LOOKING back at her life, she wondered if it was merely cruelty on the universe's part that it did not give her a sign.
A sign that that was the night her life was going to change.
The night when everything she considered familiar and normal would turn into alien and wrong.
She had seen movies, and in them, if it was going to be a sad day the weather would be rainy and dismal and if it were to be a happy day it'd be sunny and the birds would chirp.
She noticed no such thing in real life.
But then, maybe she had received a sign...
***
The streets were unusually empty today- Saturday night.
Cristina was walking as fast as she could- almost running- in her heels; not because she was scared or lonely but because the night air was chilly and she had forgotten her jacket at home in a hurry to get to the night club.
She could feel goosebumps explode across her bare skin. She inwardly cursed herself.
She was wearing a silver, sleeveless, knee-length dress, that outlined her figure.
She shivered as she fidgeted with her phone in her hand- turning it over and over- as she walked.
She turned toward her right- she was almost reaching the club- and in the dark entrance to the club, she could see a silhouette.
Freddie she thought.
He was the guy who checked people's ID's to make sure that they were 18 and above.
He was a tall, fair and muscular guy.
Everyone called him Fred for short.
He was good looking, which made
Cristina wonder why he was working as a bouncer for a night club.
She felt curious enough to have even asked the bartender, but he had shrugged casually and said that Fred wanted to work as a bouncer for a night club.
This was the only job he had as if now.
Couldn't he get a better job? She thought to herself.
She walked towards the club, quickening her pace.
As she reached the back entrance, she saw him staring at her intently.
She fumbled for her ID in her tiny sling bag.
She finally found it after a few moments and held it out to Freddie.
She looked at him.
Freddie blinked at her as if he had just realised that she had been standing there.
He slowly stretched out his arm- muscles in his arm flexing as he did so- and reached out for her ID.
***
"How are you doing Tina?" Freddie asked, as he took her ID.
"I'm doing great. What 'bout you?" She asked, smiling.
He could see her shivering.
"I'm fine." He replied, trying not to sound nervous.
Cristina always came to the club on weekends. She looked stunning- as always.
Which, naturally, made people turn around and look at her.
She had a delicately shaped face which seemed to glow in the darkness. Her irises were an ocean blue with a slight tinge of green.
Now, in the dark, the black of her pupil seemed to almost swallow up the blue of her irises.
Her silver dress seemed to shimmer in the darkness.
Her curly black hair flew around her face, because of the wind.
She looked like a fairy.
"You look pretty tonight." He said.
"Thanks Fred." She smiled and replied, looking down at her dress.
Even in the dark- he noticed- she was visibly blushing.
"I'm freezing. I really think I should go in now." She said looking up at him.
"Yeah, sure." He said, opening the door to the club for her.
He smiled at her as she went in and let the door fall shut behind her.
***
Awkward she thought to herself, as she heard the door fall shut behind her.
This was the first time Fred complimented her. But she thought to herself I don't have the time to think about Fred- not tonight.
I want to enjoy myself.
She saw two of her friends walking towards her.
She weaved through the crowd of dancers to get to them.
The dancers parted and turned to look at her as she passed by.
She ignored their glances and walked towards her two besties- Caleb and Leah.
"Hey!" Tina said as they approached her.
"Hi! You look gorgeous, Tina" Leah, her childhood bestie said, almost yelling over the loud music.
"Thanks Leah. You look pretty too."
Leah did look pretty. She was wearing a black sleeveless dress that reached midway down her thighs, which made her fair skin look alot paler.
She had black straight hair that fell perfectly around her face. She had chocolate brown eyes.
"Thank you, Tina!" Leah said, smiling.
She loved being complimented.
"Lookin' cute- as always." Caleb said and grinned at her.
"Thanks Caleb." Tina said.
Caleb had been one of her closest friends. They met in freshman year in school.
He had dirty blonde hair, dark blue eyes and a bad boy smile.
Almost every girl swooned when he smiled.
"So, where have you been? Because you are pretty late today." Leah said, and looked at Tina through narrowed eyes.
"Uhh.." Tina wasn't sure about how she should respond.
She really didn't want to tell them that she came walking and that Fred spoke to her and even complimented her.
"Don't bug her, Leah. She's here now so let's just enjoy the weekend." Caleb said, first looking at Leah and then at Tina.
Tina was thankful that she didn't have to answer Leah's question.
Leah rolled her eyes. She was the drama queen.
Tina laughed.
"C'mon" Caleb said and literally dragged the two girls into the crowd of dancers.
And the three of them blissfully danced to the beat of the music, laughing and enjoying themselves.
***
The thing that Tina loved the most about this particualr night club was that there was a restaurant and bar connected to it.
The club was a separate unit.
So if she went into the restaurant or bar it was silent- unlike the club- because the club was sealed off with sound proof material.
The restaurant and bar were facing the sea.
After dancing for what seemed like forever, the three of them decided to take a break at the club.
They went through another door that led to the bar and restaurant.
The place was peaceful and almost empty, apart from the few couples that were sitting together either eating, drinking or just talking in hushed tones.
The air felt warmer than before.
Tina could still feel the music booming in her ears as she sat on one of the barstools- her feet aching with all the dancing- between Caleb and Leah, opposite the counter.
They ordered their drinks and waited.
Caleb excused himself and walked over to the restroom.
Leah was scrolling through her phone, smiling like a dork.
Along with being the drama queen, Leah loved dancing.
As Tina waited for her drink, she looked around observing the people and taking in her surroundings, without making it too obvious.
It was one of her favorite pastimes.
There weren't too many people.
She wondered who they were and what might be going on in their mind.
Tina looked at the far end of the restaurant as the bartender handed their drinks over to her and Leah.
The restaurant was not very brightly lit but in the far end she could see someone standing there.
She took a sip of her drink, still looking at the far end of the restaurant.
There was a guy there. He was looking down at his phone, totally oblivious to his surroundings.
But something about him- whoever he was- was achingly familiar.
She kept her eyes on him as she sipped her drink.
He looked up- probably feeling the weight of her gaze- and she saw his face.
***