[This is the fifth chapter of a short story called “Seven Days”]

The last day of the conference. I realise now how little you know about all the people we were with. Pity, but I guess every author must hand-pick their characters. Too late to introduce them now. Just keep in mind that they mattered, and we were sorry to have to say goodbye. A gala was organised to give all of us one last evening together, without our laptops and badges. One last evening with him too, as he was leaving the next morning. Unconsciously it was a grand finale I was looking for. A perfect representation before the curtain closed.

We were in every photograph together. While I did realise it meant I could never look at them without thinking about him, the idea was also quite attractive. It meant that we could always go back to our time together. Our alluring smiles and hopeful eyes would never wear off. A fragment of time kept forever safe; in one reality we would always be this beautiful young couple holding each other by the arm. One could say it is also what I am trying to do by writing this down, to keep a trace of what we have meant to each other. I cannot deny it, though my work is poorly done. My vocabulary is limited, I could not describe the shape of his face, the texture of his hair, the depth of his gaze so I let you reader have your own vision. Even if I tried, my memory is failing me; I don’t quite remember our exact words or when those were said; I think back and for a moment his suit is blue or he’s smiling but then I see his expression changes and the outfit is blurry. If he were to write the exact same story, I doubt every fact would match mine.

The only problem with photographs is that the whole context is omitted. For example, the mediocre music blasted all around the place. Every meter or so you could spot a new speaker. I endured it for a while, hoping for the playlist to change or for my ears to drop, either first. My partner wasn’t doing much better. It was frustrating to leave early from our last party, accepting to say goodbye to all the people we met. But then again, that or another ten minutes of electro remix… Tough decisions had to be made. So, we decided to leave.

We had tea, sitting on the edge of his bed. He proposed to change his train tickets, to leave a day after. A whole day together. My usual self would have felt pressured by the idea, trapped by a commitment she wasn’t ready to make. She would have found an excuse to leave the room and run back to a safe environment where she could control what was happening to her. Good thing she adds to the list of absent characters in this story. I jumped on the proposition, an unexpected opportunity to prolong our time together. We smiled.

Since Tuesday evening we had not been alone in a room. Only two days you might say but time did not apply here the same way it did in real life. Just like a few hours turn to years once in the closet, in our own Narnia two days were an eternity. Our hands and lips were eager to discover their new territory. In a society where physical contact is restricted, regulated, one soon forgets the sensation of free access to a body which isn’t your own and the effect a gentle touch might have on it.

After he walked me back to my place, I laid on my bed, listening to the silence of the empty room. I hadn’t been all by myself since I had arrived here. I couldn’t sleep so I just stared in the blurry dark grey all around me and thought. For the first time, I had time to ponder upon my experience. The conference being over, this night was the final act of our story. The next day was just an encore, a last attempt by the spectators to prolong the magic of a show to not face the dull reality of their everyday life.