Chapter 25-Sherry’s POV ( Sarah, my therapist)
I couldn’t believe I was lying next to Bellow, and yet all I could think about was Ryan and Rose. What were they doing there? Were they laughing? Talking about things they have in common? Sharing intimate moments? The thought of it was driving me insane.
Which in itself was insane. Why could I not sleep after my bone breaking labor all day?
I was supposed to have fainted out of exhaustion, yet I was lying in my bed, with eyes as wide as the owl outside, hooting its heart away.
I tried to shut my mind off, to focus on Bellow’s soft breathing, to imagine us doing something fun together tomorrow. Imaginary scenarios to help me doze off.
But my thoughts kept coming back to Ryan. He never treated me like a human, yet I was only thinking of him.
“Am I not interesting enough? Not pretty enough? Not funny enough?”
Absurd trails if thoughts were playing soccer in my mind.
And then there was the sadness. The sadness of feeling left out, of feeling like I was no longer a part of anything. The sadness of feeling like I was losing something special to someone else.
Sadness?
Like seriously?
What was there to be sad about a mafia being with a stripper?
Logic that left my mind and hopped out of the window in the middle of the night.
I badly wished I could talk to someone about it, but who would understand? Bellow was too young, and I didn’t want to burden him with my problems.
Besides he was snoring away to glory after his day full of errands.
I got out of bed and decided to stop pretending to sleep anymore.
I walked out of the room, into the open and let the cool breeze caress my cheeks.
I pulled out my phone. Checked the time. It was half past one in the night. A highly inappropriate time to call somebody if it was not an emergency.
But it was an emergency for me.
I could not help myself from calling Sarah. My favorite girl, my North Star.
“Hey, Sarah,” I said when she answered the phone. “I’m sorry to bother you so late, but I really needed someone to talk to.”
“No problem, Sherry,” Sarah replied kindly. Her voice was still drowsy because she was obviously sleeping. “What’s going on?”
I took a deep breath and launched into my story. I explained how I was feeling frustrated and confused, not knowing what to do or how to fix things.
But I effectively ignored the part where it involved Ryan or his stripper.
Sarah listened patiently, asking questions when she needed clarification and offering words of encouragement when I needed them. Finally, she suggested that I come over to her place so we could talk face to face.
“Are you sure?” I asked hesitantly. “It’s pretty late.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Sarah reassured me. “I’m up anyway, and I wanted to meet you . Just come over at the corner where they sell tea all night. We will get ourselves a cup each and sit and talk when you’re ready. Or we will just sit and chat. No pressure hun! ”
Feeling grateful for her support, I got dressed and started walking over to Sarah’s place. When I arrived, she welcomed me with a warm hug and led me to her shabby room.This content belongs to Nô/velDra/ma.Org .
” Tell me how you have been. I heard about your father. Must have been a relief to strike that out off your to do list. ”
We sat down together, and I continued to pour out my heart to her, sharing some of my fears and frustrations.
Sarah listened attentively.
” Sherry, let’s get our teacups first. We can do the rest of the talking after that. ”
She pulled her door behind us which was almost on the brink of crumbling.
Sarah grabbed my arm tight as we started walking just like she did all the time.
She did not ask me anything which was a relief because even though I wanted to share my worries, I didn’t really want to confess or talk about it.
Sarah knew exactly what I wanted or what I needed like always.
She paid for the tea at the roadside stall as we continued our night stroll.
There were hardly any cars zooming by and there were no pedestrians except us.
The cricket chirping in the background, the stray dog barking to save its territory were all compositions being played in the nocturnal orchestra.
The fire in my soul was slowly cooling.
The therapy had commenced.
As I walked down the deserted road with Sarah by my side, I felt a sense of comfort in her presence. We caught up on each other’s lives, talking about nothing and everything at the same time.
It was working.
It was effectively taking my mind off Ryan and his stripper.
“So, how’s your mafia been treating you lately?” Sarah asked me, leaning towards me, taking a sip of my hot tea to warm up her body.
“It’s been busy as expected, but nothing I can’t handle,” I replied with a smile.
“I hear you. It’s been the same for me too. I feel like I’m constantly running on autopilot,” Sarah said, chuckling.
We continue to walk and chat, enjoying the peacefulness of the night. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew, causing us to shiver.
“I’m glad we brought our tea with us. It’s keeping me warm,” Sarah said , hugging her cup.
“Yeah, me too. I can’t imagine how cold it would be without it,” I replied, taking another sip of my tea.
As we reach the end of the road, we stop and admire the view. The stars twinkle above us, and the moon illuminates our path.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Sarah said, gazing up at the sky.
“It really is. Sometimes, we get so caught up in our daily lives that we forget to appreciate the little things,” I replied, feeling grateful for the moment.