Vien's Complex

Part 1

The thick scent of coffee beans in the air made me think of her. That unforgettable person. The color of creamy coffee matches the color of her tanned skin after being under the sun for long hours. Dark brown hairs, grey eyes that glimmer under the moonlight. Her curls fall perfectly on the edge of her shoulders that are as delicate as the finest sculptures.

The espresso that I ordered came as I try to remember the moments she's still flinching under my touch, sensitive as she is.

I closed my hands and smiled at the waitress who served the coffee.

It's been a while since the last time her image came into my mind. I thought it was already over. Those days that are full of longing. Me, going crazy over every single thing that reminds me of her.

Yarrah.

Her image that's smiling brightly behind the bonfire that I lit that night is the most haunting of all. It's the last shred of my memory of her before she vanished into thin air, leaving no traces behind. Leaving me flabbergasted and half insane.

"You're still here? The meeting will start at 10 am and you're still staring at your cup?"

I glanced at my assistant who was standing across my table. He's holding a folder, probably the files that I need to read again before the presentation. "Do you like coffee?," I asked him.

"No, thank you. I am already tortured enough by that thing."

"I see. Is there any news from them?"

"No news, sir."

"How can they fail to manage to find a single person?"

Luis raised the bridge of his eyeglasses as coolly as he could before speaking. "The last time I checked, we had eight billion people in the world. That means—"

"Probability wise, I am not asking you to investigate all those eight billion people. I only need one female. With a clear definition of what she looks like. Including a name."

"Not a whole name, sir. Who knows, maybe she's just using an alias."

With that, I drank the cup of espresso in front of me in one gulp. It's bitter. As bitter as the truth, that what Luis pointed out is true.

It's stupid of me to think that I can get to know her slowly. I never asked for any information about her and she never fed me too. Thinking back, all we talked about are her dreams and aspirations that made me fall for her.

••••••••

THREE YEARS AGO.

"Perfect, right?"

A woman that's intentionally covering half of her face with her wide brimmed hat approached me and leaned on the railings of the ship so that she was standing beside me.

"The sun setting down —bathing the horizon with crimson blood of the coming night, birds flying, the island just in front of us and loud splashes of water. It's perfect, isn't it?"

I did not show any interest in her blabs and continued with my drink.

"And you know what makes the scene more perfect in my eyes?"

She laughed before continuing her sentence.

"In my frame, there's you in it. A lonely man with a bottle of alcohol in hand, standing and staring at the perfect scenery with satisfaction as if you're ready to accept your last days."

She's not too far from her guess so I decided to talk back.

"What made you think that you can talk to me? And this is not alcohol."

I raised the bottle of beer to her and showed the low alcohol content of the drink.

She gasped and then giggled that made me frown at her.

"What?," I demanded.

"It's... I love your voice. It's...what do you call that, sexy? Yes, it's very seductive. Husky. I would want it to whisper to me during the night."

"Get lost, I am not interested."

"Hahaha, no. I'm not going anywhere."

The few minutes of travel to the port was full of silence. Aside from the crying of birds and the sound of waves muffling the sound of the busy pier.

"So, can you tell me your name?"

I gave the empty bottle of liquor to one of the ship's staff. We already arrived so it's time for me to move too and leave the ship.

"Vien," I answered, "Vien Fontane."

How I wished I never answered that question because as a gesture, she also introduced herself. She removed the hat that was obstructing the view to her face along with the clamp that was holding her hair together, letting her long wavy hair dance with the sea breeze.

"Yarrah. You can call me, Yarrah. It's nice to meet you."

I was stupefied. It was the first time I felt like something plucked with the heartstrings in my heart. I reached for her hand like a good dog and shook it.

Realizing that I was momentarily bewitched, I released her hand like hot iron and walked away.

When my feet touched the slippery ground, Yarrah tapped me on my arms.

"Where ya' going?," she chirped, copying an accent I knew that is not natural for her.

"Not your business."

"Aw, c'mon, there's no harm in making friends. Are you that heartless to drive away a potential lifetime friend?"

I threw her a quick side glance and saw her pouting face and eyes begging not to be left alone.

"It's called 'being cautious'. "

"Vacations are more fun when you have people with you, don't you know?," she added, trying to make a reason about her request.

Frustrated, I sighed and faced her seriously. "Miss... Yarrah? I don't know you. And don't push your opinions on me. Some people are doing fine even alone. We have different tastes and points of view about a good vacation, don't you know?," I complained, mimicking her own tone. "I'll appreciate it if you'll give back my peace."

She jolted her head and smiled awkwardly. "Peace?," she repeated.

I had no idea that at that time, she would literally hold my peace as a hostage.