32 Why She Was Late?

Shirley felt at loss. She does not know what has happened with her friend. Taking a closer look at Sam's face, she could see faint smudges dark skin underneath her eyes. Shirley went through her purse and took out some wet wipes. Very gently, she removed the heavy makeup her friend wore. But she was not happy with the result.

The reality was much worse than she expected.

Shirley has thought that her friend loves to wear make and she surely was good at it. But she did not expect that her friend carried a weight of her own. Beneath all that glitter and laughter there were scars that her friend has kept hidden. Shirley looked at the hideous dark bags under her eyes.

Sleepless nights

She could see the faint lines, which have been cleverly masked by makeup. Lines, which were now in open, for her to see.

Too much sadness

Shirley has concluded that she has found a friend who is just like the Sun… shining brightly, spreading warmth, chasing away darkness from the pitiful hearts. But she was wrong. Looking at the face that is filled with stories of its own, sad stories, Shirley knew that she was wrong.

Sam was not like a Sun but far from it.

She was just like another normal person, who wakes up with the knowledge of her past, does her best in the present, for a future that is as certain as life itself.

Her friend has been putting on a mask to survive.

This is what we all do.

The world that we know is cruel and if you let your guard down even for a second you would be taken advantage of. But once in a while when you meet someone who is just like you, you feel like letting go. Maybe that's what her friend did. As now and then this harsh reality could overwhelm you and you lose control over yourself.

You are at your lowest, weakest. Some get lucky as that time they meet angels as she did. She met Sam. While others, get trampled on by the high and mighty people, like ants beneath their shoes.

Shirley wondered what went wrong in her friend's life. She mused what sort of friend she is, to know so little about a person she calls her friend. These past few days, everything has been about herself. Shirley knows that she deserves some peace after what she went through and she felt glad that she met Sam. But not everything can be about herself all the time.

She cannot be selfish like that, she knows she isn't.

It is well and good to take ourselves as a priority but we should never ever take others for granted as well. That would be wrong.

Shirley looked at Sam's frowning face. Lightly she smoothed it with her fingers and gently rubbed her forehead in small circular motions. She has learned that form her mother. Whenever she felt like an onslaught form incoming headache she would rub her forehead in this way and like magic, the ache will go away.

Soon her friend's expression changed to a relaxing one and she could see that for a while the pain was chased away. But for how long she could keep it at bay. If the root cause is not dealt with, sooner or later Sam would be sad and Shirley could not do anything as she knows nothing.

Shirley decided that she would ask her friend about what happened as soon as she wakes up. She does not have many friends, to begin with, only Sara and now Sam. She does not want her friend to keep everything inside and hurting, not on her watch.

Shirley got up and checked the bags which her friend brought along. She laughed out loud when she saw the contents.

Movie CDs, Pretty woman, Sleepless in Seattle, You have got a mail, Letters to Juliet, 27 Dresses, Mean girls, Cinderella, Ariel, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tangled… lots of wafers, M&Ms, sweet and sour jelly and other goodies to much on.

Now she knows why her friend was late.

This friend of hers was collecting all of these things for a relaxing lazy day. Shirley smiled her friend is such a softy at heart. Well, it looks like she needs to arrange for a CD player. Her room did has LED but not a CD player. She wondered why did her friend bring movie Cds? It would be hard to find a CD player in this era. But she would give her best.

Shirley looked at her friend, after making sure that she was safely tucked in she took her purse and went out of the room. But not before leaving a note and some painkillers on the table for her friend, if she wakes up to an empty room. She does not want Sam to worry about her whereabouts.

And along with CD player she needs to buy some alcohol too. It would help with the questioning she will do later on. She won't let Sam stay mum about it, not at all.