Today was different.
After giving it much thought how she could lead a happier life, Felicia had decided to cook something exotic for dinner and enjoy a ‘girls’ night in’ with Cindy. She was looking forward to the evening but also dreading it.
More than ever, this appeared to be the right time to get to know herself. For it had become clear to her during the course of the past few days that she didn’t know who and what she was. And if she didn’t, how would she learn how to live and let live?
And this would be the perfect opportunity to stop herself from thinking of Joshua.
Yes, he fascinated her. Yes, she was attracted to him. But no, she didn’t want him to play such an important role in her life.
Knowing she was playing with fire was what terrified her and had held her back most of her life. The endless possibilities and their consequences, so vivid in her mind after watching and interacting with Joshua, had her frozen with angst. Maybe it was also what had alienated her parents from her, more than being scared she’d turn them into living torches.
Their flat was ablaze with lights in different colors, from candles to light bulbs that should have been reserved for Christmas or a garden party cum barbecue. Music was blaring out of the stereo in the living-room, a mix of Latin artists of the yesteryears and now, from Shakira and Ricky Martin to Carlos Santana and Trini Lopez, from Marc Anthony to Jennifer Lopez. She had bought a huge amount of tacos and prepared three dips of the spicy and less-spicy kind, as well as a Mexican dinner of steak fajitas with avocado, chicken enchiladas with tomato salsa, red rice with corn, and pineapple flan for dessert. They had eaten until Cindy swore she couldn’t move an inch anymore, of course chattering away despite the backdrop of exotic music. Felicia had been absorbed in her meal and the light and the songs, and simply jumped out of her chair and dragged her roommate to the improvised dance floor in the middle of the room.
Time was flying by, the girls dancing alone and with each other, shimmying their hips and shouting the occasional “olé” and refilling their glasses of water (Felicia) and tequila (Cindy) at regular intervals without stopping in their fiesta.
She hadn’t felt happier in years. Her roomie definitely looked like she was enjoying herself too, although by now she had thrown herself into the couch with arms and legs spread wide, declaring her fiesta would now turn into a nightly siesta and giggling about the remark for much too long.
Hard, insistent knocking on their door made itself known over the loud music, and had both of them freeze in mid-movement as well as mid-giggle.
Felicia nearly tripped over her feet while scrambling to reach the remote. After the press of a button, there was deafening silence in the room. The two stared at each other, wide-eyed and anxious.
“Did you invite some else to the party?” Cindy asked in a slurred voice.
Felicia shook her head vehemently.
“No. Do you think we were too loud?”
Was that a neighbor complaining about a sleepless night? The clock showed it was nearing eleven, and the absence of sound made them realize how high the volume had been.
Scolding herself for being nervous, she decided to check, although the knocking had stopped the moment she had cut off the music. She walked to the front door, stared through the mail slot without seeing anything or anyone, and opened the door with a careful smile plastered on her face that was surely glowing red from the dancing, conscious of her hair having its own life.
There was nobody to be seen, neither on the threshold nor anywhere in close proximity or at the two ends of the road.
With a frown, she checked again and wondered whether they had imagined the knocking. In the movement of closing the door, her eyes fell to the ground, and she froze.
On the brown doormat with its faded ‘Welcome’ lay a smallish, rectangular parcel with a note on top.
The nervousness was back with a vengeance. Once again, Felicia stared left and right, and timidly cleared her throat as though sound might miraculously conjure up a visitor from thin air. When there was still nobody in sight, she bent down and gingerly picked up the note with the tips of two fingers. She didn’t recognize the writing. It consisted of sharp, ramrod-straight, fine letters in black ink with a masculine tilt to them. The short message written down, however, made it crystal clear who had left her the parcel in the middle of the night and vanished into nothingness like a ghost.
I hope you continue to read the book. Not just because I say so, but because it makes sense to you. I also hope you’ll watch this movie, or re-watch it in case you already know it. Let me know what you have learned from it. I’ll be out of town for a couple of days. – Joshua
Her frown deepened. She kicked the door shut with a foot, hit the light switch with her elbow and walked to the living-room while trying to rip of the wrapping paper. The parcel revealed a DVD with an exciting cover and the title X-Men: First Class on it. She was so surprised that she stopped short in her tracks and turned to the DVD around to check whether it was indeed the famous Hollywood movie. She had half been expecting esoteric dribble full of advices like the book. This box-office hit surely couldn’t teach her anything, could it? She remembered having watched the first ever X-Men movie of the series when it had aired in 2000, and never caring enough to watch the various sequels.
Shaking her head, she re-read the note and stuffed it into her pocket before entering the living-room.
Cindy was sitting upright on the couch, looking more sober and still alarmed.
“Who was it?”
She shrugged and wondered what reaction the truth would spark.
“I couldn’t see anybody, but this parcel was left on the doormat.”
She walked over and briefly held the DVD in front of her roommate’s face before flopping down on the other couch, happy mood dissipated into thin air.
“Hey, that’s a cool movie! One of my boyfriends dragged me to it, must have been in 2011 or 2012 or so. It stars Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy, and they’re both so hot and talented. You do know X-Men, don’t you?”
Felicia nodded half-heartedly. She was only listening with one ear because her mind was focused on processing Joshua’s message—and trying to come to terms with how she felt about him being gone for some time.
Would she miss him?
Chapter 7
Playing with Fire (Book 1 of the FIRE Trilogy) Page 11
