WHEN YOU HEAL

SANA 3.0

"I'm home."

"Good for you," replied Lee.

Sana grimaced and shook her head from side to side.

How could the man be so sweet and suddenly make a u-turn for cynical-city?

"Lee, can't you answer without sounding cold and as though you don't care?"

"I don't think I was cold. Why do people assume I'm like that or I'm extremely petty?"

"Because you are cynical as fuck, it's difficult to distill your intentions."

"Aww, you are corrupted for sure. I'll keep a seat on the bus for you."

Sana rarely swore, and Lee assumed he wore off on her.

"Bus, what bus?" Sana asked.

"The one that takes poor and twisted souls like us to hell."

Sana giggled and undressed.

"How come you don't get all whined up? Most people come with all their political correctness."

Sana tied her hair up, "I'm probably masochistic."

At his end of the line, Lee smiled. He liked Sana, probably since the day she filled his chatbox with middle fingers. The reason was evident for Lee; she was natural and didn't play up a scenario.

She gave her opinion and did try to appear as anything other than herself.

Sana was just present; with her, he could chat about anything she held no grudge. They could bicker one day and joke the next.

Sana made him comfortable, and the man appreciated it.

People changed from the moment Lee divorced. There was a form of tolerance to his behavior, and Lee detested it.

It was as though people tacitly accepted his attitude and let him blow off his steam. What the man wanted was a good slap in the face. Sana's armada of middle finger emoji sort of did that.

Lee didn't need what he thought was fake compassion. Only Janet gave him the rawness he needed with her head-bashing wake-up calls, ironically when Lee replayed the past year. Lee imagined she echoed Camille's words with whom he refused to speak with at the time.

Every sorrowful expression he crossed triggered his venom pouch.

Lee recognized that the beer he threw at Sana could have landed on anyone else. The woman just happened to be at the wrong place and time with the clumsy comment.

Now the same clumsy woman became the only one he connected.

"Lee, are you listening?"

"No, sorry I wasn't. I was lost in my thoughts."

Sana rolled her eyes, "thank you; I've been blabbering all my lonesome for the last two minutes."

"I'm sorry."

A short silence followed.

"Sana?"

"Yes, I'm still here."

The apology from the unapologetic man caused a temporary shutdown.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just you apologized."

"Yes, I think it's still in fashion to say that when one does wrong. Gosh, what an awful image you have of me."

"Whose fault is it?" the woman asked.

"Okay, admit it. The words gentleman and polite did not see daylight thanks to my personality."

Sana laughed, "for sure."