He will wait for Josita Cade.
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FIN
FINALLY done with this Godforsaken book damn.
Thank you to the 3-4 avid readers that regularly checked in ur votes meant a lot to me.
One day I'll write a spin off centering around Dami Croff and The Center. But today is not that day.
Hope they have therapy in prison cause Idris needs it