Forces of Nature { A Novelette }

{ 3 | Whirlwind }

"I've been playing the same damn songs on repeat for weeks now. Even the most beautiful sounds now sicken me."

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Karima had been playing the same songs on repeat for the last week. She'd hoped that Natalia would try and contact her again, but she never did. She'd even made it a point to go and sit in the coffee shop every day in the hopes of seeing Natalia. There would be times that she would look out the window and think she saw her childhood friend, only to watch the face disappear into a crowd of strangers. Never once was it actually Natalia. And Karima's voice-mail machine remained empty. She hadn't deleted the first voice-mail yet, and she highly doubted she'd be able to bring herself to do it. She thought numerous times about reaching out to Natalia first, but thinking about her friend's face as she turned around and left... Somehow, Karima thought it was best if she left her former best friend alone. Natalia had only ever wanted to help, and Karima had shunned her in the worst possible way. But it wasn't entirely her fault, was it? No, it wasn't. She was still waiting on Winston to come home. There was no way she'd be proved wrong about him. He loved her. She loved him. There was nothing that could keep the two of them apart, right...? It appeared that she was wrong. Maybe...maybe she was wrong. And fuck everyone who now had the right to tell her "told you so".

Karima sighed and looked back towards the window. Her coffee sat untouched in her hands. The baristas at the coffee shop knew her order already. Jesse often came over to her with a second drink if she stayed more than an hour or two. One he'd paid for, but the exact same drink she'd ordered. He'd take away the untouched drink she hadn't even started and she, out of courtesy, would drink the coffee Jesse brought her. He was about a decade younger than her, but he was by far the nicest kid in there. He made sure to check up on her every now and again. And here he came with a steaming latte in hand. He put it down on the table. They exchanged smiles as he took the cold coffee back with him and disappeared into the kitchen. She watched him long enough to see his carrot-top disappear, and then once more turned her eyes to the window. Her heart stammered in her chest when her eyes landed on a familiar figure. Immediately she jerked to her feet, the chair screeching backwards, gaining the momentary attention of those around her. She mumbled an apology and everyone went about their business.

"Win—"

Karima's heart stopped.

Yes, it was Winston. He was there. He was here. But on his arm was a buxom blonde. She was perfect in every way that Karima found herself lacking. She had beautiful, beautiful blonde hair and doe eyes. Her body was that of a goddess. There wasn't a curve out of place. Looking down at herself, Karima wilted. She herself was a relatively small-bosomed female of a short yet slightly stocky stature. She was thin by anyone's standards, but... but she wasn't anything special. Loose tangly waves of brown cascaded down her shoulders and her eyes were...boring. This woman's eyes glittered like her perfectly white teeth. Immediately, Karima hated her. Whoever she was, Karima had no doubt that she was the reason why Winston left her.

"Winston," Karima said. Her voice was damnably shaky, and Winston didn't even notice her standing there like an idiot. He was chatting away with the bitch on his arm. She had been clinging so tightly to the thought that maybe, just maybe, Winston was only sorting himself out. That he would be coming home as soon as he realized what his life would be like without her—miserable. But it seemed she'd overestimated her own worth. He was getting along just fine without her. And the denial she'd been living in was shed like a snake's skin in an earth-shattering instant. All she'd had to see was the look on that woman's face as she looked up at Winston: the same look that Karima had once given him. The look that Karima, until this moment, had continued to give Winston, even when he wasn't around. She watched with growing anguish as Winston brought his slut up to the cash register, purchased them both some coffee, and then went to sit down together.