Love In The Night Sky

II. At 7

⪼ ii.  At 7

HIS TIMING is from 7 pm to 7:30 pm. He comes for a walk on the weekdays and not at weekends. He always wears his biker jacket and doesn't seem to switch it for another. He took a short break 15 minutes later, for only 3 minutes before continuing again. His pace is strong and definitely doesn't match that for a woman. 

Sometimes, his timings wary from 6:50 pm to 7:30. Mostly on Fridays. His terrace is smaller than mine as he quickly completes 15 laps before I complete 3. It might be because he has long legs. His posture is straight but not up-straight, similar to that of a person working with computers. He is at least 165 cm tall (nearly 5'4 feet), and he is clearly taller than me. 

Yes, it has been 2 weeks, and I'm taking a walk here without missing a single day. Is this what they call having a crush? Or... am I stalking?

Suddenly, I'm self-conscious. I didn't think about this before. Am I hurting someone? Well, the guy obviously doesn't know that I have a crush on him, and there are no aunties spying on me as well. The barricade that we built on our terrace prevents our nosy next-door neighbor from peeing in, so she is not a problem. 

But my thoughts go away when the clock hits 7 and the charming prince enters from his terrace door. I start my walks, and my eyes automatically flit towards the house when I turn. It's almost like an instinct. 

Minutes pass, and it's already time for him to take a break. He leans over his hands on the terrace wall and stares towards the scenery that is meters away from me. I watch him from the corner of my eye and do 2 quick laps to not seem suspicious that I had my eye on him. His hair is one of the sole proofs that make me believe that I'm not crushing on a younger guy. His posture and body language seem cheerful and active as those of college guys. 

I mean, have you seen working class men? They always seem depressed.

"You know," A rough voice gets me back to life and startle the heck out of me. "We all wondered how you withstood your will to take a walk every day, and it seems like I finally found the reason why." 

He looks through the distance and gestures towards the guy with his chin.

"Don't tell this to mum and dad." I retort back in reply.

"Of course not. Either way, it is not gonna last for a month when that guy suddenly stops coming to take a walk."

"That sounds specific." I tease, to which my brother glares at me. 

"Me and dad lost to mum." He sighs. "Why did you have to be so obsessed with this guy?"

"You guys did a bet on me?" I questioned, because what the heck? 

"Oh, he started walking again." My brother points, ignoring my question. Before I can call him on it, he tells me something that almost makes me scream.

"He was my classmate at school." He puts his hands on his pockets. "He was the top of his class, too." 

"What?" I gasp. "You lost to him? You?  The one who was so obsessed with your grades at that time?"

He scoffs,  but he is clearly embarrassed. 

"I mean, his dad worked in IT specialization too, so it is natural for him to pick cse and also excel in it." He replies, as if that is an amazing excuse. "I mean, he is so passionate about his major. Not that I wasn't, but he has this crazy energy around him. He solved complicated math questions in his free time as a hobby. That guy was crazy."

"So, is he in his third year too? Just not the same college as you, then? He is aiming for software engineer and is working with computers majority of the time, right?" 

"Yeah?" He replies, as if it is a question. I gasp out loud. They say to not judge a book by its cover. But I definitely went somewhere wrong with the rule of not judging. 

I mean, in the end, overthinkers are always right. 

"Perhaps I should've taken psychology." I mutter, but my brother hears it anyway and barks out a laugh. 

"The world has enough psychopaths, sis. They don't need anoth-ouch!" He hisses as he rubs his swollen foot with the other. "Our parents would've disowned you. Taking psychology is the same as taking commerce."

I scoff out loud. 

"I'll let Esther take care of that." I retort. My brother rolls his eyes and shakes his head.

"You and that crazy friend." 

Before I can start my speech on how he is the crazy one here, I realize I forgot to ask my brother the most important thing.

"Wait, what's his name?" 

"I don't know." I furrow my eyebrows at him. 

"How would you not know your arch nemesis who always overtook you in your school days?"

"I simply don't know."

"I'm not gonna stalk him in insta, I swear!"

"No, Lisa."

"But-"

"I can't tell you."

"Do you have a crush on him?"

"What?"

"Alright then," I take a breath. "At least tell me if he is..."

I point the guy with my eyes and lift my brows at my brother, hoping that he would get the hint. When he does, he sighs and stares at me through the dark. I whine impatiently and nudge his arm.

"He is Christian."

And that is all it took.

I gasp and cover my mouth with both of my hands as I skip through the terrace while jumping on my heel. My mind is already planning the day I introduce him to my parents, wedding bells ringing, and how no one will be able to look down on our little love story. Oh gosh, this is so great! 

"Gosh, calm down, Lisa."

But I am too engrossed in love to even notice that he spoke to me.