The Calm of a Lotus

Meia looked out of the window.

The sun was nice, its silky light shining and refracting in the glass, spreading rainbows across her room.

The clouds made funny shapes; she saw one earlier that reminded her of a rabbit, but it soon disappeared, just like everything and everyone.

Her windows were made of dark oak, and it complemented the many vines and layers of foliage on the wall outside.

Life was…

Okay.

Troy was running down the streets, looking back every few seconds to make sure no one was after him, and that those who were had lost sight of him.

The streets were filthy; unclean with gunk and litter.

He was a thief and he was only postponing his few final breaths.

Life was…

Fine.

“Hey, Meia. Can I talk to you for a ’sec?” Therdeo asked her.

Brushing some hair behind her ear, she responded, “Yeah, sure.”

He led her towards an empty corridor, near where the old theater class was located, and where not many people walked. He leaned against the wall, his body and eyes both reflecting disinterest in her; Meia already knew what was going to happen.

“You want to end things, don’t you?” she asked him, hurt beyond belief.

“Oh, good,” he sighed in relief, “I thought this would be harder to do.”

Good? Was that what he really thought, what he wanted, what he expected?

Was their relationship to him only…

Good?

“I can’t believe you,” her eyes were starting to tear up, her hands clenched, “so what now? What other girl did you find behind my back?”

“It’s not like that, I promise!” He raised his hands in defense, but his eyes said it all.

He’d lost interest a long time ago.

Grabbing the collar of his shirt, she pushed him. As he fumbled to regain his balance, she walked away and towards the nearest bathroom, tears now enveloping her face.

“Meia! What happened?” Scarlett called to her as she ran to meet her, “Oh, no. No, Meia, tell me, what happened?”

Scarlett was worried.

Scarlett was confused.

Meia hugged Scarlett, happy that she had someone to hold, someone who shared her emotions, and someone who cared for her as none had ever done. Scarlett was very pretty, but no guy had ever dated her, much less asked her out, but she felt the pain of losing someone who you thought loved you.

Scarlett’s first betrayal was her only sibling.

Her brother.

Meia let go and slid her hands down into Scarlett’s. They looked into each other’s eyes, smiling to one another, the tears now lay dried upon their faces.

“You deserved better anyway,” Scarlett laughed.

Meia smiled, “Yeah, I guess. I’m just curious as to how long he’d been disinterested.”

“Hah! Who cares,” Scarlett laughed once again, “You have me!”

“I loved him, but he didn’t feel the same way,” Meia felt confusion in her heart; it had all gone so quickly, the breakup and all.

Scarlett seemed somewhat frustrated, “You’ll be fine. Like I said, you have me!”

“Yeah…” Meia said slowly, but she kept thinking about Theo.

They had been dating for about two years, and she was always under the impression the he genuinely cared for her, but that was only an illusion. He had betrayed her. She had noticed he’d always had a distant look in his eyes, but she thought he was only daydreaming, maybe even thinking about the future of their relationship. She knew deep in her heart that his own did not have any room for her. Nonetheless, the breakup hurt. She didn’t understand why Scarlett was so insistent on her role in Meia’s life, but she appreciated her caring.

She had long black hair, which her boyfriend often complimented her on, and she wore modest clothing to school, with the occasional skirt. Scarlett was also very pretty, brown hair and all, with often baggy clothing. She was known for getting mad easily, annoyed for days at a time when people didn’t work as quickly as she did or if you ever made a minor mistake. She threatened students sometimes if they got in the way of anything, but always managed to play it off. Even though she and Meia had discussed this, Scarlett always managed to explain it, so in the end it was alright. Teachers often thought different, but because Meia, a straight-A student who could never dream of doing anything wrong, hung out with her, she must be alright.

“Hey Meia, wait up,” Felix approached her, “I gotta show you something!”

It’d been about two months since Meia and Theo had broken up. How did she know this? She’d been counting.

Since the first day.

The first hour.

The first minute.

She constantly looked at pictures of Therdeo and her on her phone. She had dedicated a whole album to the photos and removed them from her main ones so as to not see his face and be reminded of her hurt. Scarlett had been doing things with her a lot more than she had before the breakup, not saying that she hadn’t been putting in immense effort into their friendship before; she had just decided to try and get Meia through it more easily, to ease any strong feelings that Meia had towards Theo still.

“Yeah, Felix?” Meia smiled at him. She could see his face brighten at this.

“I understand- I really do!- that you and your boyfriend broke up just around a few months ago, but I was wondering-” Felix stopped himself, but Meia motioned with her hands to keep going, “-if maybe you’d like to go out?”

Felix, Meia couldn’t lie, was very attractive. He had slightly long black hair and it was straight, his bangs like curtains on his face. He was tall too, a strong point in Meia’s mental book of what she finds attractive.

“I know this is a lot to ask, especially right after a breakup, so I know that you might need some space,” he explained to her, “I’ve liked you for a really long time but I needed to shut my feelings down after you got with Therdeo.”

Meia couldn’t help giggling a little once she saw how nervous he was, “Of course I’ll go out with you. I can’t grieve forever!”

His smile was more radiant than the sun in front of her window in the morning. He told her he’d text her with plans and they could arrange stuff from there. Meia hadn’t felt so excited in a long time.