HIM FOR HER

Chapter Three

Every human has a wish; something they hope the universe would grant them. This maybe the reason people are always eager to witness the shooting star. It might not be real, but it was something that pushes them to hope for a better tomorrow. For some, it’s to see their loved ones hale and hearty, while some wish to have a better life. For children, it might be to get a particular gift from their parents. No matter how meaningless it seems, a wish still brims hope. While majority of the people existing, wish for wealth, someone like Anderson just wishes for a simple thing.

Company. Love.

Attention from people he calls family. He was tired of being greeted by an empty house. A very big empty penthouse. To any other person, it was more than enough.

Rich parents and an older brother with enough money to feed two generations. But the twenty-one year old boy didn’t want any of that. Standing in the vast sitting room with its glamor and exquisiteness, he felt the same lonely and helpless feeling he always had since he could remember. He let his eyes wander aimlessly round the too familiar yet empty house and a tired smile escaped his lips.

“Hello house. I am back and here I am, all alone. Again.”

He sighed again with a sagged shoulder. No matter how hard he tried, he knew that empty feeling will never go away. That feeling of longing will never be filled no matter how many people he goes out with. He was just trying to delay the inevitable because at the end, he would still go back to the same house.

To the same loneliness.

A picture of his nine years old self resurfaced in his mind. The desperation. The need to feel wanted. He saw the little boy in him following his older brother, calling out for him to listen to him. He watched as the older boy kept his back on him, not once sparing him a glance. He saw when the little boy gave up, but his eyes were still staring wistfully at the turned back hoping it would turn. He felt the same disappointment and sadness the boy felt when his wish wasn’t fulfilled.

And here he was, just like that boy staring longingly at the empty spots he knew should have a happy family. The same spot that was currently empty, save for the comfy sofa that was staring back at him in mockery. Maybe all wishes don’t come true after all. He thought.

****

Stephanie would best describe the situation between them as a hide and seek game since after that encounter at the corridor.

It was a game of him trying to talk to her, and she doing her best to avoid him. It wasn’t hard to do so, given that she was not popular and there were so many places she could hide away from him. So, she did her best by staying away from his line of sight.

All was good until she ran into someone standing under the streetlight on the path leading to her home. The lights didn’t allow her a chance to identify the person, until she was within earshot. She recognized his stature even before she saw his face.

“I knew we would meet here.” He said, walking out to the light.

He was smiling, although not as brightly as before. Stephanie bit her lips in nervousness. It was obvious he noticed she was avoiding him. But what does he want with her?

“Let’s go for a walk.” He said not giving her a chance to protest as he already took a step forward. Stephanie gaped at his back. Why is he casually talking to her as if they were friends or something? What does he want with her?

“Aren’t you coming?”

Lost in thought, she didn’t notice he had stopped walking and was now staring at her. She should refuse and go straight home.

This was just the universe playing with her mind. Nothing was going to happen between them. The sane part of her mind screamed inside her, but the fluttering in her heart made a decision which her legs reacted to.

So, under the starry night, two lonely souls walked side by side with each other, amidst the darkness hovering over them and the streetlights that were trying their best to keep the darkness away from their path.

Darkness and light. Two contrasting natures. Even though their works were the opposite of each other, yet they walked together to keep the world at balance. Maybe they were the exact definition of the two nightwalkers. One was bright as the day; the other was enveloped in a world filled with darkness of the past. But one thing held them close. Loneliness. Unbeknownst to each other, they were facing the same demon and maybe it was the universe that led them to each other.