- 7.
The old me would have never refused Elijah.
But my emotions were fading.
I felt no anger, no sadness.
I checked into a hotel.
Two days left until my departure.
I’d spend two nights here.
But I saw news about Elijah.
Pictures of him and Jessica at a hotel.
They weren’t holding hands, but were close.
Г
Another photo showed them kissing.
I didn’t feel sad; only ironic amusement.
He’d claimed to be a spiritual leader,
untouched by worldly desires.
Now he was kissing another woman.
I turned off my phone and slept.
I dreamt of that night with Elijah.
He was flushed, pressing me to the bed.
I was happy; I thought he loved me.
But he stared at me, and I thought he
recognized me.
He cried, whispering in my ear, “Raina, I miss
you so much.”
A chill ran through me.
Intimacy felt cold and stiffening.
I slept soundly.
Two days passed.
An hour until my departure.
A knock on the door.
It was Elijah.
く
I should have been surprised, but I felt
nothing.
“What do you want?”
He hesitated, producing a cake.
“It’s your birthday. I made you a cake.”
“Host, Elijah’s affection meter is at eighty
percent.”
Eight years, for one percent.
Now eighty percent.
People are masochistic.
When you love them, they don’t love you
back.
When you stop loving them, they fall for you.
Always out of sync.
“Happy birthday, Mary.”
Elijah looked at me seriously.
There was nervousness and expectation in his
dark eyes.
He was waiting for my reaction.
I saw the girl who’d chased him for years.
<
“Crash!“–
I knocked the cake to the floor.
Cream splattered everywhere.
Elijah’s face darkened.
The system announced, “Host, the portal is
ready. You can leave early.”
“Find a way to kill yourself.”
Before Elijah could speak, I went to the
window and jumped.
“Mary!”
Elijah’s terrified scream echoed behind me.
