Fan:Fated Night

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Michael walked on with the others over a beaten trail. Everything was black. There was no light but from the lantern he held. They’d been walking for about three days, only stopping to eat or sleep. With each step, he thought about Christine and everything he’d given her and she’d given him. As the silence too over, he began whistling some sort of orchestra from the back of his mind.

But it was that same orchestral melody than was playing the night he met Christine. It started with her at an extravagant dinner in New York. She was dressed beautifully yet this was when she was even more insecure than she was now. Her mother put on a smile for the other guests as she stared into oblivion, struggling to keep her back straight.

It was going relatively well. Nobody spoke to her, so she couldn’t fail in conversation. But then they brought out the wine. Christine hated the taste of wine. It burned her throat and just one glass gave her a headache. But there was no going back now. Her mother always made sure she finished her wine in public. The only way she could get around it was by sneaking a gulp of water before a tiny sip of cognac.

She took in the water then the wine, and kept it in her mouth as she took in the tiny sip. It seemed fine until her mom shouted harshly,” Christine!”

She coughed on it, spitting some back up as more went up her nose. Christine gasped for air as she leapt up, cleaning it from the white tablecloth as one of the guests asked,” It’s alright dear.”

“That was a fifty year old glass of cognac!” Mrs. Adelaide shouted as Christine cried as she cleaned,” You don’t mix it with anything! Can you do nothing?”

“It’s alright darling,” another man said. She suddenly stopped and stared at the wealthy and important patrons around her. They all stared, perfectly silent, at her teary red face. She shut her eyes as she threw the rag down. Christine just stood there as her mother asked in a more compassionate tone,” Christine?”

“I’m sorry everyone!” she said, crying even more as she wiped the last of the cognac from her lip. The orchestra stopped playing and everyone in the restaurant hushed as she went on,” I’m sorry I can’t do anything right. I’m sorry I’m a failure at everything and I’m sorry I’ve ruined your dinners!”

She ran out the glass doors and into the crowds. Her mother tried following, but it was useless. Christine vanished into the streets of Manhattan, crying as she pushed citizens aside. She didn’t know how long she cried, but she must’ve made it many blocks. Now she was lost, collapsed onto a bus stop as she cried on the old, chipping wood. As she opened her eyes, she caught a dark glimpse of escape. A red lighted torch, towering over everything and inviting her into oblivion. Christine saw the Empire State Building, and saw a way out of it all.

Michael was, at the time, just strolling down the road. He was different then, mostly the way he looked. He wore the same clothes, yet his eyes were green and his hair brown, like a male Christine. It was also cut short, mostly because that’s what his mom told him. But he’d just been to his friends’ house and was going home when Christine brushed past him. While others shouted and scolded her, he asked himself why this poor girl was so sad. He hit himself lightly on the forehead, hating himself for caring so much and yelled,” Hey girl! Wait up!”

He followed her all the way to the Empire State Building, where she burst past the security guards and into the empty lobby. They stopped Michael as he struggled to get through.

“Hey, let me go!” he yelled as they said,” No way kid. You gotta pay just like everyone else.”

“We gotta charge you for your girlfriend too,” the second said as Michael pleaded,” No. I think that girl’s trying to kill herself. Look!”

Before Christine ascended the elevators, they caught the smallest, but sufficient, glimpse of her crying and sitting on the elevator floor. They tried running to catch her, but it was no use. They took the next elevator up and found her on the observation level.

Normally the roof would’ve been kept safe with glass panels, but they were doing renovations and Christine found the only spot that lacked any glass. Michael and the guards found her crying more as she stood less than an inch from the edge. Thankfully it was late and most of the winds died down. She turned around and yelled at them” Go away! I’m not coming back. This is the only way.”

“Look, you don’t wanna do this,” one guard said as the other replied,” Think about everything you’ve got to live for.”

“You don’t understand! You could never understand what it’s like to grow up, devoid of love and happiness.”

Michael stepped in closer, reaching out as he said,” But if you end it now, how will you ever know what it’s like to be happy?”

“I…” she thought, but then yelled,” I don’t care! I can’t go back, not after that.”

“It couldn’t have been that bad,” Michael said as she cried more than ever and whined,” I was in front of over sixty high society members, twelve of them millionaires and one a prime minister. I embraced everyone and myself.”

“We all get embraced,” Michael went on, moving in closer as she said,” I could care less about the embarrassment. I ruined myself because I can’t do anything right. Nothing’s ever good enough.”

“Of course nothing’s ever good enough!” he yelled at her because it was so obvious to him,” Humans aren’t meant to be perfect. We were put here, flaws and all for whatever reason we’re here.”

“But what if I don’t have a purpose?” she asked silently as he wiped a tear and said,” Everyone has a purpose. You just haven’t found yours yet.”

“Then give me one last reason,” she said selfishly,” One, last, good reason for me to stay in this world.”

Michael chuckled and said,” Just look down.”

She saw, and stared at hundreds of cars and lights, twinkling below like fireflies in a field. Christine then turned to the sea and sat Lady Liberty hoisting her torch as a full moon reflected off the bay. Michael spun her towards himself and said,” It’s okay.”

Christine collapsed into his chest, letting out the last of her sadness. He backed up, taking her away from the edge as he sat down on the concrete. Michael took her head, pointed it to his and said,” It’s Michael. Michael Konaka.”

She shook her head, holding back and pulling herself together as she said,” Christine Adelaide.”

“Well Christine,” he said with a laugh,” I wonder how many people met like we did?”

She let out a tiny giggle before she wrapped her arms around him and uttered quietly,” Thank you.”