Chapter 8


    If there was any blessing she can consider in her life now, it was her new job. She poured all her


    energy in her job that she would go homepletely exhausted and would immediately fall asleep as


    soon as her back touched the bed. Exhausted, she had no time to think about anything, much more to


    feel about anything. She switched phone numbers and did not let her friends know about what


    happened, not even Mary. The pain she has was too much. She did not want to interact with anybody.


    Disconnecting from everyone saved her from having to tell another soul what happened that day,


    something she did not have energy for. Her heart felt so much pain and recalling the events will just


    reopen her wounds.


    A new lease of life is what she wanted. Devoid of any pain or memories that will remind her of the pain.


    She wanted a life not tainted with all the pain that he brought.


    “Bitch!” a familiar voice floated to her ears one day as soon as she set her foot in her apartment’s


    entrance. That voice, despite the anger in them, for her felt like home. Serene looked at Mary as she


    angrily stomped her feet to approach her. “Why can’t I reach you? Did you change your number, or did


    you block me? I had to ask your Mom where you are right now. Who am I to you, huh? Am I still your


    best friend?” She berated her. Mary seldom cried, but this time she was crying out of anger and


    frustration.


    Serene just hugged Mary. For the first time in a long time, she felt warm. She hugged her tightly and


    just quietly sobbed all her pains on her shoulder.


    “You stupid girl! Why did you cut me off?” she nagged her, but she rubbed her back like one would to


    coax a child. The more Mary nagged, the more Serene felt aggrieved, and she cried some more. All the


    emotions that she held back in the past months were like a broken dam. In a short while, they were


    getting attention from people who were passing by the apartment’s lobby. “Let’s go up your unit,” Mary


    urged Serene.


    Mary almost did not recognize Serene’s apartment. Her friend, who was a neat freak, now had a sloppy


    home. She cannot believe that the immacte apartment she used to visit and the one she’s in now


    we’re the same.


    Dirty dishes piled up in the kitchen which was her sanctuary. The trashcan overflowed with rubbish. Her


    stove top was very oily. Her living room was the same. It was a total disarray. There were empty food


    packets on the table and on the floor. Mary could see food stains on her couch and carpet. There was


    even an unfinished pizza left on the couch’s armrest.


    Mary went to the bedroom and saw the same level of mess. There were clothes on the floor and on the


    chair. She cannot identify if these were clean or not. At the corner of the room, Mary spotted several


    empty wine bottles. She just let out a deep sigh and shook her head. She painfully looked at her best


    friend.


    She can hardly recognize her. She was thinner than usual, but not in a good way. Her skin looked dry,


    the dark circles around her eyes looked like indelible ink. Her hair was a mess. She was a mess. Her


    heart tightened looking at her friend’s condition.


    “I’m sorry,” Mary said. “I did not find you earlier. I just learned about what happened a week ago. I was


    trying to reach out to you, but I cannot get through you.” She looked at Serene painfully. “I should not


    have introduced that douchebag to you,” she added.


    Serene just smiled with a smile that did not reach the eyes. They both sat at the edge of the bed.


    Serene’s head rested on Mary’s shoulder. Thetter gently caressed her friend’s hair. After wordlessly


    sitting side by side for some time, Serene stood up and cleaned up. One by one she picked up the


    clothes that were on the floor, neatly folded them before cing them in the designatedundry basket.


    Mary followed suit and got up from the bed to quietly attended to the wine bottles. They did not speak


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    at all as they cleaned one room after the other. They felt exhausted when they finished. Serene had


    nothing in the fridge, so they decided to just eat outside.


    They picked a quiet restaurant where they chose a quiet corner to sit on. While waiting for their food to


    be served, Serene held Mary’s hand and said, “Thank you, Sis”.


    “You’re paying,” Mary yfully responded.


    Somehow this simple exchange made Serene’s chest feel lighter. They talked about the big white


    elephant in the middle of the room. Serene told Mary everything that happened that day, making sure


    that she did not leave out any detail. The whole exercise was cathartic for her, but was a catalyst to


    Mary’s anger. She called Bryan many names, many if not all of them unpleasant. Had it happened


    before, Serene would call Mary out, but this time, she did not.


    They quietly ate as soon as their food got served. They did not speak at all, but the air between them


    no longer felt suffocating and depressing. After the meal, while they were drinking tea, with a


    concerned look, Mary asked, “Sis, will you be OK?”


    “I will be OK.” Serene sounded like she was convincing herself rather than answering a question. She


    looked at Mary seriously, and once again said, “I will be OK.”


    Mary met Serene’s serious eyes and sighed. Most people will describe Serene as weak simply


    because she was soft-spoken and cry easily, but she is among the few people who knew Serene well.


    She’s quite tenacious. She’s braved several storms in her life. Although this might be her biggest storm


    so far, she knew her friend will see this one through. “Alright. Please call me when you need somebody


    to talk to. Don’t shut me out again,” she said, smiling.


    Serene reached out for her hand and sincerely said, “Thank you, Sis”.


    Mary stayed the night at Serene’s ce. Since they both did not need to work the following day, they


    spent some more time talking. The following day, Mary insisted on going out. The two spent almost the


    entire day pampering themselves. They went to the salon to get their hair and their nails done. Then


    they went to the spa for a rxing massage. The sun had already set when they got out of the spa.


    The two dined at restaurants and finally capped their day with a rxing tea drink.


    Finally, Mary had to head back home. Serene gave her a tight hug before she went in the taxi.


    Now, once again, Serene was alone. She stood in the middle of her bedroom. However, this time, she


    no longer looked somber, rather a tiny spark of light was radiating in her.


    “You can do this, Serene,” she motivated herself. “One day at a time.”