Reggie rockwitz
I heaved a heavy sigh as I heard two voices in the distance but couldn't see anything; then, as light swept across my eyes, I realized I was laying on the ground. I saw Joyce and Jinx conversing; are they having a disagreement? in the space just in front of me? When he realized I was watching them, he quickly shut the door.
are they planning something fishy ? to kidnap or murder me by selling my body parts? am I overthinking it or should I be genuinely concerned?
After getting up, I recalled I had ordered some food and contacted Joyce by approaching the door and knocking twice.
"oh, you woke up? you are a lousy bear I tried to wake you but you were sleeping like a coma patient."
so, after the heartwarming bath, I just felt unconscious and slept on the floor.
"I'm sorry I was exhausted from the physically tiresome work I did after many years, that was to clean the big Davis".
"hmm. You can use the dishes to have your food in the kitchen."
"yeah, thanks for the hospitality but did you have dinner?"
"Don't be so much concerned about me, I am very much full, call me if you need something".
Now that they're treating me like a close family member, they don't seem to be married; Jinx looked a little older than I did, and Joyce was probably around 19 years old. However, there's no way to be sure.
anyways I rushed to the small tiny elegant kitchen and munched on the Margaretta alone.
In room 1, the lights were turned out, and I could see a massive figure resting on his stomach. Joyce was still awake and started folding and piling clothes
I move towards her and grabbed a hoodie lying and began folding it, she observed me and gave a laugh,
"you shouldn't have folded this one, I was about to dry clean it."
awkward moment.
"I wanted to help". I said
"oh, so you can fold these here they are jinx clothes, which smelled pretty bad."
"oh god.. it smells worse than mine." I grinned
"I saw there are still 3 cans of beer left, let's share the moment".
"you're quite dramatic". she said
"but every drama needs a queen," I said
what the hell was that ? that flirt was so smoothly executed. Maybe I'm something of William Wordsworth myself.
she laughed so hard covering her eyes and her body was shivering I could see it.
I spotted an opening and took full use of it.
"let's go to the terrace and chill for some minutes, I don't think you will get to sleep easily," I said.
that was a corny line.. again
she got up, and I followed her and picked up some drinks, she said to get the lighter from the fridge top. so she smokes too
"done," I said
As I went outside the door, a brisk breeze surged through me, and the temperature was approximately 18 °c when I checked my phone. The terrace was neither poor nor nice, although it did provide a quadratic elevation for the water tank.
" that seems a perfect spot I said".
she followed after me and climbed the elevation, I gave out my hand and for the first time in my life, I touched a female species.
"i don't like any personal talks, I prefer everyone should keep their life private, don't you think?'"
" quite a good analogy"
"since when did start living here"? only answer if you don't consider it a personal question."
"quite a long time I could say"
she's smart in conversations she speaks without even giving the slightest bit of additional info
" that's great".
I smiled at her
she saw me and started chuckling into my eyes.
female species are damn gorgeously made, her smooth and pale skin shining in the night light, her glasses covering half of her face, her small lips closing in one line, and a touch of pink shading on her cheeks. Joyce is a kawaii version of Jennifer Connely of the 90s.
she was too adorable and I noticed it too late, and I was flat on her. yet I have to regain my manly discipline and act tough to attract her too.
"let's cheer what are we waiting for". I excitedly said.
then we got drunk from a single can, you can have the other one I said and offered it to her.
she drank both cans and started lighting a cigarette,
I thought maybe she wasn't meant for me, I don't like girls who do these things honestly they should act more feminine.
so we talked about movies, and computers and kept discussing random topics as they came creating a chain of conversation. we gossiped about celebrities who don't give a fuck about our existence and while I was drunk I told her about my past.
not about the recent but when I was 16 and I started reading books of literature and fiction, books are my first love and I told her about Murakami's book "Norwegian wood" which was the first book I read that shattered my mental stability and traumatized my soul so deep that reading it at that age was the biggest blunder I made in life.
she got very excited and when the topic of books popped up, she said: "wow, you were reading so many books at that age which must have boosted your wisdom tenfold."
"but I even have half the percentage of wisdom you possess". I said again complimenting her.
"I will be a year back than you if I started reading from now on".
"wait are you 17?"
"yeah, she said smiling".
she was still a minor, I just hate my hormones which were smoking some poetic shit before.
"tell me about the book Norwegian wood I just got curious about how it destroyed you emotionally."
"you are the first person who asked me about my favorite book, forgive me in advance if it hurts you, so here it goes-"
I told her from the very start, cause I have it memorized right from the prologue. when I told her about the first arc of kizuki, her eyes already became watery. her face went blank and her nose became red.
"Are you ok, Joyce, do you want me to continue"?
"she insisted I keep on telling further and not stop,"
I again started narrating the story, then the 1st Naoko arc came, then the sanatorium arc, the dormitory, letters, and stormtrooper arc was the only relieved arc but it also gave the same amount of pain later came, Hatsumi, Nagasawa, Reiko, Midori.
when I finally completed narrating the whole book, she was numb, she didn't ask me to explain the end which was left in delusion. I felt so guilty to tell her about it. each character had their own story revolving around Watanabe which was so beautifully written and executed by genius Murakami, Norwegian wood was the book of the century.
the wound inflicted 8 years ago opened up as it was partially stitched. I looked at Joyce, the tear in her right eye was on the verge of falling but didn't feel I was looking at her, her eyes seemed to look at me but they were lost in nothingness. I took my hand forward and rubbed her right eye wiping the tear, her nose became red. the focus of her eyes came on me and I just thought of kissing her then and there. her soft moisture-filled lips were partially opened which was irresistible.
but again the awkwardness kicked in, and as I did touch her to wipe her tears, I already completely emptied myself by narrating the novel. I got up from the spot and got down to her apartment, I just laid two bedsheets one over the other and slept on it, a warm, very deep sleep came to carry me away.