Like every Thursday evening, Chloe came out rejuvenated from her yoga class. She bade goodnight to her colleague and the usual promise to see her at work tomorrow.
As she walked towards her car in the parking lot, she was suddenly stuck with a jab of that familiar fragrance. The woody , spicy fragrance she could never forget. She rested her palm on the bonnet of the nearest car for support. The fragrance pierced through her heart. The smell and the associated memories always left her in need of support. For those few moments, wherever she was, the smell blocked her from the world and invoked the familiar dark , cold pain in her chest. She waited for it to pass. Although she was used to it, it always stunned her. She took a few deep breaths trying to gather herself. She could still smell the perfume. Gosh, how popular had this one become.
As she slowly started walking towards her car, she stopped suddenly. It was something about the car she was resting against. She couldn't point out what.She turned to face the car looking for something. Her body still but her eyes frantically scanning the car. Then she saw the matchbox on the dashboard. She inched closer to confirm. Her car keys slipped out of her hand and dropped on the floor with a light jangle. She was sweating and shivering. Thousands of thoughts ran through her mind. It was his car, she knew that much. The perfume that had stuck her was not anyone's but his. The matchbox was his.She recognized it. He always used that matchbox to light his cigarettes and left the half-lit match on top of it. Oh yes, she knew it, she knew him. What she didn't know was what was he doing there, in her city, in the same Mall. The sight left her dazed.
They last met one and a half years ago in Bratislava, where they shared the hotel room for a week. It was a well thought separation. Although, he didn't agree with parting, he knew Chloe was right. They shared between them love , respect, joy and all that two hearts can possibly share. But that was all. Their lives had nothing in common. He dreamt of being a business tycoon one day, his aspirations treading into the unlawful areas. She was sure he would someday charm his way into the heart of the social and business circuit. She was a simple girl with simple aspirations. In the two years that they spent together, she knew all along this was not meant to be but she never got around peeling herself away from him and his life. It was way too painful. She didn't wait for him to kiss her goodbye. She knew she couldn't do it. In the middle of the night, she dressed and slipped out of the room. She flew home, left a note for her flatmate with no details and a lot of money for the rent, and caught the first flight to Paris.
That was it. They never saw or heard from each other again. Standing in the Mall in front of his car, she drew a deep breath and concluded that he still didn't know where she was. They both were in Paris. And in the same Mall, with his car parked 10 meters from hers. All this was only a coincidence.
She walked with heavy steps to her car. Got in, started the engine and took the exit. She knew she wouldn't get any sleep that night. She hunted out the matchbox from her bag, lit her cigarette and left the matchbox on the dashboard. And smiled to herself.
(This post is my entry for the weekly photo prompt writing for The Magpie Tales .)
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