Wounded Odyssey
or
How to recover from breakups
The unexamined cup is not worth drinking. – Kristopher G. Phillips, Coffee -Philosophy for everyone
Chapter I
Nothing mattered. How could it matter anymore? She was nothing without Ace. Kelly had pondered, biting the nails, fidgeting unnecessarily, and getting adrenalized at expectation of her cellphone could vibrate at any time. She hadn’t missed a call in a long time. And it wasn’t him. It was her. It was her resolution to stay away from him. She could handle insomnia but how could her dreams turning into nightmares. In her disturbed sleep, she had heard the prophecy numerous time, in a headless voice that she is going to die. The way words came to haunt her in the broad daylight she felt that nightmare was forcing her to commit suicide. She had become so paranoid that she thrashed her friends who came to meet her.
“Why do you think I need your help? You sicko, who hadn’t done a thing worth remembering in your life, need help, not I?” She said to Carmine, when she asked about the help. Her entire body shook in anger. Carmine came forward from her groups of friends and hugged her. She pushed her at first and resisted her hug.
“Help? I know you are taking pity on me. I don’t want that.”
“No we love you.” Carmine hugged her.
She sobbed and couldn’t hold back her tears. She was inconsolable that night. The liquor, which should have calmed her down, on the contrary, made her angrier. She did two things that night: she drank and she yelled at things: real and imaginary.
It was headache which woke her up next day. She walked into the living room. Carmine sat on the couch in the living room, poring over the comic book that Ace had bought for her. She had told him multiple times that she didn’t like books masquerading as movies and for the life of her, she can’t take superheroes problems and mental angst seriously. But her arrival didn’t break Carmine concentration. Seeing Carmine flipping the glossy pages of the comic book, a little envy took over her, sending that there must be something in the books, heck they would be at least interesting, if a person like Carmine was reading words written in and out of word balloons. She coughed to mark her arrival.
“Hey babe, you up. Freshen up. We need to go somewhere.” Holding the book in her left hand, she felt backward on the couch and kept the comic book over her breasts.
“Where?” She leaned against the kitchen counter.
“Where you should be?”
“And where that would be?”
“You just get ready.”
“Don’t you have work to do in the lab?” She reminded her the curse of graduate students.
“I only have couple of hours of work. Plus, it’s Saturday.”
Carmine shooed her away and picked up the comic, returned to her sitting posture and continued from where she had left.
Carmine drove her through the busiest road, bustling with people, in their shorts, with their kids in strollers, heading for the community park. As she lowered the window, the fresh breeze hit her warm face and she got goosebumps all over her body. Happiness jolted through her body for no specific reason. It made her to think in order to be happy she should get up early. The college students with black goggles and messy hairs leisurely crossed the pedestrian sign. People walked alone lost in thoughts or conversations, kids run around the tiny stone animals in the park, and dog dug in the dirt, next to the sidewalk. Carmine pulled up in a parking spot, undid the belt, and looked at her.
“Come out you princess.”
Carmine stood out with her hand on her hips, with key chain jangling in one of her fingers.
She tried to rake her mind when was the last time she had heard someone telling her a princess. She looked at Carmine, smiled and stepped out of the car. She wanted to say thank you but stopped sort to express her feelings for the fear that it might make her feel more vulnerable.
Carmine pressed the key in her hand and the alarm in the car beeped. Carmine took couple of steps, stretched her hands to pull the doors of a coffee shop.
“Why the coffee shop?” She asked her as she followed Carmine inside.
The smell of coffee grounds and artificial flavors hit their noses. The barista raised her head from the counter for a moment to acknowledge their presence. Otherwise silence pervaded in the coffee shop. Everyone was occupied. People sat there unmoved, almost in meditation. Some poured over newspapers with their specks right at tip of their noses while others scribbled on A4 size papers. Some sat facing the black wall with headphones on their heads like DJs while others looked up, with their hearing ads on the table in front them. Some had their pens on ears while others scratched back of their heads with the tip of their pens. Everyone behaved disciplined, like kids in kindergarten.
Carmine pulled a chair and asked her to sit in the seat marked, ‘New customers only.’ She pulled out another chair and sat in front of her.
“I read somewhere that caffeine increases your pain threshold.” Carmine reasoned.
“Look at these red patches.” She showed her arm to Carmine. Carmine carefully examined her arm and gave her a puzzled look.
“Allergy?”
“I don’t know.” She was unsure whether it was because of caffeine. She was also not very sure how to read Carmine behavior. She looked at Carmine: she had not behaved like this before. Why was she concerned about her suddenly? She took her eyes off of Carmine’s penetrating gaze and breathed deep. Another thought kicked in her brain. Or Carmine was always like that but she hadn’t noticed that. Whatever was that, she couldn’t remain unimpressed by her concern.
“What’s so special about this coffee shop? We could have had coffee at home.” She tried to change her mental thought by asking the question.
“It’s not about caffeine only. It’s about from where you get the daily dose of caffeine.” Carmine whispered.
“Why did you bring me here?”
“I’m your friend. I just want to help. If you don’t like it here, we can always leave.”
“So you want me to get rid of my resolution. Don’t you?” She looked back at Carmine.
Carmine stared at her.
“Without even knowing what is my resolution.”
“I don’t want to know. That’s your decision.”
Her lips opened up in a smile and she asked, “Do all these people are…?” Before she could articulate the sentence, Carmine confirmed her doubts, “Yes. They are being helped.”
To be continued…