The train finally stopped. After hours of sitting, she was free. She had been desperately waiting to arrive, checking the time and location again and again. Yet, when the moment came, she didn’t rush to get up, grab her bag, and leave. If it wasn’t for the young man beside her who wanted to slip out fast, she might have stayed longer. Did she really want to leave, or just like knowing she could?
Stepping out of the station, the first smell of the city hit her: weed. “Yukh. I missed this,” she muttered. Taxi drivers stared into her eyes, shouting offers. Too tired to even say no, she pretended not to hear and dragged her suitcase away. Its wheels rattled loudly on the dotted sidewalks. In airports and stations, a suitcase glides with ease. But out here, every meter was a fight, like a punishment for not taking a taxi.
As she walked past the stores, something caught her eye. Evening was settling in; shops were closing. One clothing store had forgotten to dress the mannequin after selling its shirt. Its bare chest stood awkwardly in the window. She smiled, amused by the silly scene, and quickly snapped a photo. She thought of a funny caption and opened her messenger. But he wasn’t pinned anymore. They weren’t talking. Her smile faded. The suitcase noise no longer bothered her.
She gave a fake smile to the concierge, pulled out her keys, and unlocked the door. “Hello,” she whispered into the empty apartment. The thirsty dieffenbachia in the corner seemed to greet her back in silence. She tossed her keys onto the table, the usual spot. For her, home was a place where you could throw things down without thinking: keys on the table, clothes on the floor, yourself on the couch.
Back in her small, safe room at last. A place where tears never needed a reason, and even if they did, the room had plenty stored. It had seen her try so hard for an exam she still failed. It had seen her heartbreak after countless late-night chats and flirty hours that blurred into dawn. It had been there through happy-ending movies on her laptop, while her own stories never seemed to end that way.
to be continued…