Come What May

INDOORS

Levi looked around, he had never seen a more well kept room than Nelsee’s. It was a small one BHK with an attached balcony that overlooked a medium sized park. 

Nelsee took the beer bottles and put it in the mini fridge she had while directing Levi to the bathroom so he could freshen up. 

Nelsee was excited to have her first ever guest in at her house, she set the place well to make her guest feel comfortable while Levi was still in the bathroom with a pack of cigarettes waiting for him.

She sat there thinking of what she should start talking to Levi. She was desperate for a friend but the situation in which they both met was making things a bit awkward for Nelsee. 

Levi came out of the bathroom after a hot shower. It felt blissful after getting somewhat drenched in the rain. Nelsee however did not bother to take a shower. 

They both sat on the bed and clinked their beer bottles, “Cheeers”

Nelsee immediately lit a cigarette and Levi started at her wide eyed, “You are not allowed to smoke in front of me!”

“Why?”, Nelsee asked, “this is my home, I can do what I want”

“Well, I agree, but I don’t like the smell of smoke..”

“Oh I see”, said Nelsee nonchalantly, “Get used to it.”

There was an awkward silence, Nelsee immediately felt bad for being rude to Levi, he was after all her guest and a friend possibly. She decided to start a conversation. 

“So Levi, you look quite young, how old are you boy?”

“I am 21 and please call me Levi”

“Right, Levi, why don’t you tell me about yourself?”

Levi sighed, he thought to himself, “There is so much to talk about my life, I finally met someone who asked me this, but I think I should just start by talking about college”

“Umm, I go to Aurora College of Modern Sciences, I am a 3rd year student there. Newbie coder actually.”

“Wow coder, I have heard about it but I don’t really know what it is like to code, I have barely even used a computer” Nelsee said awkwardly. 

“Are you serious? Do you really not know how to use a computer? How are you surviving in Simtry?”, Levi exclaimed 

“Let me tell you Levi, I am a small town girl, I have tried to educate myself as much as I could, but I never really went to college or had a formal education.”

“When did you move here Nelsee?” 

“Just a couple of months ago, I actually absconded from my town and came here with some money I managed to save while in Zaska.”

“Wait! What? You are from Zaska?” Levi said, utterly shocked but immediately toned down looking at Nelsee’s expression change. 

“Nelsee said, “your expression is valid, Zaska is known for men exploiting women to satisfy their s****l needs”

Nelsee’s expression turned hysterical and she immediately grew uncomfortable talking about it. 

The moment Levi saw her face, he knew she had been a victim in Zaska and started connecting the dots. 

The money she used to move to Sitry was what she earned as a reward for sharing her body with those men. He felt guilty for having asked her to pay for his beer. 

Nelsee said,”I was first asked to sleep with a man when I was 17 and I was convinced saying that I would love my experience. It was new to me, I could not judge if it was a nice feeling or not, I just lay silently, letting him do whatever he wanted bearing the pain that came with each thrust.”  I still remember his face. He looked like he was in his mid 30s. He was gentle but creepy of course, I think he instantly figured out that I was uncomfortable. He paid me a high sum and left without a word.”

Nelsee sighed deeply and instantly felt light, as if a heavy weight was lifted off her shoulder, she smiled at Levi.

Levi instantly wanted to hold her hand to comfort her, but did not entertain the thought. He just looked at her empathetically and smiled. There was no awkwardness, it looked like they had taken their first step towards friendship. 

Nelsee was worried if she had revealed too much too soon. “Urgh! I should have just kept quiet, I will lose him too.”

Levi could sense Nelsee was thinking about what just happened, “Hey, it’s fine that you told me about your past, I will not ask you to reveal anything until you are absolutely comfortable talking about it and only if you trust me.”

Nelsee felt nice. Over a long period of being exposed to men with all sorts of intentions, she had learnt to judge men, their tone and their body language to understand what they wanted from her. 

Levi successfully passed all filters and he only came out as a genuine boy who wanted to company just as much as Nelsee herself did. 

What started as an awkward conversation between the two of them, culminated into a long night filled with chuckles, smiles and laughters with snorts. Lots of talking and lots of smoking and lots of drinking and lots of confiding. They hopped from the room to the balcony and the balcony to the room, making themselves comfortable. 

There was no physical contact, it was the start to a bond filled with admiration and respect for each other. At 5am they both fell asleep tired, drunk and happy about their first proper human interaction in a long long time.