Page 87Freakish moments

While the streets were quiet, the bars certainly weren't. I still didn't want to go inside, but I felt a lot more calm now that I walked here again. I tried to listen for Esmeralda's voice, but didn't hear her. Too many people, her speaking too soft, and of course me not knowing where or exactly what to listen for. It would have been different if she would scream out or something.

I paused.

Nothing.

With a smile I continued walking, heading roughly towards The Cathedral. It was very crowded on the way and there, but at least the type of people changed somewhat. Somehow it felt like a quieter crowd. They were more chilled out, speaking to each other in gentler tones and even the music was on a slightly lower volume.

Still much too loud, for my taste, but that wasn't the point.

I did head into the mash of people, looking around for Esmeralda. She wasn't there. Not outside, not in the bar downstairs. But I did find her in 'my' room upstairs. She was hugging with another girl that looked ... eh...

Well, let's just say that the girl had some features that were very much like my own.

In the same place I'd held Esmeralda once...

In clothes not dissimilar from my own. Well, a little more colour then my current ones. And her eyes were brown.

But still...

For some reason I wasn't insulted at all. It was... sweet in a way. And funny. Especially when Esmeralda saw me staring at her and almost jumped out of her lover's arms. She stuttered something along the lines of that this wasn't what what it looked like, even though it, in all likelihood, was.

I couldn't help but laugh. I didn't mean to hurt her.

"Amy?"

I still giggled. "Yes?"

The girl looked up. "Wow, that's Amy? She's gorgeous!" She emphasized the last word so much and with so much sincerity that my giggling was easily and swiftly replaced by a firm blush.

Esmeralda smacked herself against her face and just gave in. "Yes, that's her. Emily, this is Amy. Amy, Emily."

My feelings were somewhere in between a giggle and a blush. They'd been groping each other in their hugging. And they know I knew it. Emily just looked at me in fascination, the color of my eyes, my skin. I could feel her gaze almost burning my wherever it looked.

"Interesting company you keep Esmeralda."

She blushed. "Yes, well... now that you have your own place... and..."

It just popped into my mind. "It feels like I'm still here so you found someone that looked like me to play with so you'd feel less horny around me?"

"Basically."

The girl, Emily, just laughed. "Are you serious Es?"

Esmeralda turned around. "Yes. I just..."

Emily stood up and hugged Esmeralda from behind. "Oh, don't worry about it, cutey. You know I enjoy a bit of role-play. Perhaps she could join in."

The absurdity of the question was a bit beyond me, but I kept my cool. "No thank you. It's not really my thing."

Esmeralda turned around. "Emily, could you wait here for a moment, I really want to talk to her for just a bit. I'll be right back."

She grinned. "I'm not going anywhere."

Esmeralda pushed me outside and closed the door behind her. She was definitely looking a little nervous because of this. I wasn't sure what to say to calm her down, so I just waited for her to speak first. It took her a few moments to find the right words.

"Eh... I'm really sorry about this."

I smiled, still blushing a little. "It's really alright. It's very flattering and I've got a feeling you do this so you can feel more normal towards me."

She nodded. "Yeah, but you're not supposed to see that."

"I know and it's alright with me. It's good to live out your fantasies I guess."

Esmeralda hugged me gently, I permitted and, in fact, welcomed it. It felt a little odd though, it felt more like a goodbye than an apology. It turned out not to be far from the truth.

"Amy, I'm going."

I frowned. "Back inside?"

"No, I mean I'm leaving for a long time."

I blinked. "Why and where?"

"Overseas, for my brother. He found a job for me that I really want to try. It's a chance I can't really allow to miss."

"What is it?"

"Illustrations for a surprisingly successful underground paper. But that's not the point. It'll mean I'm away for at least a year and I have no way to contact you."

I didn't even know the number for the phone in my pocket, and it's not like I made any attempt to be contactable in any other way. Perhaps I preferred not to be. It'd only be weird. And it would probably draw attention over time. The little I knew of the Internet just told me it was a big place where people have a surprisingly accurate memory at times.

She hung her head. "I'm sorry."

I felt a little sad as well. "It's okay... I mean, it's a great opportunity, right? Don't just let this slide because of me."

She smiled. "I wasn't going to, but I had no idea where to find you. I'm leaving tomorrow afternoon and when I stepped by your house earlier, you weren't there. So, this is kind of our goodbye." She glanced back to the door behind me for a moment.

I blushed and smiled a little and wrapped my arms around her. "Well, good luck then. And go kick some underground ass."

She smiled and hugged me back. "Thank you. And I do hope I'll see you again someday."

I grinned. "I'll keep my eyes open in the news stand for you."

"Thanks." she released me. "I'm going back now."

I didn't know what to say to that, really. "Enjoy."

It was very stupid, but neither of us cared. The goodbye had been genuine, even if the situation had been odd. A little more than odd, completely freaky to be honest. But that was Esmeralda, I guess.

Simply and utterly surprising.

This was almost as bad as walking into your brother being 'busy'... Well, maybe this was weirder.