When Stars Align

After the show.

Luca slumped through the door and stubbed his toe on the wooden doorway, he cursed as he fell. He was drunk but not as drunk as he wanted to be. He was feeling particularly wretched tonight and drowning his sorrows in alcohol seemed to be the best option. He got up and slammed the door shut. Limping to the bar, he took out a bottle of Jack Daniels, dispensed with formalities and took a swig straight from the bottle. There weren’t any paparazzi here to take embarrassing pictures of him.

Placing the bottle back on the counter, he took off his tuxedo jacket, followed by his shirt, then his shoes. Picking up the bottle again, he limped to the veranda of his hotel room. His big toe hurt like hell, he was sure it would have a nasty bruise come morning but he probably deserved it. He deserved all the pain in the world, no one could convince him otherwise.

He leaned on the rails guarding the veranda and took another gulp from his bottle. After the show, the party had lasted well into the early hours of the morning. He didn’t normally stay for the after parties, always preferring the solace of a quiet room to the boisterous atmosphere found at parties. He didn’t know why he felt this way tonight of all nights, he had everything he’s always wanted. The media worshipped him, people loved him. He’s gotten the recognition he’s always wanted but somehow it all felt inadequate, he wanted something else. Someone else. He wanted her, Eku.

Oftentimes he thought about her, if she had moved on him. If she was currently in the embrace of another man, his chest ached at the thought of it. Six years ago, he’d left her behind. Back in Nigeria and left without an explanation, just disappeared without a trace. He knew he’d left behind his heart that day and had thought it would get easier with time. It didn’t. He’s been in absolute misery ever since. He couldn’t even let himself think about her for fear of the pain the memory would bring, she was always buried deep in the inner crevice of his heart but tonight she refused to stay hidden.

Luca stared at the Eiffel Tower and the view of beautiful Paris lit up but his thoughts were in a different continent entirely. He’d spent just a month in Nigeria but that month had changed his entire life. There, he’d found himself, found inspiration and found love. Eku had taken him all over Lagos, all the must see places and the less reputable ones. They’d met at Elegushi beach where he’d been wandering on the sand like a lost soul and had immediately clicked.

It hadn’t mattered that they were strangers or that they were from different races, she had crawled her way into his heart with her ferocious temper and her tenacity. Does she still love him? Gah! She probably hated his guts. His lips quirked up in a rueful smile. She had been as bright as the sun and as spritely as a gazelle. She’d loved dancing and had always been the life of the party anywhere she went, one of the qualities he’d admired about her. His girasolé he’d always called her, an endearment in Italian meaning sunflower.

There were too many memories coming out all at once. He took another swig from the bottle and chucked it at the wall. Falling to his knees, he sobbed and let out all the pent-up emotions. He shouldn’t have come here, Paris was a place for lovers and he’d doomed himself to a life of misery. At the time, he’d felt he was doing the right thing but this wasn’t living. He was barely surviving taking each day as it came. Getting a room at Hotel du rond-point with a view of the city was supposed to be a treat to himself. Being away from everyone and everything that stressed him was supposed to be calming but left alone for his thoughts to run wild, now he felt like drowning himself in the Seine.

Surely he couldn’t be this miserable forever, something had to give or he’d end up loosing his mind. He was already at the end of his tether. Fate had separated him from his love but he saw no way for fate to bring them back together. He swore to himself, he’d worship the stars if he were to get a chance, just once to see her again.