Salvation

12 |

I Should Make a Reality TV Show About My Life and Call It "At Least Your Life's Not as Bad as This: A Strangely Uplifting Story"

A L E X A N D R I A
—

While you're doing fine, there's some people and I who have a really tough time getting through this life, so excuse –

I tap my screen, effectively silencing the ringtone Duke set for herself. "Dear nemesis, you have exactly zero seconds to explain why you called me on a work day and made my phone blare this lame song."

Duke huffs, and I can hear her indignant attitude. "Okay, firstly: the song is lame?! You're lame! Secondly, it's for a good reason. Which I'd have explained already had I not instantly been attacked viciously by my greatest enemy!"

We both glare into the phone for a few beats before bursting into laughter. "God, you actually had me there for a second," she chuckles. I wipe a few tears of amusement out of the corners of my eyes. We frequently pretend that we're enemies for the kicks. Our friendship is odd, I'm perfectly aware.

"What's the actual reason you called?" I ask collectedly after a moment, recovering easily from my moment of amusement. "The Destroyer of Sanity will have my neck – and my sanity – if I'm on the phone for longer than 10 seconds. I'll give up my sanity for you, but I'd rather hang on to the remaining scraps of my mental health."

"Yeah, from his name I kinda assumed that he would destroy some sanity sooner or later," she chuckles. "And, um, I called because I...well, I met a cute girl."

I raise a brow and smile slightly. "Fortunate. You deserve to be happy." The sentiment is too...sentimental, so I revert to my normal style of speech. "Don't let anyone break your heart, though, or I'll smash their skull into smithereens and make a stew with their blood."

She's silent for a second. "I guess I won't tell you if any future first dates don't go well."

"Might be a decent idea. Ah, and what is she like? Let me guess – a romantic, bubbly, somewhat closed - off girl. That's your type, don't deny it."

I take her lack of speech as acquiescence, and with Duke, it frequently is.

Finally, she speaks. "She's pretty, lovely, gorgeous! And she's smart and funny! But even then, there's more great stuff. She's gone down this path of love so many times, and some obstacle always stops her from reaching the treasure that is true love – don't scoff, you believe in true love too, even if you won't admit it – but she comes right back regardless. I think that shows a form of bravery. She knows what she wants, and despite hardship, she will get it."

"What's her name?" I ask, suspicious for no good reason.

"Can't remember for the life of me."

"The epitome of romance," I say deadpan, making her laugh.

"I mean, I could probably remember it if I had options – I could recognize it if she said it, just, I can't think of it..." she trails off, and without seeing her, I know that her eyebrows are scrunching together.

Tapping my finger against my keyboard, I bite my lip in thought. Why do I have questions that entail questions that I can't quite answer rushing through my mind and causing chaos? Why do I have a negative feeling drilled into me, despite my ongoing banter with my closest friend? Why?

I suppose this is the part where I dismiss my thoughts, but I am not clueless, and refuse to ever remain in the dark. "Describe her," I press out of instinct, hoping to satisfy my need for more knowledge.

"Oh, she's got the nicest smile, with teeth as white as the clouds of sunny weather, bright blue eyes that match her hair, and hair that matches the sky! She's a poet's dream!"

I have discovered something of import.

"Duke," I say, my voice suddenly icy, chills running through my veins, "is her name 'Daya'?"

—

Oh, hey, Plot, you look great! You got thicker!

Have a great day. Remember, you are in charge of your own destiny, and soak in all the positivity you can! Seriously, you will feel so much better if you consistently think positively. For example, right now, try thinking of 3 positive things (if you want)! You will hopefully and in all probability feel better afterwards!

Have a lovely day, and I hope it goes well!