from august to december

chapter ten

when the sky was silent and no tree was moving, suddenly eli's eyes opened slowly.

it was still dark, the only sound coming from people having a conversation in the radio that he had turn on to feel less alone.

the red haired man sat up still filled with the deep slumber he had just awoken from, and let his gaze wander around.

a room he had gotten used to over this past year, it was filled with decorations, photos of his family on his nightstand, an old calendar on his dresser and some half finished studies on the old and slightly crooked desk.

not for long anymore, however.

the dark, wooden floor creaked with every movement when eli finally got up and moved to turn off the radio still babbling softly in the background.

to be honest, he'd ask himself everyday why he was here again, because he had promised himself not to fall for the smell of the alcohol again, not to fall for the prickling taste of it again.

yet here he was, getting therapy and recovering from his addiction, once again.

eli loved sneaking out of his room at night, when the old nurse would be sleeping at the desk, because even she was too tired to stay up all night.

and usually, he would meet up with his only friend to have a little night walk around the garden.

but his friend got released three years ago, so from then on, the walks would have to be just by himself.

ruffling his red hair and taking in a deep breath, he tried to open the high door as quietly as possible.

as soon as he entered the big and hollow hallway with the same old wooden floor, he tiptoed barefoot to his left, where right next to his room, a big glass door opened to a huge garden.

this was the garden him and his old friend would always go to and talk about god and the world, whenever the first star came out at night.

somehow, the clear air still smelled like the thunderstorm from earlier, and he wasn't afraid of it anymore, because he could still feel eden's voice on his skin.

even though it had gotten cold at night, he wasn't freezing, for the first time in a long time, he felt like he wasn't walking down the stony path by himself.

there was someone walking beside him, who supported him with his warmth and gave him comfort so all the fear disappeared from his mind.

no doubt, everything that had happened four years ago broke all of the seven, and they missed each other a lot.

but it had already happened so long ago, they had forgotten each other's birthdays probably.
however eli i knew that he hadn't.

spotting a metal bench at the side of the path, he sighed before plopping onto it and letting his head fall back, observing the night sky.

"why are you out here this late?"

suddenly a feminine voice filled the silence, causing eli to flinch and sucking in a harsh breath.

he knew who this voice belonged to, he was just asking himself why it was here at this moment.

"yeona?"

eli tilted his head to the right and could see the silhouette of a woman, still in her doctors uniform and her shiny dark brown hair was combed back in a low bun.

the white coat shined, together with her blue eyes as she looked at her patient.

she moved to sit beside him and hid her hands in the pockets, she was probably freezing because so late at night, the huge heat wave from august calmed down and rested to be fresh for the new day.