“Who would've thought we'd meet like this?” she said.
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“Don’t ask me about it. I pressed the close button so many times, but clearly it didn’t work.” A beeping noise echoed in the small, enclosed space. A sigh could be heard. “See, nothing.”
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“Why are you pressing the close button? Shouldn’t you be pressing the open button at least? That’ll probably have a better chance of opening these doors, so I don’t have to be stuck in here with you.” The woman pushed him away and the same beeping noise echoed again. Another sigh could be heard.
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“You really want to nag me now? You really haven’t changed. And it doesn’t matter what button we press, we’re stuck. I was just showing you what I did when I saw your dumb ass run towards the elevator.”
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“Dumb ass? Do you think I actually wanted to see you again? I couldn’t afford to miss this meeting. Otherwise, I would have caught the next one.” She glared at him before mumbling under her breath, “And… you loved this dumb ass.”
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Daniel flinched before slowly looking over at her. She still looked the same from the last time he saw her around 2 months ago. The same shoulder-length hair and pale skin; they made her eye bags obvious whenever there was an upcoming deadline.
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Is she sleeping well?
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Her unpainted manicured nails: she said she hated painting her nails, but it was because she bit them whenever she was stressed, and those black heels; he would have to massage her feet whenever they got home because of them. She was still even wearing those golden stud earrings he gave to her when she was promoted.
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She said she hated the way they looked. What a surprise.
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He shook his head and looked away. “Yeah, that’s why it’s in the past.”
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Daniel didn’t see her hand ball up into a fist or the shudder of her shoulder. Jennifer felt the hairs on her skin rise. “You know what else I remember too? Someone crying and clinging onto me, begging for me not to leave them.”
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Instantly, Jennifer was dumped in cold water and paralysed by the numb shock, unsure of why she even said that. After all, she knew they were already non-existent in each other’s lives.
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His neck snapped towards her. “Jennifer…” Daniel glared dull daggers; traces of pain burned onto his face.
“Ah…” Jennifer stared back; there was an inexplicable understanding between the two before she turned away. Jennifer could see her own eyes, murky and water-like, reflected off the metallic surface of the elevator. “Sorry.”
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The humming of the fluorescent light was suffocated by the silence. Daniel glanced at Jennifer before turning and leaning onto his side of the elevator. The coolness of the metal didn’t help disperse the heat that was building up. Even though they were a couple of meters apart and unable to look at each other, they felt as if they were shoulder to shoulder, trapped with barely any space to move.
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“When do you think they’re going to come and get us?” Daniel asked, while tapping his finger against his arm.
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Jennifer glanced at Daniel’s reflected distorted figure before looking back down at the ground. “I don’t know, but hopefully sooner rather than later. Or else… I have a feeling something bad is going to happen.”
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“Like?”
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The emptiness of the elevator didn’t help the increasing number of thoughts that rebounded in both of their heads. Jennifer opened her mouth, but no witty comment came. Instead, something she promised she wouldn’t let happen again occupied her mind.
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Daniel once again looked at his reflection. His mouth drew a thin line across his face, and he couldn’t make out his eyes, but he was sure he knew what they were saying. “I think what you said before is a good example of what will happen. Completely unnecessary.”
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“I already said sorry. What else do you want?” Jennifer turned her head giving him the side-eye. The ruffling of her clothes filled the space as she crossed her arms and looked ahead. Silence filled the void.
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In the corner of her vision, Jennifer saw Daniel leaning against the wall. He didn’t look incredibly different from when they last saw each other. He still had his clothes neatly ironed and tie properly done; a surprise to her because he was a mess when she first met him.
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Is someone doing that for him now?
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The calluses on his hands: she always complained about how rough they were whenever they held hands, but it gave her an odd comfort; it was because she knew that the hand she was holding was his. And the burn mark on his neck. Jennifer remembered her attempt to make her mother’s signature noodle dish which somehow ended up as a trip to the emergency room.
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Did I ever apologise for that?
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Unspoken words lingered, wishing to be communicated somehow. Who knew that something so quiet could be the loudest if given the chance?
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Daniel closed his eyes and massaged his temples. He clenched his teeth and took a deep breath in before mumbling something to himself. The thumping of his footsteps could be heard as he traversed the small distance between them. Jennifer slightly tilted her head up in alarm, an action her body instinctively remembered from all the times they were close together.
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Their eyes tugged at each other.
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I want you to love me again.
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Those words tried to make their way, unsure if they would even complete the journey. It travelled along the fine, fragile threads that remained, dancing, hesitating and teetering on this incredibly thin tight rope; the same incredibly thin tight rope that would not let either of them go.
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“Why did you cut all communication with me?”
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Whirrrr. Clatter. Clatter.
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The whirring of the gears could be heard again as they began to feel the elevator move. They both felt the vertigo from the sudden movement but were unsure if that was the reason behind their nausea.
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The intercom blared, “Apologies for the inconvenience. We have fixed the issue and operations will resume as normal.”
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Jennifer couldn’t look Daniel in the eye, and she prayed that they would go up quicker; that the gears would somehow cycle faster, and the ropes would somehow be pulled harder. She couldn’t bear to see the look on his face. She didn’t want to see the look on hers.
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Whissh.
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They both heard the rolling of the elevator door as it slid open. The fresh air hit both of them in the faces, and they found it hard to breathe.
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“Wait!”
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Jennifer ran out of the elevator; she wanted to run somewhere, anywhere that wasn’t near him. However, she suddenly realised she could see her heel wedged into the gap between the elevator and floor. She realised she was falling.
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Daniel grabbed her arm. Jennifer grabbed his arm. Both of them held each other as hard as they could, pulling as if there was a rope latched onto both of them, a rope that could snap at any moment.
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“Are you free for coffee later?” They couldn’t look each other in the eye. Daniel cleared his throat, but still struggled to get his words out.
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“A-After your meeting of course.”
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