MELODY (Book 1) ✓

Chapter 26 (Red-letter)

August... The second hottest month in New York, right after July. The heat was tolerable most of the days though. The occasional drizzle every other day snuffed out of the blaze of the sun whenever it got too harsh.

For the first time, I didn't want to wake up right away. I rolled on my back lazily, checking the time on my phone through half-closed eyes. It was a few minutes past six in the morning, but it was Saturday. People get up late any way. I could lie down for a while longer, until everyone finished their showers.

Dropping the phone on the pillow, I yawned, letting my lids fall down again.

Normally, the long hours of sunshine in the summertime warmed my bones and cheered me up a little. They gave me a kick to move on, to embrace the warmth and to absorb the much needed vitamin D - A capital D, like those grinning faces Akram typed in his texts, which made me pine for his sunny smile all the more.

I used to spend the summer weekends basking in the sun, reading my favorite books at the same spot in Central Park. I'd got the accidental courage one time last year, to enjoy the free summer movies in the park, even though the show started after sunset. I had been alone, but at least I survived the small adventure and came back with a short-lived smile on my face.

This year, I just couldn't wait for September. I wanted the summer to end, along with my pensive mood. There was a new kind of aloneness, throbbing faintly in the background of my life.

Boredom, monotony, loneliness were just a sample of what this long summer without Akram felt like. The short texts we exchanged every night were the balm that soothed the throbbing emptiness, and helped me bear with the next day.

I stretched my arms out, as far as I could reach on the sides of the small bed, my tired muscles coming to life. Who knew that making coffee all week could be so exhausting?!

The day-to-day stuff at work weren't so bad. At least I had Asha to comfort me. We'd gotten closer in the past weeks. She even insisted to drag me along today to another shopping spree; one of the reasons why I was lazing around.

Of course, I tried to wriggle out. I wanted to keep my savings saved. My stash (the rolled banknotes I shoved into this tiny hole in the mattress) almost reached the target to open a decent savings account.

The idea of saving money made me feel more secure, even though Asha had expressed how she felt about my 'penny-pinching, Uncle Scrooge practices' , but hey! I also got better and more stable at work, which gave me a little more confidence to improve my latte art. The rotten apple shape turned into a fresh one that just might look like a heart sometimes, but the tree leaf shape I'd learned by myself looked awesome... Those YouTube videos I checked out in the library were extremely helpful and completely free. It amazed me that people actually joined training courses to improve their Barista skills. Well, at least I didn't have to pay for that.

I let out a slow breath and shifted, raising my head slightly off the pillow to peek at Tina's bed. She lied there on her side, curled up into a petite ball under the covers. Her back was turned toward me, her messy auburn tresses scattered beyond her head.

Tina had come back yesterday before midnight. She'd said she wasn't feeling well. It wasn't common for the two of us to sleep in our dorm room at the same time; not since Vivian claimed her soul and sucked it into the dark side.

My heart shattered every time I bumped into Tina. She just kept brutally fading away, it was painful to watch. I felt helpless all over again when I saw her pinched face that lost all traces of the youth of her sweet sixteen. God knows, I wanted to do something, but I was handcuffed by my helplessness. The good thing was that her 'dark shadow' wasn't here, or the day would've started off as ugly as the plague.