NOVEL WEB Chapter 3.5 – The Phone Call
The whole conversation had been exhausting. Silva blankly stared at the ceiling while lying in her bed. Her mostly green room was almost barren.
Only the most necessary furniture was stuffed in it. There was a bookshelf with Silva’s favourite books. A computer table with a chair, a bed with a small nightstand next to it and a small wardrobe where she kept her meagre clothing selection. And everything was old or second-hand.
It was impossible to add anything more to Silva’s room. There simply was no space, even if she wanted to. But it suited her just fine. She was not trying to impress anyone and preferred to be comfortable in her adobe.
The day had been long and nerve-wracking. Too many things had happened. At this point, Silva wanted to just fall asleep to empty her mind. But, unfortunately, there was one thing left.
While it all was confusing, Silva was sure Mika would contact her soon. Probably tonight. Maybe. That was what was hinted at - most likely.
Despite the lack of confidence, Silva continued to fiddle with her phone, waiting for a message or a call. She dismissed notification after notification - mostly updates she had gotten along the day.
It gave her something to do besides launching a game to procrastinate even more. Silva knew nothing was stopping her from being proactive and making the contact herself.
Silva inwardly tried to pep talk herself. "Just do it! No point in dragging this out for longer than necessary.” She tried to rationalise. “Ah, but it is already late. Should I call her tomorrow? It's not like I will stumble on her on my way to school. And waking up Dad would be bad, yes, tomorrow..."
In the end, Silva didn’t have the guts to do it. She had spent a better part of an hour running in circles, trying to decide how to proceed.
It was already a little bit after midnight. Silva sighed while putting down her phone. She was about to prepare for sleep. Her mind was too foggy, unable to make a sensible decision.
But before Silva could start to undress, she was startled by her phone announcing a new message's arrival.
Silva hurried to grab her phone. She had already decided to drop the matter for the day and hoped the message was not what she thought it was.
Unfortunately, it was exactly what Silva feared. The short message simply stated she would receive a call from Mika in around ten minutes.
Cursing to herself, Silva snuck out of her room. She carefully listened for any sounds from her father’s room. Only after hearing nothing checked on her dad, luckily finding him asleep.
Only then did Silva hurried to put on her jacket and quietly exited the apartment. She nursed her phone close while rushing down the stairs.
Upon exiting the building, the cold night air momentarily took Silva’s breath away. The wind washed over her, chilling her skin, but it also helped her clear her head.
Silva chose a direction and started to aimlessly walk down the street. Moving helped her racing heart, and the empty street was calming with its silence. She almost felt ready to speak. Here, no one would hear or see if she collapsed in a nervous wreck.
Trying to keep the depressing thoughts away, Silva shook her head. It was almost time. The allotted ten minutes were about to pass, and she prepared to answer the call.
It was almost comical how quickly Silva answered the call when it finally came. “Hello?” She hoped she didn’t sound like a desperate, scared kid on the other end - even if she felt like that.
Mika’s voice was calm and unhurried. “Hey, sorry to bother you this late, but we had to talk without Steven being nosy. He can be very sharp about stuff you want to hide. You might think he is stupid from his act, but that would be a mistake.” She explained. “Anyway! That’s not why I called. There is something I want to clarify. Something about you and your ability...”
Silva swallowed hard. She had hoped there would be more time before this conversation reared its ugly head again. She tried to form a suitable answer while Mika continued.
“Did you spy on us?” Mika asked the dreaded question.
Silva took a deep breath as she gathered her courage. She checked her surroundings once more. This wasn’t perfect. She hadn’t wanted to admit her sins over the phone. It just didn’t seem sincere enough for her.
But Mika had asked directly.
This time, Silva would admit everything. "Yes, I saw you healing Steven. I also overheard you two talking. Not much, but enough. I... I don't usually do that, but…” Words rushed out of her mouth. “It was the first time I had found someone else like me! People who also had ability! People with whom I could talk! I.. But I had to be sure... Sure that you... You know, are trustworthy...”
Silva looked down at her feet. She hated herself for her inability to express herself better. She could only hope that Mika would understand.
The silence from the other side of the call encouraged Silva to continue. Or perhaps, spell her immediate doom.
Silva continued, fearing hiding anything would forever leave her without any human contact. "You see, my ability, it allows me to hide. I can be almost impossible to notice. Not invisible…” She paused for a breath. “But people will ignore me. So… I can walk where I want and do what I want. Sometimes, I would simply follow people who I think are interesting.” She realised how bad it sounded and hurried to explain further. “Not with anything bad in mind..." Silva trailed off. “It's just that… I don't have any friends and... I don't know... I want to see how people are. What makes them tick. I can't explain it well...” Her voice trailed off.
And Mika used the moment to ask another question. “In the end, what did you want?” Mika`s voice did not change.
It was hard for Silva to tell how Mika was taking her explanation. “That is... I wanted to be friends with you.” She could only hang her head in shame.
It sounded so lame when said out loud.
And Mika didn’t seem to receive them well. "Do you know how shocking it is to discover someone who could have seen any and all your secrets? That your biggest secret is already known by that someone." She questioned her.
The scathing words penetrated Silva's heart like sharp knives. The quiet 'sorry' she muttered was barely loud enough for Mika to hear.
It seemed to take out some of the wind from Mika’s sails. The girl sighed and then continued. "...But I don't think you are a bad person.” She conceded. “And I would not mind you becoming my f-friend,” Her voice cracked as if she had swallowed something bitter. “That is if you are truly sorry and apologise. I am sure Steven would say the same."
Silva almost collapsed from the relief she felt upon hearing Mika’s words. It was as if a big weight was taken off of her shoulders. "Thank you.” She held back her inner turmoil from spilling out. “Sorry, I did not mean to scare you. I am truly sorry it happened this way." Her voice still trembled. She tried to figure out what else she could do. "Should I call Steven and speak with him as well?"
Mika went silent again. Silva waited for the answer, trying to keep the biting cold away by jumping from one leg to another. It helped a little.
"Yes, you should definitely tell him if you want to be our friend,” Mika eventually answered. “But you should do it face to face. He doesn’t like talking to people on the phone. He says it makes it hard to tell how sincere the other side is. These kinds of things are not really meant for a phone conversation.”
Those were Silva’s thoughts as well. So she had to ask, “Then why did you interrupt me when I tried to tell Steven about myself? And aren't we doing just that right now?”
“That... Well, as to why I interrupted you…” Mika stumbled a little. “I did not want to pressure you into revealing your ability. To reveal such a secret... It is better to let people prepare before doing it.” There were not-so-hidden barbs in Mika's words. “And I did not want to leave this matter to rest for any longer than necessary. It is better to settle it quickly. So I decided to call you.” She finished.
“Ah! Okay, then, should we meet tomorrow?” Silva wondered, still feeling guilty.
"Yes. I suppose we should.” Mika agreed. “We have a bit of a shorter day tomorrow… Just give us a place, and we will wait for you at it," She suggested.
After giving it a thought, Silva had a suggestion. “Then would Pigeon Park work?” She chose a public place without a lot of people. Her knowledge of any cosy establishments they could visit was almost nonexistent, and she didn’t want to go to that terrible tea place again.
There was another delay. Silva could hear another voice in the background speaking with Mika. She wondered what was happening until the girl spoke again.
"Then let’s meet there. Give us a message when you are free- Dad, please leave!” Mika suddenly shouted. “I am talking with a friend... Yes! OK! Fine!"
It was hard to hear what exactly was happening. Silva thought she heard a male’s voice question Mika.
"No, it's not Steven!” Mika sounded angry. “No, it is a girl! Silva, are you still there?" She seemed to realise the other party was hearing it all.
"Yes, is everything alright?" Silva could easily imagine her father doing the same thing. It was kind of relatable.
"Sure, but we will have to talk more tomorrow. Dad is being a nuisance. Hold on!" Mika stopped for a moment. "... Yes, I know you could hear me, that's why I said it!"
Silva could hear Mika shouting and exchanging several jabs with her dad.
Before Silva could ask what was going on, Mika was back. "I have to go, goodnight Silva... Have a good sleep."
“Night...” Silva managed to awkwardly reply before the call was ended. She spent a moment looking at the moon and then turned to head back home.
The night’s wind had chilled her to the bone. When she finally sneaked back inside the apartment and returned to her room, she gladly slipped under an extra blanket to warm herself up.
Despite the stormy day, the outcome was not bad. Mika had turned out to be even a better person than Silva had expected, and tomorrow, the girl would help her to talk with Steven.
Silva’s tired mind finally started to slip into a dream world as she thought about the coming day and what it would bring.
There was no doubt - it would not be boring.
