in which past meets future in an alternate reality; how they existed not as immortal beings but as mere mortals with an all-seeing eye, and where they meet to create everlasting time
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ACT I, SCENE V
Third time must be a charm. Delphia was sure it must be, after all, all it took was three glasses of alcohol for Rosine to spill all her secrets. "Delphia... I need to tell you... I am a liar. I am a bad person because I lied..." she spluttered, her hand gestures sloppy and retarded. Her face was flushed beet red, mimicking her hair colour. Rosine was heartbroken. She could feel it deep in her bones; she could feel Rosine's pain calling out to her, begging for her help. Her bloodshot eyes, her tossing and turning at night gave it all away. She could see all those tell-tale signs that screamed that Rosine was heartsick, yet she denied it every time when asked. Delphia knew Rosine was stuck in a phase, trapped in denial. She knew Rosine was not ready to confront the glass shards that pierced into her. "Do you know what I lied about? I lied about everything! I lied about every single thing, right from the start!" Rosine slurred, swinging her hands around, nearly knocking over the red cups on the counter.
"It is me, it has always been me. I'm always the issue. I always screw everything up. We could have been something, really something. But I messed up and when I wanted to fix it, it was too late. It would be like putting a band-aid on a crack on the wall. I couldn't fix it even if I wanted to. You get it right? You get why I did what I did?" Delphia wanted to help her, really help her. It pained her physically to see Rosine in this state of hysteria. She wanted nothing more than to ease the heart that was in pain but how could she, when she knew nothing of what had happened. Having Rosine drunk and vulnerable could be her chance to know what had conspired between her and Carlyle, yet there was something holding her back. She would be making use of Rosine if she continued listening. Rosine was drunk. Whatever she was doing might not have been what sober Rosine would have done. "Shh... Rosine, don't say more. You will regret it tomorrow. Let's go home okay?" she coaxed, deciding that this was for the best. She could always try to get the information out of Rosine tomorrow, and if Rosine chose not to tell her tomorrow, she will try again the day after tomorrow. She would try and try, day after day, until Rosine felt comfortable sharing with her.
"No! I will not go home till I tell you everything! Why did you think I brought you here? I brought you here, so I can tell you why I did that, so you can tell me what I did was right!" Although she wished that was the case, she could not help but be sceptical. Drunk Rosine could have easily cooked up that lie to convince her. Sober Rosine could have thought otherwise. It might have been Rosine's resolve that unnerved her or it might have been her own gut feeling that told her to go ahead with it. Either way, she relented. She had a good feeling that this would end well.
"I met Carlyle when we were in senior year. All my friends had boyfriends and I stuck out like a sore thumb. It bothered me that I didn't have a boyfriend because everyone had, and I wanted to fit in. One day, Carlyle asked me out. I was so happy because I thought, wow, this is my chance, this is my opportunity. So, I told Carlyle yes, because he was hot, and he was in the soccer team, and I heard he wasn't a jerk. I went out with him and he was so nice to me. He did the right things and he was a gentleman, truly. But I was cautious of him because I kept thinking that there must be a catch. How could a boy, as handsome, as popular, as nice as Carlyle not have a girlfriend already? It didn't help that my friends kept rubbing it in that I wasn't pretty, I wasn't blond, I wasn't fashionably thin and all that. But I didn't break it off with him. I continued going out for dates, hanging out with him but I was cautious, and I placed barriers to protect myself. I told myself and I thought to myself that he was out for a fling, he was out for my virginity and that he was just toying with me. When he told me jokes, I pretended to like them. When he shared his interests, I lied about mine. It started from these small lies and then it started to build up, up and up and up. I lied about liking being with him, and I faked the enthusiasm of meeting him. We dated for quite a while and one day, he confessed to me. He told me he loved me. In that moment, I was like yes! This is the ultimate move that I had been waiting for all this time. He was going straight for my heart and my virginity. And after he took my virginity, he was going to dump me and shame me in front of the school. I was ready for it. I was ready to follow the game through. Do you know the worst lie I told him? I told him that I loved him, when I never did.
Worse of all, I was wrong. He didn't have sex with me. He smiled and smiled and smiled, and he pulled out a couple ring. It had our initials engraved on it, C & R. We then watched a movie, and nothing. Then did it really hit me that he might have really fallen for me, that he wasn't out for my virginity or to shame me, that he had liked me for me, for the me that I portrayed to him. And that realisation crushed me, because I realised that I had been the player all along. I was worried all along about being played and I harboured much anger towards him for playing me. However, it was the opposite. I was the player, I was the one playing with his heart. Ever since that day, the day that we moved here, the guilt, it had been choking me, suffocating me. It was so painful. I couldn't take it. I lost a perfectly good chance to have a perfectly great boyfriend, but I blew it. Even if I tried, I would never be able to fix it. We started off on the wrong foot and ever since, we were like dancers with two left feet, trying to right the rhythm, only to find that the reason why we never succeeded was because we were never in sync."
Delphia drew Rosine closer, bringing her head to her own chest. She stroked her hair and cooed 'it's okay, everything will be fine' so many times, it became a chant. What else could she say? In a relationship, there is always two sides to the story. This may be Rosine's side of the story but who knew what was Carlyle's. Carlyle may not be the saint Rosine painted him out to be. Perhaps he was really toying with her. Who is to know? What Delphia knew was that all was fair in love and war, and that a couple's problem had to be solved by the couple themselves. She was merely an outsider to their relationship. She was in no place to judge Rosine for what she had done. Neither could she assure Rosine that what she did was right nor, could she not criticise Rosine for being wrong. This was the duality of reality.
She decided that it would be best to go back to their dormitory. Rosine needed rest and so did she. Tomorrow, she would come up with a remedy to help her. As she stood up to carry Rosine, her eyes scanned the room. She could need help carrying Rosine back to their dormitory. Delphia could hardly consider herself sober since she had taken a few drinks herself. Where were all the people she knew? She could spot Carlyle looking at them from across the room. There was something that drew her to him. It was his aura. Or perhaps it was his soul. It was his soul calling out to hers, drawing her to him like a moth to the fire.
She felt a faint tickle by her ear, the gentlest breath against her cheek. There he stood was her saviour, her ally.
