She put the book down, removed her reading glasses and shut the bedside lamp. She knew reading was putting her to sleep and she wasn't sure if she wanted to do that already. She got out of bed and walked to her window, from which she could see that the horizon, as dark as ever. It must be far from sunrise she thought, and that made her very happy. From the 13th floor, the vastness of the sea somehow seemed to multiply. A quick breeze brushed her face and hugged herself to feel warmer...
She was quite happy at how successfully she had avoided phone calls and visitors all night. It had taken some serious effort, but now, she thought, it was worth it. She would have to switch on her phone soon,she knew people would've been worried enough. For now, she brushed that thought from her mind.
Her small studio apartment seemed huge, partially because it was still just half done with the interiors and part because her interiors were as minimalistic as she could make them. She looked around and thought about how she couldn't wait to move in. Her dream of so many years was coming true in front of her eyes. And she knew, that it belonged to her... No one else, but her.

At this point she questioned if she wanted to be alone. It was that age when everyone around her was either married, or on the way to. If not engaged most of her friends had managed to find the one person they wanted to spend the rest of their life with. She found her numbness to these things very disturbing at times, but she would avoid giving it any more thought.

Tonight was different. Tonight, she was hoping to get her answers. Tonight, she was hoping for her post modern fairytale dream to come true. She had however, made sure that this wouldn't happen by cutting herself away from the world. All those who needed to know where she was, were told she's in another city , traveling for business purposes. This included her parents, friends, colleagues, everybody. But she hoped.

Just when the horizon was a deep shade of purple, there was a knock on her door, that sent a shiver down her spine. No one knew she was there, who could it be at that insane hour! Her fears vanished almost the next second, when she heard that very familiar voice say "Its me".
How did he know? she thought as she unlocked.

In the light of a few yellow bulbs, she saw him holding a bottle of wine and a bouquet of white orchids and purple irises. He walked in and shut the door behind him, silently put all that he was holding on a nearby table and moved to her. She had a lot of questions, but she chose to let him have his say first.

" Did you actually want me to buy your Out-Of-City-On-Business excuse? Because, I would have expected a more convincing lie from you if you had meant it."

She just looked at him, and gave him a half smile, not knowing still whether she was actually happy to have him there or not.

His hands now empty, he moved towards her and stood very close to her. He looked her in the eye and she shied away. She felt his finger moving a strand of hair from her face and she looked up at him. He pulled her closer and held her frail body, now wrapped in white satin close by the waist. All these years, and he could still hold her with one hand.
He moved closer and kissed her. She was unsure if she wanted to kiss him back or pull away, but before she had enough time for that, she found herself kissing him back. Her cold half hug suddenly converted into a more warm squeeze.

A little while and a lot of passion later, they broke apart and he kissed her cheek and softly wished her "Happy Birthday". She had maintained her silence all this while and chose not to break it for a thank you, so instead she softly kissed his lip and moved away. The doubts in her head were reducing fast... but still her head wasn't entirely clear.

In the meanwhile, he removed 2 glasses from his bag and poured them some wine. She was fairly surprised at how well prepared he was. She stood there, with hands folded, just looking at him execute his very well thought of plan. He opened his laptop, and put on some music. She could see he had a play list ready... Impressive, she thought.

He handed her one glass, and took her to the window, where they sat on the floor, looking out to the sea, the horizon now turning magic blue...How she loved french windows :)

They knew that they didn't want to indulge in small talk and they also know that the bigger things weren't worth saying. So they sat by each others side, his arm around hers , sipping on wine and watching the sunrise.

She knew, now, that she could start thinking about those bigger questions in life, and answers would come to her with ridiculous clarity. She looked at him and moved closer and rested her head on his shoulder. Her held her tighter than before. They kissed.
She now knew that she sat next to the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
By now, the orange was blazing on the horizon... They watched the sunrise together and then cuddled up in bed and slept.

But She slept happier, because she knew she wasn't indifferent anymore... She was just sure, that she was in love :)