“Just take a look inside, Athena,” He said, pointing at the door that leads into the hall full of dancing and chattering people, “what do you see?”
Athena did as he asked, she looked inside the hall and saw them, people dancing, women dressed in beautiful attractive clothes, men dressed in nice tuxedos, talking to them and some dancing with them. She looked back at Frank with a gulp, “but Frank…”“Now take a look at yourself and me, what difference do you see?” He interrupted.Athena looked at herself, at the dress she was wearing that was not in class with the ones worn by the women inside, she looked at him and he was dressed in a nice tuxedo, just like the men inside. She knew what he wants to prove but she just doesn’t want to accept it, “Frank please…”“Do you see it? What I am talking about? I belong here, Athena, with this people but you don’t. Look at you, take a look at what you wore to a party.”“This is my best dress and you know it, Frank, I will never intentionally humiliate you,” she choked on her tears and closed her eyes, “you used to like me wearing this remember? That day we went to watch the fireworks, you said I looked beautiful in it, that’s why I wore it, because I want you to see that I am the same Athena, Frank, it’s me, don’t do this to me. A lot of things have happened to me during the past two weeks, you didn’t even bother to look for me, why Frank?”Frank wiped his face in a frustrated manner, “listen, I told you already, things has changed Athena, look at me, I am not the same Frank anymore, I have changed. I now drink and dine with celebrities, big tycoons, businessmen, my life has changed Athena and I adapted to it. But you,” he pointed his finger at her, “you never change, you are the same Athena, year in year out nothing new happens to you. We watched that firework two years ago and you still have this dress, you never buy anything new, you keep reusing everything that you have.”“How can I buy something new, Frank, I have been paying back our debts, the ones I got because of you, you promised to give me back the money to pay back, you never had and I am using all my salary to pay up. How can you expect me to buy something new? How can I do that?”“Listen, Athena, I know I am owing you and I will pay back, I promise, just let me have that money I have my eyes on, I will find you and I will pay back every single dime but I am sorry, like I said before, we can’t be together anymore, you are not the woman for me, we are not in the same social circle anymore so please, stop coming to find me, I don’t want my new friends to see you or know that I have ever associated with you. Go,” he heaved a deep sigh, then turned and walked into the hall.Athena watched him go and she saw him approached a beautiful blonde who looped her hand in his arm and together, they joined another group of people. Tears trailed down her cheeks and she didn’t bother to wipe them anymore, she looked down at her dressing, she had dressed so much so that he won’t feel embarrassed by her but still, he was.The black dress she had on was bought for her by her mother, it was the only expensive clothe she had and Frank had loved it the first time and other times she had worn it, except for today. The black shoes she was putting on belonged to her mother and although she knew it didn’t go with the dress but she had worn it nonetheless because it was the only thing of hers that doesn’t have a hole in it.Watching Frank inside, she knew she need to stop deceiving herself, he will never want her again, he will never love her like the same again. She turned and climbed down the stairs; she went to the fountain and sat on it, her tears mixing with the water. She closed her eyes and snippets of a night two weeks ago flashed in her mind. She shook her head sharply, she had wanted to tell him about it tonight, even though she knew he might hate her after finding out but she didn’t like hiding something from him and something of such nature but who would have taught that he would reject her again like he did that night?She wiped her tears, sobbing really softly and listening to the distinct music, in there was the man of her dreams, probably dancing with another woman and here she was crying even after attending the party just for him, going through all the troubles of sneaking in.“You shouldn’t let him get to you like that,” someone said and she turned sharply, she could make out a shadow near the animal shaped flowers, “you shouldn’t allow any man such.”“Who-who are you?” She asked, standing up from the fountain she sat.“Just someone who feel sorry for you.”Athena wiped her tears away, “thank you but I am fine now, so you don’t need to worry anymore.”“Is that what you are telling yourself? I’m sorry but I never meant to eavesdrop on your conversation but when I saw you sneak into my home, first I was amused but then I realized that you remind me of someone and I had followed, not usually my thing though, but who would have expected that I would hear what I heard?”“You shouldn’t eavesdrop on people’s conversation,” she wanted to reprimand him but then she recalled what he said, “oh God, I am so sorry, I promise I am not a thief, the security wouldn’t let me in and I really wanted to talk to my boyfriend so I did what I had to, I am terribly sorry,” she let out series of apologies.The man beside the flower chuckled, a low rich sound that told her she shouldn’t mess with him, “I think you should say ex boyfriend from what I heard.”Having the truth being thrown at her by the stranger, Athena couldn’t hide the pain that flashed through her eyes, she looked away from his shadow and closed her eyes, willing the tears to not fall.“You know, it’s okay to cry after a breakup but if you ask me, a man who leaves a woman because of how poor she dresses is nothing but a coward. Women are elegant in nature, you just have to invest on them to get what you want and you my dear, should believe in your natural quality.”Athena shook her head softly at what he said, “no, I am not that woman, those that fit into your description are the ones dancing inside,” she looked away from him and wiped away her tears, “I can never be them.”The man in the shadows answered, “you only believe in that because he said it,” he stepped out from the darkness and approached her with gentle graceful movements, “every woman is unique, elegant and graceful, you just have to bring it out.”Hearing his words and how close it sounded, she looked at him only to gasp and cover her mouth with her hands; she took a step back but forgot that she was standing close to the fountain so she fell backward into the water. She surfaced immediately, her eyes still locked on the man who didn’t even shift in his position or even bothered to help her out. She sat in the fountain, her hair dripping water on her already wet body. When she got over her shock, she cried, “you.”The man before her smiled and walked closer, then offering his hand, he said, “hello Athena.”A man walked through the street to his home, he kept cursing at everything he passes, he hates where he is living and the area, they were children running around, playing in the dirt. He cursed at them and continued walking, if God should help him and his project becomes a success, moving out of here would be the first thing he would do. But at the moment, he just needs to make sure that everything is set perfectly and he had the inkling that he would win, he has to, all his life he had been preparing for this, if it doesn’t work out then he is doomed for the rest of his life.“Hell no, it’s going to work, I have to be chosen, I have looked at the draft of the others, none of them could amount to mine, even Mr. Bridgeton said so,” he murmured to himself, trying not to step inside a puddle as he avoided stepping on a banana peel that was on the ground. “Fuck this place,” he cursed, if only he has any other choice, nothing in the world would have made him live here, in the slums.
Athena woke up in the night to find Frank’s side in the bed empty, “Frank?” She called but when she got no answer, she got out of the bed and went into the living room, “Frank?” she saw him sitting on the only couch in the living room and closed up their distance. “What is it?” She asked, placing her hand on his shoulder.Frank sighed, “Nothing, just…thinking.”Athena sat beside him immediately, “what are you thinking about?”“My life, Athena, look at me, at twenty three I have no source of income, nothing, I can’t even look after you the way I want to, the way I promised your mother I would.”Athena smiled and placed her head on his shoulder, “but Frank, it’s not your fault, I am sure mom understands perfectly. You are trying your best to make things better for us, you go out every morning to return at night because you are looking for a better job, that’s already you trying.”“But I am not trying hard enough, take a look at me, Athena, I had promised you that on you
Frank ran through the dirty streets he had always hate walking on, he stepped into many puddles but he didn’t bother to curse as always nor was he worried at the dirt on his pants. A bright smile was clear on his face and his green eyes were shining like never before. When he finally saw their building, he increased his space as he spotted his girlfriend talking with their elderly neighbor, “Athena, Athena,” he shouted.Athena turned at the sound of her name, she was shocked when she saw him running and how dirty he looked and for the first time, he doesn’t have a deadly scowl on his face for being dirty, what is going on? She wondered before excusing herself from the woman and walking to his direction, “Frank?”When Frank got closer to her, he picked her up and swirled around, Athena gasped and wrapped her hands round his neck to keep her from falling, “oh Athena, my life has changed, my life has changed!”Athena pressed her hand on her chest when he finally put her back o
The elevator chimed and the man from earlier came out, he stopped, frozen when he saw her sleeping, what the hell? He wondered, he approached her and wiped away the hair from her face, she didn’t even flinch and he guessed she was really tired and she should be, it has been ten hours since they got into the elevator together. He fetched his phone from his pocket and dialed a number, when the line connected, he sighed, “em, Frank, I’m usually good at minding my business but there is a lady waiting for you in front of your door and it’s been hours, you think you can come attend to her?”“Shit, she came today?” Frank asked.“Em, am I supposed to answer that?”“Listen Fred, I am in a party right now and I can’t come out, you think you can take her in with you till I am back?”“Frank, I called you to tell you that someone is waiting for you not for you to ask me to babysit,” Fred replied.“Then there is nothing I can do, let her stay there, nothing is going to happen to he
Athena got up in the morning, she heaved a deep sigh and remembering she was not in her house nor in Frank’s, she sat up immediately and looked around the room, she was lying in the bed and it was the most comfortable bed she had ever slept in. She had fallen asleep immediately her head touched the pillow. Fred had been kind enough to give her the bed and took the couch, even though she was the intruder.She climbed out of the bed and readied her things; Franks should be back from wherever he went to, right? She thought and walked out of the bedroom to find Fred still sleeping on the couch. She approached him gently and didn’t know if he would be angry that she woke him up from his sleep but she really has to go and it would be wrong if she left without telling him, he was a kind soul and she would never forget that. After staring at him for a few minutes, she finally cleared her throat and his eyelid flickered before he opened them to stare at her. “I-I-I’m sorry to wake you, is
A week later, Frank was talking with some models outside the hall that the fashion show was taking place, when one of them scowled in disgust, “who the hell is that? That dress is so outdated, in fact, I don’t think I have ever seen such.”“My goodness, you don’t think she is attending the show, do you? I mean, dress in that?” Another said, her face and tone no different from the first model.Hearing the ladies’ words, Frank was forced to turn around and he froze when he saw the brunette who just got down from a cab and was looking around the place. She was dressed in a pitch pink dress which he recognized as her mother’s, her hair was let down on her shoulders and she was putting on a white two inches heels, he was with her the day she had bought the shoes but he never realized how ugly the thing looked until now. She smiled and waved when she saw him and he woke up at that moment as he heard one of the model’s words, “my gracious, is she waving at us?”“It can’t be, where
Athena gulped, staring at the man beside her, he had deep brown hair in a slicked back style, his face was oval with sexy cheekbones, his nose was perfectly pointed. His lips so succulent with the lower lip fuller than the upper and light red in color, his eyes, a beautiful shade of hazel and his lashes so long that she would have been jealous if she wasn’t a little tipsy. A sexy line of bears graced his cheeks and jaw and for some reason, she wanted to run her fingers through them.Her eyes trailed from his face to his fair neck and his body, he was dressed in a navy blue blazer with white shirt underneath and white pants. He had broad shoulders and his athletic body complimented his blazer making him look godly sexy, she gulped once more, her eyes going back to his face to meet with his smiling eyes.“Like what you see?” he asked with a soft chuckle, “I’m beautiful, I know,” he winked and pulled the stool next to her, sitting on it, he looked back at her, “you don’t mi
Athena glanced at him with a frown, “in your world, are you an alien?”“What?” He asked shocked and they both laughed, “why would you think that?” He asked, still laughing.“You kept mentioning your world, forgive me if I had to think so far,” she giggled.“Ah, to be honest, those in my circle often classifies themselves as a different world, a bigger world and more.”“Wow, I will like to be in that world.”He looked at her, for once since talking to her, he didn’t smile, “I wouldn’t want you to, it would stain you, take away that innocence that makes you different and soon, you would be just like them, with nothing to differentiate you.”“That’s not true, nothing can change me.”He smiled then, “ah my dear, you don’t understand, it changed your darling Frank, and it will change you too. It changes anyone who finds themselves in its midst.”“What about you, it didn’t change you?”He didn’t answer for a while, then he whispered, “it did, I think I am the mo