Alive and Awake

It was a rainy autumn day; birds hid from the droplets from the sky. Trees were still green, but leaves so heavy with rain were starting to give up on holding on. Until next week, they might fall off.

Margaret did not like autumn. In fact, that was the most minor favorite season here. She wanted to live where it was spring all year long. She dreamt of the beach, sunshine, skin warm from the sunrays, reading her favorite books in the beach chair. And yet, here she is, in Chicago, trying to reach the train, pushing through the wind. The only thing that was keeping her from breaking into tears every day for the past month was his face. She knew that once she won the fights with the weather, public transport, cortisol spikes, and gastric acid, she would be there, in the office. She will arrive at a job that she does not like. She will change her clothes and shoes, repair her make-up, and put on her best smile. Because he will be there. The only reason for her fights. Her struggles were a daily battle, a testament to her resilience.

Margaret’s inbox had a ton of new emails to be addressed, and it was Monday morning.
‘What are these people doing all weekend, just working or what??’ Margaret huffed, her annoyance with the corporate world palpable. Even if she hadn’t had something better to do on weekends, she didn’t find her consolation in her work. That was not her thing. How can you find fulfilment in something you do not like to do? And being part of the marketing team at the pharmaceutical company is definitely not something she wanted to do.

‘I studied medicine! I should be in the laboratories at this company and not composing emails for my rigid boss, who will soon come to work and request her green smoothie!’ Margaret’s voice rose with frustration as she longed for a different role.
But then, Margaret remembered that amongst all the bad things that might happen today, there is a possibility for one good thing. She could see him. In the copy machine room or the hallway, if she goes to the 9th floor, he would just pass by her cubicle because there is the slightest chance that he still remembers her. That Margaret was not only his summer fling. Her mind returned to the night in Honolulu when they shared a passionate kiss under the starry sky, and she confessed her feelings for him…

“She took his hand and looked into his eyes.

“Please, fall in love with me, Charles. Please. Love me.””

To be continued…