After Isaac closed up the café, the two strolled about town, opting not to take the bus. Mei lived by herself, so she had nobody waiting for her at home. The streets had light traffic and the cars were leisurely driving through. Some stores had closed up while others like bars and restaurants seemed to be livelier at night. The bookstore Mei frequented was still open, she thought of going inside to take a look, Isaac insisted but Mei felt too tired and decided they would leave it for another time. The two were side by side walking on the concrete pavement. Few lamp posts lit the path but the light from the signs and billboards was more than enough to bring life to the streets.
A couple was arguing across the street. Isaac and Mei instinctively stopped and watched the whole argument ensue. The man seemed annoyed as the woman kept badgering him with accusations. The words 'other woman,' and 'control freak' were thrown around. Isaac took out a bag of peanuts from his backpack and shared it with Mei. The two shared laughs as they watched what could be the end of a relationship but it resolved in a peaceful manner where the couple made up and walked away hand in hand. They were disappointed at what had happened but more so that there were no more peanuts. Isaac went to buy more and as he came back he saw Mei alone, under a spotlight with glistening night lights around her as she laughed and turned towards him.
They arrived at the residential area. It was late and the area could only afford a few lamp posts. Luckily, the bright moon gave off enough light so that dark areas were easier to go through. The neighborhood itself was ordinary. Family houses were there ranging from simple homes to all-out designs houses. Apartment complexes ranged from small 2 story ones to entire buildings reaching up to 20 floors. The streets were not the cleanest, regulatory signs regarding trash composting were around the area but are not followed. Mei kicked every glass bottle she came across into the trash bin. Isaac had spotted a worn-out broom and started sweeping the plastics and leaves in their way.
"Hey, wouldn't your family get angry that you're coming home so late? Does she even know you have a job? How have you gotten taller since last we met?" Mei kept asking question after question while skipping towards the next bottle to kick.
"Don't worry, they know. They were actually against it at first but I told them how much I needed to do this." Isaac stopped sweeping for a second, his eyes squinted as he looked down on the leaves flowing to his feet. "They all eventually agreed, as long as it didn't affect my studies." Isaac continued.
"Well, is it affecting your studies? Can't imagine Aaron would let his little brother out in the real world so easily. How is your brother these days?" Mei asked after slowing down to let Isaac lead. Isaac gripped the broom tighter but continued sweeping.
"It's been okay so far. Balancing it was a hell of a thing though. I mean have you seen our customers? For now, I'd take a panel of the meanest judges across the world over a certain journalist who likes to shout in cafés." They shared as many laughs as they did insults on their way home.
They were nearing Mei's house. It was a two-story house previously owned by her father during his college days. "Oh yeah, you got your place now huh? How did that happen?" Isaac asked as he placed the broom by a set of garbage cans.
"I asked my folks if it was okay that I lived alone. I felt torn when they made me choose to live with one of them." Mei stopped her gleeful walk and proceeded to do so normally while looking at the ground. She dug her hands into the pockets of her sundress. Isaac noticed how they were shaking and how she wished to hide them.
"My bad. I didn't mean to remind you of your parents. Must've been hard being in the middle of a nasty divorce like that." Isaac moved close to Mei as they both slowed their walk.
"It was. But I can't say I didn't see it coming. I tried my best to be a good girl for them and hope that, eventually, they might see me as enough of a reason to stay together." Mei sniffled, Isaac turned to look but Mei had her head down. If she was crying he was not sure of it.
"When I went to college they officially announced they were getting a divorce. So for years until my fourth year, I was switching over from Mom's place to Dad's just so I could salvage what family we had left." Mei stopped, Isaac only noticed a few steps ahead of that they were at Mei's place and also stopped. He turned around and looked at Mei with concern.
"So I asked them if I could live by myself. They said yes and I thought it would make things easier but it didn't. What family I had was gone by then and this house only made me lonelier than ever." Tears fell from her face onto the concrete floor. She was right under a lamp post which clearly showed where each tear fell. Isaac, who was also under a lamppost, did not speak.
"Then I realized you lived nearby. You always made me feel like I wasn't alone when we were in school so I thought maybe if we lived close to each other I wouldn't feel this way." Her voice was unsteady and filled with stutters.
"But then you started ignoring me, avoiding me even. I would have understood if you told me you had a job but you didn't Isaac. I missed my friend so much but I think I was the only one who remembered the fun times we had. The promises we made." She paused for a moment to steady herself. She looked up at Isaac with tears pouring from her eyes.
"I drowned myself in work. Trying to forget how I keep on driving people away." Mei took her hands out of her pockets. She had one arm on her side, trembling, and the other one dug into her chest to stop her constant stuttering.
"Then… then you come talking to me again. Serving me cheesecake like you used to. Acting as if you hadn't been avoiding me for months!" She raised her voice while looking up at Isaac who had a sad look on his face.
"I know it's selfish of me but–" before she could finish, Isaac had closed that distance between them. He went closer and embraced Mei. Shocked and not knowing what to do, Mei stood there frozen in Isaac's arms.
"A lot of things have happened in the past few months. I wanted to tell you but I couldn't bring myself to do it. And I still can't, not for now at least." Isaac had a pained expression on his face as his voice grew softer. Mei felt warmth, she wanted to smile and hug her friend back but she couldn't. Instead, she grew impatient and pushed him away. She ran into her house, past the large black metal gate that swung out violently but Isaac stopped it before it had hit the wall. Mei ran up some steps, unlocked the front door and slammed it behind her. Her heavy footsteps could be heard as she ran up more stairs, supposedly going up to her room while she continued to cry. Isaac stayed for a few more minutes, looking concerningly at the house. Seconds later the crying had stopped and he could see light from one of the windows upstairs.
"She never did like sleeping with the lights off." He gave one final look, clenched his fists, and squinted his eyes. The wind started to pick up, Isaac turned to walk away but did not go in the direction of his apartment. The window to Mei's room was wide open and the curtains were somewhat disturbed.