“You’re not going to get these back until you’re sober,” that’s what Mimi said as she took my keys.
I keep telling them I’m okay, I’ve driven under worse conditions anyway, besides my house is just 10 minutes away, there’s no way I could get into an accident. They don’t listen and a small part of me is thankful I have friends like those, but a bigger part of me is annoyed that he has to walk home in the middle of the night.
Jherick and Deng offer to walk me a few blocks to my house but the drunk in me tells them to back off, though in a more explicit way. I don’t know why I’m like this, I shouldn’t be pushing my friends away especially now.
Ever since Grace and I broke up all I’ve been doing is drinking and being a complete ass to anyone that tried to talk to me. Everyone’s been so supportive and they don’t deserve a guy like me fighting off their friendship.
Especially Mimi, sweet, beautiful Mimi.
Out of the corner of my eye I see her again. I guess I’m just that drunk. The lady in black watching over all my misfortune, it would be poetic if it wasn’t so damn annoying.
“Are you happy now?! Do you enjoy watching me suffer?!”
The apparition stands still under the light post, unmoving. I didn’t expect anything more. Ever since my breakup I’ve been seeing her late at night, always under some sort of lamp post.
This time I’m too drunk to care, I run up to her with tears in my eyes.
“Why did she have to leave me?!”
I grab her black dress and she steps back. The first reaction I’ve ever gotten from her. Suddenly her long hair stands on end. I instinctively back away and in that moment I sober up.
What was I thinking? Whatever this is can’t be friendly. I gather my senses and run as far away as I possibly can. I manage to get a running start before I notice that I’m not being followed.
She’s just standing there looking at me.
Whatever she is it doesn’t matter. I have more important things to think about. I head home and fall asleep dreaming of the women in my life.
Mimi. Grace. The Woman in Black.
All of them form into one figure that I try to reach, but she’s so far away.
My alarm rings and my head is splitting from the hangover. I go to the bathroom to wash my face and remember that Mimi still has my keys.
At least I’ll have a reason to talk to her.
I walk outside my house and almost shout. I trip on my own shoelaces and fall to the ground.
The woman in black is still there.
She doesn’t seem to be moving and after last night I don’t think I’ll be confronting her anytime soon. I avoid looking at her and make my way to the jeep to go to Mimi’s house.
I ring Mimi’s doorbell and look around. The lady in black is following me. She’s a street away and staring in my direction. I don’t know what she wants but right now there are more pressing matters.
Mimi needs to know how I feel about her.
She opens the door, her gentle hands and radiant smile greeting me.
“Well it looks like someone finally got up,” she says. God save me from that smile.
“Mimi, can we talk?”
“If it’s about your keys I gave them to Jherick. He’s supposed to drop them by your house at lunch time.”
“No it’s not about that. Can I go in?” My palms start to sweat and it gets hard to breathe, but it’s too late to go back now.
“Of course, what is it?” She leads us to a quiet place in their house and I tell her everything.
How I’ve never met any girl as amazing as her. How even when I was with Grace I would think about her and wonder what if. How now that we’re both single maybe we could give it a chance.
She looks shocked but not surprised.
“Ron, I’m seeing someone.”
And in that moment my universe collapsed. I tell her it’s fine, to just not mention it anymore.
“I hope you two are happy,” I manage to say in between my tears.
“It’s Jherick.”
A shooting pain goes through my heart. It wasn’t enough that the girl I loved couldn’t be with me, but her together with my best friend? It was almost too much.
I rush out of the house without looking back. I find a quiet alleyway to let my tears loose and I see her.
The lady in black.
She was probably watching the whole time. Well she can enjoy the show. This is my life now, a broken heart trying to be a man.
No. This can’t be how it ends.
I stand and muster all the courage I have to go back and talk to Mimi. Maybe I can say something that would change her mind. There has to be a way we could be together.
I rush through the streets to her house.
Maybe if I was more careful I would have seen the car coming towards me.
The last thing I see is the lady in black, smiling.
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Written by Karl Gaverza
Copyright © Karl Gaverza
Inspired by a story told by Harold Juab
Illustration by likhatsining
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