***
(One of my favorite poems)
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day's
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
~Elizabeth Barrett Browning
***
Evie had trouble choosing what to eat that morning.
You would be too if in front of you was a long buffet table with varieties of cuisine plated in vintage victorian silverware. The long rectangular table was clothed with a patterned carmine linen. Beside each main course of every cuisine was a candelabra with spermacati candles that illuminated the dishes with a golden glow. Booze in the shade of chartreuse were served in golden chalices that reflected the lit candles.
The most peculiar part were the legs of the table that were covered with modest little trousers with frills at the bottom of them—some people during the Victorian era believed that the coverings were there to maintain the 'utmost purity of the young ladies.'
Even the servers were dressed as maids and butlers. Several round tables were scattered all over the whole place and a large chandelier hung on the gilded ceiling with carved embellishments. Everything seemed to be planned intricately and it made the whole dining place a legit Victorian ballroom.
Evie was already impressed with the whole place when she first stepped foot yesternight for dinner but everything was still so surreal. She even felt underdressed seeing the other guests in their gowns and corsets while there she was, in her white halter dress.
Although she wanted to admire the whole place, her stomach was already bellowing for food. Taking advantage of the unlimited food, Evie chose some sausages, belgian waffle with maple honey, a traditional english egg waffle and a big serving of mashed potato garnished with stuff she did not even know how to name.
After procuring all the food she wanted to eat, she sashayed towards an empty round table near the leftmost corner of the dining room.
"Yum." Evie said while indulging the delicious food on her plate.
That same morning, she found a flash-drive on her doorstep with a note that said 'from: cookie thief'. She immediately knew who it was from. Evie scanned the pictures for a couple of minutes and proceeded downstairs.
She was about to take another bite of her belgian waffle when her phone suddenly rang.
'Crap.' She forgot to silent it.
A loud 90's song which was her ringtone played loudly coaxing the couple that was seated on the neighboring table to look at her with vivid judgment as if it was a crime to leave her phone not on silent.
She looked at them apologetically while grabbing her phone. Without having to look at who it was, she answered the call with a haste.
The couple stopped looking at her and returned to their food.
Evie was quite surprise when a jolly voice welcomed her ears. "OMG-Eve-you-have-to-come-with-me-later-" She looked at the name of the caller but it was an unregistered number. The caller was too fast for Evie to keep track on what the other person was saying..
"Wait, slow down. I don't understand a single thing of what you're saying." Evie whispered to phone, careful not to make too much noise.
The caller ceased talking and breathed in a lungful of air. "It's me, Morgan!" The caller said with an exasperated sigh.
"Oh. Morgan, how did you get my number?" Evie did not recall exchanging numbers with Morgan.
"Do you really have to wonder? Of course I asked it from Jim who asked it from Eve who got it from Dexter who saw it in your application form." Morgan said without breathing in between the words. Evie had to reminder her to breathe.
"Ohhh-kay. Why did you call? Did something happen at the pub-house?" Evie asked, her voice laced with worry.
"What? No. Nothing happened at the pub-house." Evie gave off a sigh. "I wanted to ask you later. We can go to the 'bestro in town'." Morgan said, she was almost squeaking.
Evie remembered that it was Sunday. Meaning, the mysterious guy was gonna perform that night. She cannot afford to miss it. So she said, "Yes, I'll be there."
"Say around 6:30?" Morgan said on the other line.
"Okay. Bye." Evie said and ended the call after Morgan said bye.
She felt a tinge of excitement at the bottom of her stomach. Now she cannot wait to go back to New York and hear the mysterious guy sing again.
She indulged her semi-hot waffle and occasionally drank her lemon juice whilst keeping her poise. People can be real judgmental around fancy places. So far, she was successful in not pigging out and acting like a well-mannered lady.
She was halfway her meal when somebody uninvitedly sat on the empty chairs on her table.
She immediately looked up, a spoon still in her mouth. She probably looked stupid. Poise and grace, all gone.
"Do you really eat that much?"
Of course, who else would it be?
"You again. Don't you ever get tired at stalking me?" Evie uttered to the smiling Ethan, her gaze filled with animosity. Evie's brows furrowed as realized that he was always in a good mood whenever she sees him and she on the other hand was always in a sour mood. His smiles rarely faltered. And those playful eyes were always filled with something that annoyed her big time.
"Yes it's me again. Don't you ever get tired at assuming things? Melissa wanted to sit with you." He said while setting down his plate on the table. It was true. Melissa was on his side. She smiled at her and did something with her phone. She was typing something. Too busy to take a second look.
By the time she took another glance at Ethan, he was already holding his utensils and started eating.
She knew that if she was gonna insist her opinion, she'd never finish her sumptuous breakfast because Ethan was naturally annoying. With a heavy heart, she resumed eating. The waffles were too delicious to let go for the brute. Food over everything!
Ethan dropped his utensils on the plate. It created a small sound that made her look at him.
'What is it this time?' She groaned inwardly.
"How were the pics? Did you like it?" He asked while his right elbow was on the surface of the table and his right hand was in a fist, supporting his head. His body twisted to her direction. He was fully facing Evie. Melissa that was on his right was too busy to notice what was happening.
He smiled.
'There's that smile again.' Evie thought while mentally rolling her eyes.
To make him shut up, she chose to reply. "It was err... okay." Lie. A big lie. The pictures were good. Great even. When she scanned the pictures that morning, she was shook to the core. Her angle was perfectly taken as if Ethan studied her for a while and intentionally chose her nicest side. The sunlight highlighted her chestnut brown hair even more as if it was glowing. Even though her shots were candid, it seemed as if everything was staged because everything blended perfectly. But she was not gonna compliment Ethan. Complimenting him was like indirectly feeding his egoistic self.
"Okay as in?" Ethan hopefully said.
"Okay as in it was... mediocre." Evie said nonchalantly while scooping a spoonful of mashed potato. 'That should break his heart.'
But instead...
"Ouch. That is such a big blow for someone who studied photography for many years." Ethan said, feigning hurt but he was clearly jesting. His egoistic self was too hard to hurt with mere insults.
"Well, you asked me for opinion. That's my opinion." Evie said.
Ethan shifted on his seat. "Even if it's mediocre, you still owe me a payment. How about we go for a nice cup of coffee?"
"Hmm..." Evie acted like she was in deep thinking. She looked at Melissa who was already eating her pancakes. "Melissa, do you want to have coffee?"
Melissa nodded her head. "Yeah sure as long as it's free."
"Well there you go!" Evie made a motion with her hands as if she just solved a huge crime. "Ethan will treat you to coffee. Enjoy!" She said while standing up. She was almost finished with her food. Although she wanted to finish the last piece of waffle, the betrayed look on Ethan's face was more satisfying to watch.
'Food is everything huh?'
She grinned at him while Melissa was already chattering some cafe's name.
'Serve you right.' Evie thought, her grin was unwavering.
She returned to her room and started packing her things because they were going to leave in twenty minutes.
Ethan's betrayed look passed in Evie's mind while she was shoving her undergarments inside her bag.
She shrugged the thought.
No matter how tempted Evie was to saying yes to Ethan's offer, she stopped herself. Despite the growing attraction she felt towards the man, she wasn't numb and stupid. She knew Ethan was dangerous. His effect on her proved it countless of times. She cannot afford to go through falling in love. Her career was her top priority that moment. She cannot let another male species ruin her dreams for the second time.
Not again.
***
The moment they arrived in her Uncle's house in New York, Evie decided to arrange her things inside her room.
She neatly folded her shirts and hung her dresses and corporate attire on a huge wardrobe. She also arranged her toiletries on the bathroom sink and cleared a desk to make it her working table.
After making the whole room more Evie-like, she took a quick nap and got ready for the night outing.
She quickly blow-dried her long hair and brushed the tangled ringlets of hair. Her hair was naturally wavy and voluminous that made her face smaller. She chose to wear a red straight cut dress that rested shortly above her knees. She finished it with a silver necklace and nude open toe sandals. She also grabbed her jacket because it was definitely cold outside.
She took a one last look in the mirror and went to the bistro.
By the time she arrived at the bistro, the surrounding was already dark. The moon was in a crescent form. Silver clouds drifted across the sky. She entered the place and found an empty two seater table.
She sat there, patiently waited for Morgan to arrive.
It was still fifteen minutes early from their agreed time. She busied herself with an ice-cold bottle of beer.
It was exactly 6:30 when the first singer went up the dais. He was a big man with muscles and all. He had a grim face on like those gangsters who would grind anyone into a pulp. His beard made his lips smaller and a single gold loop was dangling on his left ear.
Everyone thought he was gonna sing something rock but to everyone's surprise, Desmond—he introduced himself before singing—sang an opera piece. Everybody was silent for five seconds but after the silence were screams of laughter and awe.
Everyone was entertained. It was uncanny to see someone with a big built and angsty vibe to have a controlled and technical voice.
When Desmond hit his last line, everybody broke into cheers and claps. Even Evie stood and clapped her heart out. Desmond went down the dais with a proud look on his face; clearly enjoying the amount of attention and appreciation he was getting.
The next singer was a tall girl with blonde hair. She looked a bit like Taylor Swift. Some of the boys tried their luck by shouting some things but the girl just smiled.
The clock struck 7 but there was still no Morgan. Evie grew a bit worried that Morgan might had ditched her but she waited some more, partly because she was waiting for someone to get up on stage and sing.
It was when the third singer serenaded everyone that Morgan arrived. She looked... stressed like she ran two miles.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so so so sorry Eve." She said while taking a seat. A waiter immediately took their order.
"What happened to you?" Evie asked. She was curious to know because from her first impression of Morgan, she wasn't the type of girl to leave her house without looking perfect and put together.
But that night, Morgan was the opposite of put together. Her hair was in disarray. Her pink lipstick was smudged a bit and her dress was rumpled.
"My baby didn't want me to leave. He kept on pouncing on me and he never let go of me." Morgan said with a tired look.
"I didn't know you have a boyfriend." Evie said.
"What? No." Morgan shook her head. "I don't have a boyfriend."
"Oh so perhaps you already have a kid?" Evie was a bit shocked. She never saw Morgan as someone who already had a kid. She seemed too... outgoing and childish.
"Of course not! I don't see myself having kids. I was referring to my pet cat but he doesn't like to be called as pet cat." Morgan said while rolling her eyes.
Evie nodded her head. Now it made more sense.
For the next hour, Morgan talked nonstop about her 'baby' and how clingy it was. Evie did not complain because she was also a pet lover. She had a hamster once. Mrs. Clary. She died due to heat stroke. It was a sad summer.
Her beer was already cold in her hands. Morgan was actually very funny and her loudness complemented Evie's timidness.
They were down to their last bottle when Morgan said she was going to leave in a few minutes because her baby was probably murdering her favorite pillow at home.
Evie sat uncomfortably on her chair. She highly anticipated the presence of the mysterious guy but it was already 10 in the evening and he hadn't showed up yet.
'Maybe he had a family emergency?'
'He could be sick.'
'Or he's out of town.'
Possibilities raced in Evie's mind the entire time.
She was feeling hopeless and it was not helping that Morgan was already anxious to go home.
When the clock struck 10:30, Evie decided to stand. Morgan was about to follow her when Evie froze. She spotted the same familiar figure that was walking towards the dais. He was holding his guitar with utmost care. His face was still covered with his cap and he wore a dark blue hoodie this time.
He strummed the strings and as if on cue, Evie sat back on her chair. Morgan did too.
The same melodious and cold voice enveloped the four corners of the bistro. The once boisterous crowd grew silent as if an angel stood in front of them.
He sang an unfamiliar song this time but Evie felt like she understood every single lyric that came out of his mouth. She felt as if the song was already sang to her a dozen of times even if it was totally foreign to her ears. She knew everyone felt the same way as her by looking at everyone's face.
As he strummed the last chord, a silver thing glinted on his arm but Evie couldn't clearly see it because she was too far and the lights were blinding.
Just like before, he finished his song and walked away as if he didn't enchant everyone with his voice.
The claps broke Evie from the trance and followed the guy through the milling crowds of people entering and leaving the bistro.
She squished herself through strangers and apologized every time she stepped on a foot. She saw the tip of his hoodie near the door but the crowd was overwhelming her petite figure.
She took a lungful of air the moment she stepped outside the bistro. Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead despite the chilly air outside.
Evie looked at her right and left but the guy was not there anymore. She even tried crossing the street, hoping he was on the other side but to her unfortunate luck, he was already nowhere to be found.
Evie sighed.
She was confused. She didn't know why she was so interested in finding out who the mysterious guy was.
All she knew was that there was something in his voice which seemed familiar.
Like she had heard him before.
And she had to find out who was the person under that black cap and hoodie no matter how many foot she was gonna step on.
She was about to cross the street again to go inside the bistro and fetch her things when the sole of her right sandal stepped on something hard. Like a metal or something.
She moved her right foot and to her surprise, she saw a silver cuff bracelet.
She cannot be mistaken.
It was the same bracelet that the guy was wearing.
She picked the silver cuff and patted off the dirt.
Evie examined the bracelet. The outer was plain and bare and in the inner part, if you really know how to look, something was engraved on it.
She looked at it closely.
There was a single word etched on it's silver surface. She silently read it.
horizon