dragon bones

The night air was crisp as the girl made her way through the quiet streets. The ends of her hair were still wet, remnants from the shower she had rushed through to make it out the door in time. She originally hadn’t wanted to come out, but laziness always got the best of her, and she wanted to change that.

“Let’s meet near the clock tower.” A simple text message had sparked it all.

She marvelled at the complexities of life as she reached into her pocket for a lighter. The four—no, the three of them—had always been close, hadn’t they? She couldn’t remember the last time they all saw each other. Ages ago, probably.

The minty scent of imported Marlboros soon wafted around her like a fog. Blowing smoke to the sky, she quickened her pace and wondered if who she was meeting would look as different to her as she would to him.

♦ 

The young man with golden hair looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps: high heels clicking on the pavement. Before him stood a slender girl with long, dark hair, holding a hot cigarette between cold-looking fingers.

“Hey.” He pulled the headphones down from his ears. “I thought you might not show.”

For a brief moment, Karelos wondered if there had been some mix-up. The Roxas she remembered was a youth between school and job, with a childlike disposition and a love for comic books. The person before her was wearing a pair of frameless glasses popular among white-collar men, and a designer jumper with a camel blazer thrown carelessly over it. An olive-coloured scarf sat loosely around his shoulders. He was definitely not the kid she recalled from her memories.

“It’s been a while.” Karelos flicked her cigarette butt into the darkness. True to any reunion, the initial awkward moments usually couldn’t be avoided. “You’re looking cute.”

“So are you.” His voice was without satire, which she appreciated.

Karelos shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Are you hungry?”

“Yeah.” He slid his cell phone into his back pocket. “Let’s go.”

They came to a streetside café. Apart from the candles on the tables, the inside of the café, a long rectangle, was almost pitch-black. As she stepped through the entrance, Karelos felt a bit anxious, though she didn’t quite know why.

“So what’s with the glasses?” she asked, as they slid into a booth by the window. “Making a fashion statement?”

“These?” Roxas pushed them up the bridge of his nose with a sheepish expression. “Let’s just say I’ve been having too many video game marathons. That and, reading in the dark,” he added, as an afterthought. “They’re only temporary though. Hopefully!”

She laughed. Here she was thinking time would abduct her old friends in an alien invasion. At least some things stayed the same.

A woman came and placed a pot of tea along with two cups on the table. Roxas reached over and poured both cups full once the girl returned to the counter. There was silence between them, soft jazz coming from hidden speakers, their faces illuminated by candlelight.

“You should really stop,” he finally said.

“What?”

He hesitated, shifting his eyes away from her. “The smell is all over your dress.”

Karelos’s voice turned playful and her lips curved up in amusement. “You called me out, after two years of not seeing each other, to berate me for smoking?”

“I don’t mind, but it’s not good for you.” He busied himself with drinking his tea. “I called you out because I got a call the other day. From Joshua.”

The café suddenly seemed to tilt for a second.

“Would you two like to order something to eat?”

The woman was back with a notepad and pen, but Karelos didn’t hear her.