I was waiting for Paula and her friend to get done. Usually at the end of each evening class, her friend joined her.
Liam joined us to take a nice walk around the compound before it was eventually too late and they had to leave school.
Unlike them, I stayed back because I lived in the school at the orphanage home. The school and the orphanage home were run by the same family. The family managed both the orphanage home and the nursery, primary and secondary schools. Rumors circulated that they were planning to construct a university in the near future. These educational institutions served as the primary source of funding for the orphanage home.
Liam was a tall young man, standing at 6 feet 5 inches. He shared Paula's light complexion but had a few inches on her in height, as Paula measured 5 feet 9 inches tall. Paula and Liam were the only genuine friends I had made throughout my life. I couldn't say the same for Liam, though, as our friendship was primarily because of Paula. It couldn't have existed if we didn't know Paula.
As they exited the classroom, Liam embraced Paula from behind and adjusted his stance by spreading his legs wider so he could walk better. Their slower pace indicated that they were moving more slowly than they would if they were walking separately.
"Hey," Liam said to me with a wave of his hands.
Paula gripped her school bag with one hand and held onto Liam's forearm with the other. I couldn't help but think it was a cute scene, but I made sure not to stare too long. Paula was always defensive about their friendship and would often exclaim, "We're just friends! Why do people have such twisted minds, thinking that every boy-girl relationship turns romantic and all that mushy stuff?" She would yell this at anyone who teased her about Liam, and then she'd avoid talking to them for months.
But we all knew she was lying to herself. Some certain stereotypes are almost always true. And she wasn't helping it with the way they showed affection toward each other.
What bothered me the most was what Liam thought of their friendship. Because all he did when asked about it was to laugh it off.
We walked to our customary spot with Paula and Liam holding hands throughout the journey.
This spot wasn't my hidden spot. It was different. It was at the edge of the corridor of the top floor of one classroom block. Few people ventured to that spot, perhaps due to the bats that occupied the small crevices in the ceiling. But that place was our refuge. We would go there whenever we wanted to skip classes and unwind.
"Don't finish the bottle," Paula cautioned Liam, who was in the process of downing a large bottle of alcoholic wine he had smuggled out of his wealthy home.
They had so many wine bottles that one missing bottle would never be noticed by his family.
"Leave some for Jess," Paula insisted, and Liam promptly handed the bottle over to me.
Liam had always been like this, trying his best not to upset Paula. It made me somewhat suspicious of him. I mean, in any friendship, there should be some disagreements, right?
However, he seemed to understand Paula well enough to steer clear of making her upset.
Liam was a year ahead of Paula and me in school, and he was three years older than her. They had known each other since they were very young. Paula was about five years old, and Liam was around eight when their families first met and eventually became close like family.
Paula settled herself in the space between Liam's legs as we discussed our plans for the future. She leaned backward until she was lying on her back on Liam's torso, and Liam, in turn, wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her close to him.
Their skin had a radiant glow under the fading evening sun, and that moment was like a perfect masterpiece, etched into my memory.
Spending time with them made me forget about all the flaws and worries that had been plaguing my mind, including my deep-seated fears about the future.
They were both strikingly beautiful, with their lips adorned by the same dual combination of light brown on the upper lip and light pink on the lower lip.
I couldn't help but soak in the sight, observing as Liam's broad and well-toned physique envelope Paula's soft and curvaceous form.
I always cherished the sensation of her soft, warm body against mine when she held me in a close embrace.
I assumed that was what It was going to be like embracing a giant teddy bear, and the feeling was simply wonderful.
As I looked at them they started to move farther away paused in the same position with Paula's right upper limb extended like she was about to ask me for something. Liam too was staring at me and they didn't blink till they were totally out of sight. I got sucked into a familiar but equally strange vast expanse of darkness that had no floor but I could stand and had no up or down and was just a limitless void. It was dark but somehow my vision could penetrate through the darkness.
When Paula and Liam disappeared from my sight, my heart sank, and tears welled up in my eyes, once again filled with pain and longing.