Hiroshi came back to his apartment with a jar of instant coffee, two packets of cigarettes and a lighter. He opened the glass window to its full extent, put some water on the boil and lit up a cigarette. It was past dusk, an unearthly blue light hung over the river nearby. He smoked slowly as if to rhyme with the slow waves of the river. The kettle made a hiss before he could finish his cigarette, the water was boiling already.
The sky outside was melting blue with a red hue near the horizon. The river was calm. He looked at his watch, it was 6.30 pm. He made himself some coffee before lighting up another cigarette. Halfway through his second cigarette, there was a knock on the door. Who would come at such an odd hour? He opened the door not without some annoyance. To his surprise, it was Mari! She looked quite different, she had gotten thinner, she had dyed her hair purple, and she had new ear piercings. But one thing remained unchanged, she looked just as beautiful as she always.
‘I didn’t know you smoked.’ She said raising her eyebrows.
‘You didn’t know much about me.’
‘I am glad to see you Hiroshi, it’s been a while, no?’
‘Yeah, a while…5 months and 13 days to be accurate.’
Mari fell silent for a moment. Then she said softly,
‘You are still angry with me?’
‘I guess I don’t have that power.’
‘Does that mean I can come in?’ She chuckled.
‘Sure’, he mumbled and let her in.
Mari hugged him and planted a soft kiss on his cheek. She was so close! Hiroshi could smell her perfume…something citrus, something to do with fresh limes, something to do with a forgotten forest.
Hiroshi had a lot to say to Mari but like always, the right words stayed just out of his reach. Elvis’s voice came out floating through the open window ‘… wise men say…only fools rush away…’ So they talked about Elvis and his songs. They talked about the crazy kid next door being hellbent on making sure his neighbours listen to Elvis. They talked about old friends and old times. They talked about the weather, about how unusually warm it was for a November evening. Finally, Mari said why she wanted to see Hiroshi after all. She found someone, someone else. She was leaving this city, with him. She came here to say goodbye, a proper one. Yes...goodbye.
Mari left behind a trail of her fresh lime perfume. Like a drowning man, as if his life depended upon it, Hiroshi tried to inhale the fragrance as deep as his lungs would allow. But the scent was too subtle, too elusive, too rapidly vanishing away in the air. He looked at his watch. It was past 8 pm. He looked outside. The outline of the river was still visible but hazier, the sky was darker, and a few shy stars were scattered around the clouds. He sighed, it was going to be another long night.
