The Epitome Of Us

Sign 4 Heartache

Cyril lay on his bed and looked at the ceiling. There was still some residue of the makeup on his neck. He wore a loose white shirt and blue socks. The cold summer breeze swayed the curtains, the room lit bright orange. He could hear the ocean from far away, the waves splashing on the wet rocks, the sound of crushing sand as he remembered walking on it for the first time, the flapping of seagull feathers. It was a feeling he had never felt before. Everything he took as daily life seemed so enchanting.

The paintings of his childhood had a yellow sun at the centre, but finally, he realized that the sun, it’s not yellow. It’s golden, like the burning embers at a beachside barbeque. His heart felt just as fiery as a barbeque that night. He couldn’t sleep. He got on his bike as the entire city lit up orange and the sky got entangled in shades of pink and orange. The morning sky was glowing on the ocean beside him as he paddled his way up towards the Blue Mountains. As the dawn fell in, he hiked the mountain and sat beside a huge cliff, staring at the huge blue moon. He lay on the grass and gazed at the stars. It was away from the town, in utter silence, just him, the stars all around and the cold morning breeze. He stared at the sky and witnessed the stars fade, as they turned from spots of light to a dim hue and then the sunrise. The sun was golden, and so was the first love of his life.

He remembered her and suddenly felt conscious of himself because she was what he desired most, with every fibre of his being.

He remembered he had a lecture first thing in the morning and decided to paddle back home.

That morning, Heart lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling.

“Heart! Get up, dear.”

“I’m awake,” She said and slowly got up from her bed. She looked into the mirror, “I haven’t looked this ugly in a while,” She washed her face and went downstairs. Her mom had prepared her some coffee and toast. The moment she smelt the coffee, she remembered green eyes and smiled, “I haven’t met someone that pretty in a while,”

She hadn’t checked her phone that morning and she didn’t care. She applied her makeup slowly as if it were therapy for the lovesick. She smoothly rubbed the pink lipstick on her soft lips and threw some glitter at her imperfectly brown blonde ponytail. She wore a pink mini shirt and a green tank top. She wore a pair of sunglasses and packed her bag. She could smell the scent of the blue lilies growing in her yard. She stepped out of the door and looked at the big sky. It had been a while since she looked at the sky, because usually, her head was down, her eyes skinning her phone. Everything looked surreal. Everything looked green. She couldn’t get those green eyes out of her mind. She got on the train and got down at an unusual destination. She looked at her feet as she walked and removed her sunglasses.

As she moved through the streets, she could see the place where they met. That old coffee shop. The waiters were busy working.

“AYE! GET THE COFFEE MUG!”

“Two cappuccinos for table two,”

“One sandwich for table five”

Everyone looked busy. She quietly sat at a table, trying to get a peep inside the pantry of the café. She must be there, right? Did she only brew the coffee or were all the dishes they served made by her hands.

“Welcome, ma’am. What would you like to order?” A waitress reached her.

“Erm, just an Americano,”

“Sure, would you like to order something to eat?”

“Erm, no, just coffee,”

“Alright,”

She hung her white bag on the back of her chair and kept her blue bag on her lap. She took out her phone and looked into it,

“Good morning <3 How was Pride for you?” Glizzly typed.

She smiled, “Wonderful. I met the girl of my dreams xD”

“OMG! Congratulations! Does she know of it?”

“She doesn’t even know that I exist,”

“Oh, you haven’t talked yet?”

“I’m pretty sure she’s straight TwT She works at a café. I’m at that café atm,”

“Wow, stalker,”

“I’m not stalking her! Okay, maybe a little but I just want to talk to her,”

“It’s alright, if you are meant to be together, you’ll meet her eventually :3”

“PLEASE GOD! PLEASE MAKE THAT HAPPEN!”

The waitress got her coffee. Heart thanked her and took a sip. It was not the same coffee she had the other day. So, she was not in the kitchen. Maybe she had an off that day? Maybe she worked in a different shift? She looked at the clock hanging on the wall and almost spurt her coffee out of her mouth, “I’M LATE!”

She left the money on the table and ran out of the café.

After a while, Edgar and Cyril walked into the café.

“I’m done with today’s lectures. I’ll go to the beach after this,” Cyril said.

“Man, I got two more lectures. It f*****g sucks, mate.” Edgar shook his head, “Anyways, let’s have some coffee. My throat is as dry as a dead dingo! I’ll get us something,”

He sat on the same chair as Heart and pressed his back on the chair. He felt something hard touch his spine and so he turned back. It was the strap of a white bag hanging on the chair. He took the bag and looked around. Seemed like someone forgotten it there.

“Wow, whose bag is that?” Edgar asked.

“I don’t know. Just found it layin around,”

“Check if it has a time bomb,”

“Dude…”

“What? We should be serious about it. Just check it.”

Cyril opened the bag and looked inside. It had nothing but a pair of ocean blue dancing shoes. As he took them out of the bag, they shone brightly.

“Wow, look’s like a ballerina's treasure. Wait—What if the shoes are the bomb itself?!”

Cyril turned them over and looked at a note taped on their sole, “I’m lost :”( Kind human, please return me back to my beautiful ballerina! Here’s the address—Blue Ballet academy, 53 Ocean Street, New South Wales, 2000.”

He smiled, “Cute” He whispered.

“Cute?! Did you get some shoe fetish mate? Stay at least a meter away from me!” Edgar got up from his chair and moved back. Cyril looked at the shoes. Seemed like they belonged to a person with a small stature because they were just so tiny.

“What the f**k? Some dropkick squashed a pie on my seat!” Edgar shouted.

Cyril took the white bag and took a train to Ocean Street. He received a phone call on his way, “Mr Edwards,”

“Yes, professor?”

“I gave you a project two months back. I still do not have it on my table. If it’s not there with me tomorrow, I’m failing you,”

“What?! Wait—“

He hung up.

Cyril got down at the next station and ran back home. He reached his room and threw the white back on his bed. He picked up a stack of papers and switched on his computer. He only had one day to make it, or he would have to repeat that year and no way was he doing that!

Heart ran into the café just when it was about to close and looked around, “Excuse me, did you see a white bag around here?!” She was out of breath, almost about to cry. Her friend, Elijah stood beside her.

“I’m afraid we haven’t,”

“Oh no…”

The waitress closed the café and went back home. It was dark and they ran across from one station to the other, checking their lost and found boxes but she couldn’t find her shoes.

Finally, she sat on a pavement, “It’s nowhere,”

“It’s alright, Heart. We’ll come back tomorrow and look for them. It’s pretty dark so our eyes might deceive us, you know,”

“It’s…nowhere…” Tears left her eyes, “I lost them, Elijah. I lost the only thing I treasured. How could I be so irresponsible?”

She came back home and fell into her bed.

“Heart? Is everything okay?” Her mother knocked at her door but she didn’t reply. She dug her face into her pillow and cried.

It was five minutes to midnight, Cyril was done with his project and mailed it to his professor. He stretched his arms and looked back at his room. He forgot to switch on his lights. He switched off the table lamp and decided to go to bed. He was way too tired to move a finger. He removed his shirt and jumped on his bed, “OW!”

He got up and looked at the white bag beneath his stomach. He lay on his bed and took out the shoes again. They were shining in the dark.

“What…the hell?”

-To be continued