//------------------------------// // 1. Neighbor // Story: Long-Distance // by Bicyclette //------------------------------// Wallflower looked at the apartment door and sighed. Why was this so hard for her? What was wrong with— No. Nothing was wrong with her. She could still hear Sunset’s voice saying that. No. She was just uncomfortable with some things, and that was okay. Even if it was something as simple as talking to a neighbor. It’s not how she grew up, after all. To her, neighbors were for smiling pleasantly to if you passed by them in the hallway. Nothing more. But this wasn’t for her. This was for Sunset. This was because Sunset wasn’t here— She rapped the door with her knuckles, as if banishing that thought. She tried to stop herself from cringing as the door slowly creaked open. She forced a smile. “Hi, Ms. Rose! With everything that was going on, I just wanted to see how you were doing!” Too fast. What was that? “I’m, uh, your neighbor! Wallflower Blush!” She cringed at how stupid saying her full name must have sounded. A pair of fuschia eyes observed her silently from behind a thick pair of glasses. An awkward moment passed, as Wallflower’s smile faltered. “What? I’m sorry.” The old lady disappeared from the open door for a moment. “Forgot to put my hearing aid in.” Wallflower’s stomach knotted with dread at the thought of having to repeat herself, but Ms. Rose spoke first. “You’re the neighbor girl, ain’t ya? The quiet one. Wallflower whatsit.“ “That’s right!” she said with relief. “I, uh, just wanted to check in on how you were doing! You know, with everything that’s going on…“ “Oh, of course!” Ms. Rose brightened as she turned around and began heading back inside. Wallflower watched her back for a second, confused, until she called out, “Well, what are you waiting for? Come on in! Kettle should still be hot.” Wallflower fought her instinct to make up an excuse and disappear, and cautiously stepped inside. She had secretly wondered how an old lady could possibly live in an apartment like Sunset’s, and the answer was that she didn’t. Sure, the interior walls didn’t go all the way up to the ceiling, but it did make the place feel more traditional, reinforced by the woman’s apparent taste in furniture. “Have a seat in the living room, dear”, Ms. Rose called from the little walled-off kitchen, and Wallflower did so, taking a seat on the least overstuffed chair she could find. She looked up to see Ms. Rose shuffling towards her, balancing a clattering tray in her hands. “Oh, you really didn’t have to!” Wallflower got up, extending her arms. “Here, I could at least take that for you—” “Nonsense, nonsense,” Ms. Rose insisted as she kept shuffling closer, her body language shrugging off any silly notion that she needed anything that looked like help. “I can manage making tea for a guest!” She set down the tray on the coffee table, and only then did Wallflower sit back down onto her chair, trying to make herself shrink into the cushions. Ms. Rose noticed this, and spoke with a softer voice. “Oh, I’m sorry, dear. I’m sure you didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just…” She let out a wheezy chuckle. “Once you get to a certain age, people stop thinking of you as a real person who can do things. You become invisible, you know? “ Wallflower gave a nervous smile, and said nothing. “Ah!” Ms. Rose threw up her hands in sudden realization. “Can you believe it! With everything going on, here I am complaining about being old!” She gave another wheezy chuckle before smiling at Wallflower, her eyes full of pity. “How old are you, dear? Twenty-five?” “Uh, twenty, actually.” “Twenty!” she marveled. “So you’ll only be forty years old when it happens. What a shame. Much too young.” She shook her head. “Much too young. Oh, but you don’t need me to tell you that. Or Miss Sunset.” Ms. Rose looked at her and smiled sweetly. “I’m sorry to admit it, but I was surprised when I saw it was you and not her at the door just now. She does most of the talking for the two of you, doesn’t she? Ah, tea should be all steeped now.” “Oh, that’s one reason I’m here,” Wallflower frowned as Ms. Rose poured out two mugs. “She had to move back home, to be with her family. She wanted me to tell you that she’s sorry she left without saying goodbye. It was all very sudden.” “Oh.” Ms. Rose’s smile fell. “That is a shame. But with everything going on, I do understand. Folks all over are rethinking things. Why, my son even called me the day that horrible announcement came! Said he wanted me to move in with his family. Can you imagine?” She laughed. “He calls once a month if I’m lucky, hardly visits, and all of a sudden…” She looked at Wallflower again, and frowned. “Oh, here I am, complaining about my life again, when I have nothing to complain about! It’s you young folks that have it the worst. Twenty years old…” Ms. Rose was no longer looking at her but past her, and around the walls of the apartment. Wallflower did so as well, for the first time taking in the maps, the paintings, and especially the framed photographs. When they weren’t of landscapes or landmarks, they always had at least the same two people in them, one of whom she recognized as a much younger Ms. Rose. “Forty years on this Earth, with the love of my life. Oh, how wonderful it was. Not enough, but it never would have been enough, would it, dear?” She sighed. “And it’s such a shame. If you and Sunset are as lucky as we were, you would only get half as much.” Wallflower’s eyes widened. “M-me and Sunset?” “Come now, dear! I may be old, but my mind’s not gone yet!” She laughed. “I knew from the moment I heard her voice brighten when she mentioned you for the first time!” Wallflower smiled, unexpectedly fighting back tears. It felt really good to be seen. To have been seen… “Now, I do hope you young kids are still trying to make it work. It really would be a shame, to let a little distance come between you two!” A little distance. Wallflower tried not to wince. “Yeah, we’re trying,” she said in a small voice. “We’re taking it one day at a time.” “But it’s not so bad these days, right?” Ms. Rose insisted. “Those what-do-you-call-its, long-distance relationships. Why, with all the texts and video calls you kids have now, it’ll be like she’s never left at all!“ “Yeah…” Wallflower avoided her gaze. “Oh, I’m sorry, dear. I know it won’t be the same.” Ms. Rose gave her a sympathetic look. “But don’t worry. It just has to last you until things settle down. Before you know it, you will be together again, I’m sure.” “That does sound nice,” Wallflower managed, meeting her gaze this time. She smiled at the thought of it. The fantasy. Ms. Rose gave her a smile in return, a tinge of conspiracy at its corner. “Now. Would you want to hear the story about how I met young Miss Sunset?” Wallflower’s eyes widened. “I really would!” she blurted, surprising herself. Ms. Rose began with a laugh. “It was the very first day that she moved in. Why, it was like the poor girl had never used an elevator before! Like she was from another world…” After passing a pleasant afternoon with the woman she had been avoiding having to talk to for a year, Wallflower was back home, She picked up a familiar brown notebook with an emblem of the sun on the cover from the coffee table. She opened it to see Sunset’s newest message on the page. How did it go? She took a pen and wrote her reply underneath, a green glow tracing behind her pen tip. It went great! I feel so silly having been so nervous! She was really nice. An orange glow traced out a reply in black ink right away. I’m glad! How is she doing? She’s doing fine! She seemed happy, even. She said she’s moving in with her son’s family. Oh, yeah! She was always talking about how I talk to her more than her own son. Haha. Wallflower could all but hear that brassy chuckle. She smiled. Oh, and a funny thing. She said that she was so happy to watch you grow up from being just out of high school. I think she thinks you’re older than you really are. Haha, that makes sense! And she said that she’ll miss you and your little chats. A bit of a pause. I’ll miss her, too. I’m so glad I got to say goodbye through you. Thank you so much for doing this for me, Wally. Wallflower smiled. She also said you didn’t have to worry about paying her back for the washing machine. She told you about that? Yeah! The whole story! Ugh, I can’t believe it. That was only a month after I got to your world, I still didn’t really know how human clothes worked! Wallflower laughed. It was really nice, hearing her talk about you! It was like Wallflower’s smile faded as she hesitated before continuing. It was like you were still here. Her words lay still for a few seconds. Wallflower felt the guilt build before Sunset replied. I’m still here, Wally. I know. I’m sorry. I just miss you, is all. I just She kept her pen on the “t”. Fighting back tears. Wishing she knew what to say. What are we doing? Another pause, before the glow of Sunset’s orange traced out a reply. We’re taking it one day at a time. The orange light stood still atop the period. Wallflower stared at in silence for a bit before pressing the tip of her pen on the same spot. A green glow shone, mixing and mingling with the orange. She imagined the warmth of Sunset’s hand on hers.