That bread and butter felt like heaven in my mouth.
It was nothing special. Just a store-bought loaf and a little salted butter. But after spending almost a full day surviving on a single burger and enough fear to ruin anyone's appetite, it felt like a five-star meal.
Aurora sat across from me at the small coffee table, watching me with a look somewhere between disbelief and judgment.
She said. "We are literally surrounded by death, and you're just... stuffing your mouth."
"Hey, that was mean," I protested, though my voice was muffled by a big bite. "I spent almost twenty-four hours surviving on a burger. We have to fuel the engine, Aurora. If we want to fight those things, we need calories."
I pointed at the bread in front of her. "You should eat, too."
She hesitated, then picked up a slice.
I watched her as she ate. Really watched her.
Her yellow top looked even brighter in the candlelight, and her auburn hair almost seemed to glow against the darkness around us. It was strange. Outside these walls, the world had become grey, dirty, and lifeless.
Yet somehow...
She still looked full of color. She was....beautiful.
Suddenly, her eyes snapped to mine. I startled, realizing I'd been staring.
To cover my tracks, I asked the first thing that came to mind. "So....what do you do?
She tilted her head.
I said, "I mean....before surviving apartment raids."
"I'm finishing my master's in Library Science," she said.
- "Library Science. Cool."
"No, boring actually," she sighed. "It was my dad's wish. What about you?"
"Me? Let's just say I surrender my knowledge, skill, energy, and time to make some rich people richer, while getting breadcrumbs in return."
She smiled, a small but genuine curve of her lips. "Your words are making my heart sob, you know."
"No need to trouble your heart, kind lady," I said, offering a small grin. "It's just what we do to live a life. Or what we did, anyway."
The smile slowly disappeared from both our faces. For a few seconds, neither of us spoke. The silence felt heavier than before.
I decided to change the subject before it became uncomfortable. "You said your parents are in Japan. What about boyfriend? Anyone out there looking for you?"
Aurora let out a quiet laugh. "If I had one, I wouldn't be here. He would have rescued me long before." She looked down at her half eaten bread. "I never had one."
I blinked. "Really?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Is it that surprising?"
"Well..." I scratched the back of my neck. "You're beautiful."
The words escaped before I had time to stop them.
Aurora froze for a second. "....Thank you."
She looked away, trying to hide her expression.
Then she sighed. "It's because of my religious family and their vows. No intimacy before marriage. And when my one of my friends declared that to everyone....no one even bother asking me out."
"Why?" I said. "I see no problem with that. Honestly, that would be a good thing to me."
She stared at me, her eyes narrowing. "You're mocking me, right? Why would anyone date me if he can't....you know....make love to me?"
"But he can....after the marriage," I said simply.
"That's a long time to wait," she sighed.
"So what? If he loves you, he can't wait? Intimacy isn't everything in a relationship." I took another bite.
"It is to most people. It's the most important thing." She replied.
I said, "It is important. It is considered among the best pleasures of human life. But that doesn't mean, it should be the center of everything. A man won't get sick just because he doesn't have any intimacy for some years. If he needs to satisfy his urges, no problem, he has his hands. What'll he do when his wife is sick for a month or so? Cheating on her back?"
She rested her chin on her hand. "Then tell me something, Mr. Blackwood."
- "I'm listening."
"If you were my boyfriend...." she said, meeting my eyes, "Wouldn't you want to....sleep with me?"
The question hung in the air.
I thought about it for a second before answering. "Of course. I'd want to. I'm a healthy man, not a robot."
- "Then why...."
- "But wanting something and doing it aren't the same thing."
The room fell quiet.
I continued. "If I can't control myself from those kinds of urges when my lover has a vow to keep, then what's the difference between me and a wild animal? Or even a zombie?"
She stared at me. "So you're saying you're some kind of saint?"
I smiled.
"Not even close." I leaned back. "I watch those types of videos. I have urges, needs. But I'm not some kind of animal that looks for opposite gender just for a moment of emotionless pleasure. I have my hands. I don't need to spit on my character for a few days of pleasure."
"And you think your future partner will be the same as you?" Her voice mixed a question, she was carrying for some years.
"I get what you're saying," I replied. "But I'm doing this for myself. So I won't have any guilt. One woman for me. I don't need a long list of ex lovers. My virginity belongs to the one lady who will be my wife."
Aurora looked away, her lip trembling slightly. "You know, my classmates mocked me. They called me a 'virgin' like it was a slur. I hated my parents for it. I felt like I couldn't enjoy my life."
"Having intimacy with a random guy who doesn't want to commit his rest of life to you shouldn't be called 'enjoying life'." I said softly. "When two people become a couple, they are supposed to be marry and remained as a couple till their last breath. They will carry responsibilities of eachother, not just the intimacy part. It's called life partner for a reason, not intimate partner."
She remained silent.
I continued. "Again, we aren't animals. We can think about what's right or wrong. We're intelligent. We can control our needs, our desires. I know it maybe hard but it'll shape your character in a better way."
I chuckled "You should know that, I haven't even punched my boss once in three years, and God knows I wanted to."
Aurora let out a tiny sob that turned into a giggle. She wiped her eyes with my handkerchief.
- "Aryan...."
- "Yeah?"
- "You're a strange person."
- "I've heard that before."
She looked at me with curiosity. "So....who's the lucky woman?"
"Well...." I sighed. "Having a job that heavily drained my energy and time, I didn't get any chance to make anyone lucky in that way."
"What!" She exclaimed. "That would be a total loss. How about college sweethearts?"
"None." I smiled. "I was a book nerd and that would make anyone invisible in college."
"Do you regret that?" She asked softly.
"Not really...." I replied, looking at her in the candle light. "I don't think, I regret anything."
One hour passed.
I didn't know, why I bought the candles but it's a blessing.
I said, "We should sleep now Aurora."
She looked at me with wide eyes.
"I'll take the couch. And you take the bedroom." I quickly stated the clarification
- "Isn't it too early to sleep?"
- "Yes, but it's the right choice. We don't have electricity. We can't afford to waste candles unnecessarily. We sleep early, get up early."
- "What about those....crawlers?"
- "Let them be. Call me racist but I won't allow those man eating monsters to sleep in my apartment. Those unhygienic maniacs will make my apartment dirty. And it's hard to find a good cleaner nowadays."
Aurora chuckled. "You're not that funny, you know."
- "Yeah. But what can I say. Humour completes a man and Anger completes a woman."
- "You didn't just said that!"
- "I just did. Sue me. Anyway, about your earlier question. The door is locked and sealed with fridge, wardrobe. Those crawlers won't come here to have a midnight snack, until we make any loud noise to invite them. So rest assured."
- "Well, I'll trust in your words then."
I helped her get settled in the bedroom, leaving her with a candle.
I came to the living room. I sat down on the couch and leaned back with a tired sigh. My shirt was sticking to my skin, damp with sweat.
"This heat..."
I reached for the buttons, then stopped halfway.
Right....There There's a lady in the house.
Without electricity, there was no fan, no air conditioner, not even the quiet hum of the refrigerator anymore. The apartment felt like a giant oven trapping every bit of summer heat.
"I'd complain to the electric company," I muttered, lying down, "but I have a feeling they're having a worse day than I am."
I glanced toward the closed bedroom door.
She wasn't coming out. She was probably already trying to sleep.
The shirt came off quickly.
Wearing only my shorts, I stretched out on the couch.
Ah....Finally some peace.
A few minutes later, exhaustion finally pulled me into sleep.
I was in a closet. Peeping through the keyhole.
Five Crawlers were searching the room for some delicious meats.
They moved across the floor like giant insects, knocking over chairs and dragging their claws across the wooden walls.
I told myself to be quiet. Just be quiet...
One of them stopped. Its head slowly turned toward the closet. My heartbeat became painfully loud.
Suddenly....
- "Dad!"
The scream came from beside me. I turned to my left.
A little girl in a yellow top was trying to push the closet door open, screaming for her father. "Dad! Please!"
"No!" I whispered desperately. "Be quiet!"
She couldn't hear me. She kept crying. The Crawlers all turned toward the closet.
I woke up instantly, my heart hammering.
"Dad! Dad!!"
The voice was real. It was coming from my room.
What? How?
Aurora!!
Above me, I heard a heavy thud-thud-thud, the sound of Crawlers reacting to the noise.
I turned on the flashlight on my phone and rushed into the bedroom.
Aurora was sitting upright on the bed. Her eyes were tightly shut, tears streaming down her face.
"Dad...." she cried again, her voice trembling. "Dad...."
She was having a nightmare.
I quickly sat beside her."Hey... Aurora."
She didn't hear me. She kept crying.
Without thinking, I gently wrapped my arms around her.
"Hey," I whispered. "It's okay. I'm here."
She clung to me with every ounce of her strength. "You knew I was scared of dark rooms," she sobbed into my chest. "Why did you take so long, Dad?"
My heart tightened.
"I am sorry," I whispered, slowly stroking the back of her head. "I am here now. Everything is fine, Aurora."
Her breathing gradually slowed.
Outside, the heavy footsteps lingered for another few moments before fading away into the distance.
The apartment became silent again.
Aurora's grip loosened a little.
"Aryan." she said softly.
- "Yes? Your father doesn't call you Aurora, does he?"
- "No. He calls me Aura. Thanks, Aryan. I am....sorr sorry"
- "Don't be. It was a nightmare."
A moment passed in the quiet, dark room.
- "Aryan?"
- "Um?"
"Would you....Would you stay here tonight? Please."
- "Mm....Yeah, sure."