ㅤSolitude was, perhaps, a common thing in most people. Not that they loved it, though. Zedrick was such a man filled with vices and loneliness. An awarded artist known for his complex works. Some dreary; sad. Others filled with romance or lust. He had a long variety of tastes shown already to the world, but... He hated it.
ㅤHe hated painting, not because he was bad—he was the best, some might say. Seven years ago Irina brought to him that very world he now is attached to. The same world that gave him solitude after she passed away. He couldn't forget her. A death muse that gave him inspiration when needed. How much Zedrick hated it.
ㅤCorridors, spacious halls filled with his undone works, every one of the painting samples resembled his dead lover not by face, but feelings. Everywhere he placed his eyes, there was her face. Like a perpetual crime he had committed. Scary. How a person could taint the life of others, he didn't know.
ㅤThe day started once again. Alone in the big house of his. A thing of the highborn. Owning places so big to amplify their isolation. He was thinking about moving to an apartment that, at least, would make him feel better. Over the years, fewer people came to visit. Paintings and coffee, coffee and paintings were everything he had in the meantime. Alcohol and cigarettes, drugs; he was a man of vices, everyone knows. But that's just an escape from his sins—A sin called Irina.
ㅤThe dark, gray sky fulfilled his needs. The sound of cars barely being heard from the avenue, with a coffee in his hands until his cellphone started buzzing. Strange. He hadn't appointed anything for today. After taking it, he checked who that one was.
ㅤDiana. A woman he had known a few months ago in an unusual way, she was calling for him, this, from all times when he wanted to be alone? Zedrick hesitated to answer but did so anyway.
ㅤ"Hello?"
ㅤ"Zedrick, good morning! I thought you were in Ireland by now!"
ㅤ"I have been thinking about moving for a while. May I ask, why are you calling, Diana?"
ㅤ"So bold, I wanted to talk with you!" always energetic. It wasn't a surprise that as a singer was loved by many, "Have time for today? There is a place I want us to meet"
ㅤ"It might rain, are you sure?" hesitating. Zedrick wasn't like that, but he had his reasons. He reached the window sill and looked at the exterior of his house, "Yes, sure! You know Menotti's Coffee Stop? I've heard they've opened again!"
ㅤ"Really?"
ㅤ"Yes! I want to meet you there and talk a bit"
ㅤ"Just talk a bit?"
ㅤ"Don't get horny, I know you miss me a lot too!"
ㅤ"Okay, okay, I'll control myself. So, at what time you want me to get there?"
ㅤ"By now? I'm parking in front of it"
ㅤ"Sure... It is just like you, damned brat"
ㅤ"I'll be waiting there, come soon!"
ㅤ"I'll take a sh—"
ㅤDiana hangup. Such a straightforward woman, doing as she pleases. Caring for nothing but her desires, it was, in fact, something Zedrick liked about her. He had taken a shower before making coffee in the morning and just wanted to make her wait a bit more.
ㅤCoffee. At a Coffee stop. He was glad he loved it so much. And before long, he was dressed in casual clothes and a red scarf around the neck, a perfect combination with his red hair. Took the car out and drove to where Diana was at.
ㅤDriving in the US could be hell itself, but it was still morning; just after everyone got in their workplaces. After a while, Zedrick finally parked near the coffee shop, looking around the people. People crowded the avenues, most of them with their masks on. Some stylish, some more minimalist. But Zedrick could be sure: cities like Los Angeles would never sleep. He missed the peace Dublin gave sometimes.
ㅤZedrick entered the store, looking around to check where Diana was. It didn't take long to find her, with her unusual pinky hair, it wasn't hard.
ㅤ"Over here!" hands waving, trying to catch Zedrick's attention. Everyone looked at her in strange ways "Why did it take you so long to come!"
ㅤZedrick smiled, awkward at that. Diana always seemed to have a thing for catching everybody's sight. "Nevermind", Zedrick sighed and approached where she sat. A few cups already placed over the table, just how addicted she was to coffee? It seemed to be as severe as his when it came to cigarettes.
ㅤ"I can't exceed the velocity limit in the city, not in daylight. Silly"
ㅤ"I know. I wanted them to look at us"
ㅤ"Charming and needy of attention, as always"
ㅤ"Shut up, how have you been anyway?" she ended up taking a sip from her cup of coffee, still boiling, "You look somber. Something happened?"
ㅤZedrick took a seat in front of her. Soft music accompanied the chill atmosphere the store had; picturesque. Filled with brown and little bit of red. With expensive decorations placed around, Menotti's Coffee Stop truly deserved a place to meet someone special—even as an excuse. The tables were made with polished wood that shone and almost acted as a mirror.
ㅤ"I'm not as bright as you. You are the one that must shine always and illuminate me in the dark times" Zedrick laughed a little, eluding her question for a while, "Scary. You hit your head this morning?"
ㅤ"Her day is approaching"
ㅤ"Her day? Irina's?"
ㅤ"Yeah. It gets worse as days pass until the deadline"
ㅤ"Poor baby, you want me to cuddle you?"
ㅤ"It'd help a bit, but there's a dangerous fact about that", a smirk appeared on his face. Diana knew what he meant.
ㅤ"It won't work. What exactly happens to you as the 'fateful day' comes?"
ㅤDiana took her cup and placed it over the table. An expresso, steaming still as smoke flowed upward. Finally, a waitress came as they began to talk.
ㅤ"May I take your order, sir, miss?"
ㅤ"Two expressos. I know this girl isn't satisfied with just the ones she took"
ㅤ"You want to kill me!" she paused, "... Yes, bring me another one. Please"
ㅤ"I'll be back in a few with your orders. Both of you look cute together"
ㅤ""What?""
ㅤThe waitress giggled at their expressions. He was twenty-seven, while Diana barely reached twenty-three. It wasn't much of a difference, but a sinner like him would never be around someone like Diana. He also didn't deserve someone like her. Her professional career as a singer would go to waste if they did. However, both ended laughing afterward from the waitress's mockery.
ㅤ"So?"
ㅤ"Yes?"
ㅤ"I asked you something. Silly"
ㅤ"Ah, you see, I often see her in every painting made and unfinished ones also, " he paused for a while, ordering her mind and what to say. "It's not in recent times, but always. And it gets worse as the 'fateful day' is nearing"
ㅤ"Mhmmm... " Diana nodded as if she knew how he felt. She too was an artist, an excentric one, "you haven't overcome the past traumas"
ㅤ"She's my muse. How would I overcome her?"
ㅤ"Dumbass. You're still mourning the death as if they were still alive"
ㅤ"It's a sin—Irina, I mean" the coffees came recently made, boiling. Cubs of sugar placed over the small plate below the cup "I know this world, being an artist is thanks to her. I carry her in every work I do. The finished ones, the unfinished ones. The failures, and the good ones. And those still to make"
ㅤ"But you have to move forward. A man that didn't deserve to be called 'vicious', thanks to a sole female. Only being called 'vicious' for your crimes to keep her away"
ㅤ"I..." he didn't say a thing. It was the truth.
ㅤ"You know you have to move forward, Zedrick. You have to overcome those that are dead, one way or another. I know she was some kind of a pillar for what you've told me before"
ㅤ"It's not that easy, Diana. I've tried: women, traveling, drinks, experiences. All of that. It didn't work"
ㅤA sad gaze could be felt from his part. The sugar cubs ended being dissolved after sinking in the coffee. A sip. Then another, he didn't care if it was boiling or not. It tasted better that way: warmth, pain. A nice feeling for him somehow. Diana finished hers and started on the other one. Addicted people being addicted people.
ㅤ"Paint her, " she placed the cup again over the plate at the table "Mourn the death the way she has shown to you. If you keep seeing her face, paint her again. Give her life in the works you made for her. And move forward"
ㅤHer cellphone started buzzing. A call from her manager.
ㅤ"Ah, shit! I gotta go!" Nervous, hurried, Diana stood up from her seat and ran to Zedrick, giving him a kiss on his cheek. Baffled. He hadn't reacted on time. She was almost leaving the Coffee Shop once he finally settled his feet on earth, "Diana! Thank you!"
ㅤDiana looked back with a smile and ran to her car as she answered the incoming call from the manager. In fact, she was ignoring her manager since early morning. Her practices must have resumed an hour ago, but she was there: talking with a guy she barely knew. Some whom she shared intimacy with. They drank, had sex, and coffees. Good coffees. She cared about him, a weird connection she felt they had met
ㅤHow would he feel? If he knew that she watched him last night in a photo uploaded on social networks. Sad. Melancholic, she wanted to give him something to feel better even if they hadn't met each other in months.
ㅤThanks to Diana, he was enlightened.
ㅤThat very night when he came home, Zedrick started working.
ㅤPainting Irina as he remembered her. Giving her life in the worlds that only him could make.
ㅤOne step at a time, Zedrick started to move forward.