The Longest night

I 冬至 [1] / [16]

Slowly down the street, a man walked, lost in thought, the wind whipping against his coat with each stride down the cobblestone path. Even amidst the sleet and poor weather, the street was abuzz with activity and merriment as Christmas got ever nearer, but he couldn't easily blend in with the atmosphere. He simply walked on in his own way, ambivalent to those around him; his mind vexed, a crease adorning his furrowed brow.

The man, named Alexander, gathered the rain coat he was wearing tightly around him. The dull thud of his shoes was buried by the sounds of loud music and cheerful voices of passersby in the street, but they echoed clearly as he got far from the main road.

He fidgeted with those little boxes in his pocket. The necklace for his sister Kiara, whom he had not met for a long time, and a ring which he “was intending to” give to his girlfriend Violet, whom, at the moment, he was somewhat estranged from.

During this afternoon, he went through a veritable kaleidoscope of different moods, his emotional state like one chaotic roller coaster ride. A few hours ago, he dropped by a small jewelry shop to buy them. He chose a necklace, a beautiful piece with a little opal around an oval-shaped gold band, reminiscent of a tear drop, and chose a ring of a similar shape. When he was about to pay, the woman assisting him said,

"She is a lucky woman."

Alexander looked up at her,

“Excuse me?”

“The woman you're buying these for, she`s a lucky woman,”

she repeated, almost winking at him, but it wasn’t enough to make him smile.

"Well, I can't tell. 'The women' who I will be giving this present to might not consent to the terms that come with it,"

he said, forcing a smile. She didn't ask further, just smiled back, her eyes drinking him in and replied.

"Well, if it doesn't bother you, can I get your number? Just in case. I'd like to inform you when we get some new merchandise in that might interest you. You know, customer service,”

she tried to be business like, but her eyes were telling a different story.

She was middle height and had shimmering long brown hair and eyes of the same color, eyes which brightened at the sight of him, so Alexander felt she was so beautiful, even though he had a girlfriend. It was not at all a displeasure to be asked for his number by such a pretty woman so eager for it. His outdated mischief was aroused.

He pulled a $5 bill out of his wallet and wrote his number down on it, and palmed it in his right hand. He grabbed a piece of paper from his jacket pocket this time, and crushed it in the other hand, hiding both behind his back. Teasing her, he revealed two fists and said,

“If you guess the correct hand, you win.”