The Waiting Room

You sat there in that diner, waiting. Waiting and waiting for someone that would never come. Deep down you knew it was the end, but you couldn't help but hold onto a wisp hope. Every time that little bell tingled above the door, you couldnt help but lift your head to check, the flicker of hope in your eye diminishing when it wasnt her. The wisp growing just a little bit thinner. The clock ticked from day to night, from night to morning. Around and around it spun in that diner. It was full of lost lovers waiting, you could smell it in the air. You supposed that's why they called it The Waiting Room diner.

The place was a mournful sight, filled with memorabilia from days past. Old telephones, posters from a different time. They even had a wall of love letters, some curling at the edges, fading with age. Others new and crisp, written in scrawling black ink. All of them desperate pleas from the heart for their lover to return to them. To look at it filled you with a sense of hopelessness. Oppsosite the wall of love letters was several large windows that looked out onto the dull, dreary street outside.

You raised your fingers at the waitress. "Another, please," you said as you tilted your chin and blinked your eyes to indicate the drink in front of you. You weren't even sure what you were drinking anymore, but it went down smooth and the burn in your belly felt good against the stark numbness of your being.

You sat there bleary eyed, knowing you should move, but not quite sure that you could. Or that you would. Or that you wanted to. If you moved you might forget the colour of her cheeks after her first glass of red, the smell of her freshly washed hair, her voice when she called your name in the middle of the night. You decided to stay put, wait just a little longer. That thread of faith still grasped tightly in your grip.

You looked at the clock on the wall, realised it was lunchtime and considered ordering yourself some food. But what if she arrived and you hadn't ordered her favourite? What if you did order it and she arrived once it had gone cold? You wondered a while, before deciding in the end to simply continue waiting.

The little bell tingled, you felt your eyes pulled toward the door. It was the same as every other time before, that tiny wisp fading as soon as you didn't recognise her long, brown hair and sharp, green eyes. But this time, something different happened. This time, a new thread of hope weaved it's way around your soul.

A pair of amber eyes like liquid stared straight at you. It took you a moment to notice the wild mop of bouncy blonde curls cascading around her. She flicked a clump impatiently away from her face, and strode purposefully towards you.

"Is this seat taken?" she asked. You stared open mouthed for a moment before shaking your head. She slid in across from you, and suddenly the place looked different. Less mournful than before. The light seemed a little brighter, the love letters on wall endearing and full of hope. You wondered how you ever thought differently. You looked out at the window and noticed the street outside had begun to fill with the vibrant movements of life. Children played outside, they ran and laughed with a freedom only children have. Lovers gathered around a musician on the corner, one couple began to dance joyfully.

And suddenly you decided you were ready to leave that place, that waiting room. You wanted to leave that place, you could leave that place, and you did leave that place. The girl took your hand and lead you out of the door, onto the street, and over to join in the dancing. You could no longer remember why you were in the waiting room so long. You did not look back.