Amaranth

7

        "Let's go."

        "What?" She was sitting in the shade the tree generously loaned her when a figure suddenly hovered over her. It was David.

        "Wanna get out of here?"

        "Out?"

        "Yeah. Out of this morbid place. Come on." He jerked his head to the side.

        It was so unlike the David she had seen for the past couple of months that she sat there in shock. No one had asked her to leave before. No one had even considered it.

        "Okay." She stood up and followed his impatient footsteps.

        When she reached the gate, she hesitated. He was already in his car with the engine turned on, warming up for the drive.

        "Where are we going?" she asked when she got in the back seat.

        He spun around and raised a brow at her. She never ceased to surprise him. "You can sit up here with me if you like."

        "Oh. Okay."

        "Here is your receipt and the rest of your change. Have a wonderful day!"

        He stared at the girl with the blonde ponytail and straight white teeth that bore at him. He grunted and moved on. As if his day could be wonderful, if ever.

        "Thank you! I wish you the most glorious and special day. And I hope—" She never got to finish her thought because he caught her hand and pulled her away forcefully.

        She didn't complain but stared curiously at him instead. A new expression of wonder on her face.

        "What?" he asked, annoyed when she wouldn't remove that silly face.

        "Nothing."

        "Come on. Out with it. It must be something or else you wouldn't be looking at me like that."

        "Like what?" She smiled at him, completely unaware that she was acting out of her usual behavior.

        "Like—" He gestured vaguely at her face but lost the words he wanted to say. "Never mind," he snapped and left to find a seat somewhere near the back because it offered solitude and darkness.

        She followed him. Her steps bounced behind him carelessly that she almost stepped on the back of his heels. She caught herself at the last second and bumped into a table instead, spilling a sip of tea over the brim of the cup.

        "I'm so sorry, ma'am!" She rushed to clean it with the hem of her dress even when the lady held no grudge and waved her on.

        It was only until he came back to move her along that she stopped fussing over the lady to make sure everything was all right.

        "I can't take you out, can I?"

        She shrugged, having no clue what he meant. She was happy to be in his company even if this was her first time inside.

        After they received their orders, he sunk deep into the seat and deeper into his thoughts.

        The hot drink excited her, but he made her wait for her first sip. Excitement overcame her, so she gripped her drink between her palms until the smell overwhelmed her. She grimaced once the drink passed her lips.

        "Eww!"

        "Stop it. It's not nice to say it out loud." He shushed her protest.

        She glanced at his drink. It was the same as hers. "Are you really going to drink that?"

        He nodded.

        "But how can you stand it?"

        "I like it. Look, if you want something else, I’ll buy it for you."

        She pushed her cup away and wrinkled her nose. "No, thank you." She didn't trust any drinks that came from this place anymore.

        "It's your call." He shrugged before he took a big sip. It burned all the way down, but he liked it that way. He liked the bitterness it offered him. That was what life offered him. Cups of bitterness. He was used to the taste now. It didn't faze him like it used to. Nothing fazed him.

        She watched him and everyone around him with a smile on her lips as he finished his drink and worked through most of hers.

        Then they got up to leave, and they never looked back. It was the last time he drank bitterness. At least from that place.

__________

November 14, 2014