Black Dot, Red Water by M K Shivakoti

Author:M K Shivakoti [Shivakoti, M K]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780578618609
Published: 2020-02-29T22:00:00+00:00

THIRTY

Sara

He’s not here, yet. From the park bench, I study a few pedestrians strolling by. At 9:20 a.m., Hartford citizens must be in their cubicles. Technically, most of them aren’t citizens anyway. They come here to work. In the evening, they will go back to their quaint suburbs. Just like Michael.

I’m not sure how long to wait. Thinking about meeting with Michael makes me anxious. Thinking about going back home makes me shudder even more. I’ll have to take the lesser of the two evils, and I can’t believe what I’m concluding to be the lesser evil.

There is a pond fifty yards to my right. I see two ducks and three ducklings floating aimlessly. The three ducklings are following one of the ducks, their mother, I surmise. The other duck is a little farther away, not minding the rest of the family. Probably the father. I think of my own father. He cares, I know.

I don’t have kids and I don’t want any ever. I will mostly likely never understand how my dad feels. Perhaps, he’ll never understand how I feel either. I look at the ducklings again, comfortably following their mother. Unlike them, I was the duckling that followed my father.

I wipe my eyes and look at the pedestrians again. Let bygones be bygones; this is the new beginning, I tell myself.

Michael Carter is not hard to miss. I haven’t seen his face yet, but I know it’s him. There are two other pedestrians in front of him and he’s too far away for my eyes to recognize facial features. Yet, that navy-blue winter coat unmistakably says it’s Michael. Those brown gloves and matching shoes are all exquisite leather, I’m sure. My vision is getting clearer and I can’t help but smile. I’m right.

He’s trying to find me as he enters the park. It takes him only a few moments to recognize me, but I see something interesting in those few seconds. He is a confident man, I admit. It shows in his gait, his talk, in everything he does. But in those few seconds, something in his expression changes. He has a curious look, a look of someone searching. A look of someone trying to understand the situation. Perhaps, the expression even encompasses caution. Caution at this sudden new development. After all, I had messaged him late at night asking to meet in the morning. He does not know why.

But as soon as he sees me, he becomes the confident lawyer. The annoying smirk is back on his lips; he walks haughtily. He needs to send a message. To tell me who’s in charge. What he doesn’t know is that I’m not stupid anymore. I understand these things. I understand that this is all an act. A façade. Inside, there is nothing more than an anxious little man who wants to know if I am a friend or a foe.

I’m sitting on one end of the bench, resting my left hand on the arm rest. He comes and sits at the far end and rests his right arm on the other arm rest.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.