In the kitchen, open shelves displayed lots of elegant coffee cups, mugs, and jars filled with various coffee beans and other essentials.
A woman in her early thirties was standing there mixing coffee and sugar in a mug. She poured boiling milk into the cup, and the whole mixture formed a large amount of foam. She served it in two mugs and walked out of the kitchen.
Silvi was sitting on the living room sofa with her dog, Bozo. It had its chin resting on Silvi’s lap. Its eyes closed in the comfort it felt in Silvi’s slow caressing.
Bozo was a strikingly handsome Indian Pariah Dog, though age had begun to leave its mark on him. His once rich, glossy brown coat now had patches of gray, but it still shimmered in the sunlight, a testament to the care and love he continued to receive in this luxury household. His almond-shaped eyes remained deep and expressive. There was an injury mark on his left front leg.
The woman walked into the room with the coffee mugs. She handed Silvi a mug and sat beside her.
Silvi took a sip and sighed in pleasure. “This! I was craving this! Your dalgona coffee. No matter what kind of coffee I drink, this is the best, Parsa!”
Parsa puffed a soft laugh. “Because it has sugar, Miss Best Actress of the Year!”
“Don’t mention it!” Silvi sipped the sweet coffee with a bitter expression.
“You are probably the only actor who looks this uninterested in an award!”
Silvi stared at the ground for a while. Her face turned sad. She spoke in a broken voice, “I hate awards ceremonies! One of these ruined my life!”
Parsa noticed the change in Silvi’s tone. How her face turned sad as she spoke. She felt bad for mentioning the awards. She put the mug on the coffee table and came closer to Silvi. She gently hugged her and patted her head. “There, there. Awards are not bad; it’s the people. It’s always the people.”
Bozo raised his head and watched the almost crying face of Silvi. He made soft noises to make her aware of his presence in her life. Silvi smiled at him and patted his head gently.
The sound of the door opening made both of them look in that direction. A man in his early thirties entered the living room. He was dressed in a casual outfit that exudes effortless sophistication. He was Parsa’s husband, the world-famous thriller writer, Rifti Shah.
As soon as Silvi saw him entering, her expression turned from sad to annoyed. She hugged Parsa and said in a clingy tone, “Your Flynn Rider has come to steal you away from me, Rapunzel!” She looked at Parsa with puppy eyes and said in a pleading voice, “The outside world is bad; don’t go!”
Rifti slowly walked to them, looking equally annoyed.
Before Parsa got married, she and Silvi used to live in this house together. Parsa was the support system that kept Silvi alive through her long, alone life in this house. But then one day, Rifti came and stole her away like Flynn Rider stole Rapunzel from Mother Gothel.
Parsa looked at both of them one by one. She sighed and patted Silvi’s hands that were tightly embracing her. Rifti noticed Parsa struggling in Silvi’s tight embrace.
“Leave my wife!” Rifti said with a frown.
“No! Go away!” Silvi hissed like a cat.
“Parsa!” Rifti called his wife like a baby calling his mother while being bullied.
“Now now! I will have to leave.” Parsa slowly freed herself from Silvi’s embrace and stood up. She looked at them and asked, “How come you two never greet each other? Where are the manners? Etiquette!”
“I don’t mind. But will your husband ever reply?” Silvi said while gritting her teeth.
Rifti looked away, annoyed. Silvi also made a face and looked away. Parsa sighed and shook her head in disappointment.
“I will see you later! Take care.” Parsa hugged Silvi.
“Yeah” Silvi softly spoke.
Even though she didn’t want to show it, she didn’t want Parsa to leave. She didn’t want to be left alone. Silvi slowly walked to see them off. She watched the couple leaving with longing eyes.
The last sound that came in Silvi’s ear was the door clicking. She kept staring at the door, standing in front of it.
A closed door. Like all the ways that have been closed in front of her. Suddenly, an immense amount of tiredness covered her body. As if her body were heavier than this earth. She somehow dragged her body to the sofa and let it fall on it.