[Side Elena]
Back to the late afternoon, approaching evening, in another city, in a high-rise apartment, inside a unit on the 25th floor.
"La... la... la."
Elena was cooking in the kitchen, singing. She was preparing her best dishes because today was a special day for her and her beloved husband. But in the middle of her fun,
"Knock."
"Knock."
"Just a minute,"
Elena ran to the door and opened her apartment unit door, but she didn't see anyone there. She only saw a brown envelope on the floor addressed to her, Elena Blackwood. She squatted down and picked it up. She looked at it, searching for a sender's address, which she couldn't find anywhere. She looked around the corridor again.
"Who sent this? Is this some kind of flyer?" Elena asked.
She opened the envelope. Inside was a thin, leather notebook. She opened it and found some writing:
"Book of Dream,"
"A dream book? That's weird," Elena said in her heart.
Her eyes went to the inside of the cover. She saw some neatly handwritten words. The content was:
"It's your turn now. Best wishes for happiness."
"What kind of book is this?" Elena asked in her heart.
She started flipping through the pages, but the book turned out to be just a regular notebook. Elena shook her head. She figured someone was playing a trick on her by sending the book and decided it was just a prank. "Sniff... sniff," suddenly her nose caught a burnt smell from inside.
"Oh no, my food!" she exclaimed.
Without delay, she closed the door and ran inside. On the way, she put the envelope with the book on the dining table.
"Whoa! Oh, good thing I made it in time, haha," Elena said, turning off the stove.
She glanced at the wall clock in the living room of her apartment. After checking all her dishes, then grabbing plates and setting the food on the dining table, she took off her apron and ran to the bathroom to wash off all the sweat. Twenty-five minutes later, Elena, who had changed clothes, came out, drying her hair, and then sat on the sofa, carrying the brown envelope from the dining table.
She put the envelope on the coffee table and dried her hair using a hairdryer. Her heart was very happy because her plan had worked. She was sure her husband would be happy when he came home later. She looked at the wall clock one more time; the time was already 7:00 p.m.
"James usually comes home any minute now," she said happily in her heart.
Her hand picked up the TV remote and turned it on. Even though the TV was on, she still looked up at the wall clock above it. Her face was glowing and she looked excited waiting for her husband to come home from the office. Three hours passed. Elena, whose face was now a little gloomy, looked at the clock. The time was already 10:00 p.m.
"Ugh, where is James? Why didn't he call? Maybe he's buying a cake, too. I'll just think positive," she said in her heart to cheer herself up.
Her eyes glanced back at the dining table and saw the food she had prepared since the afternoon, still perfectly set out. "Click." Elena immediately jumped up and ran to her unit door when she heard the sound of the door opening. She saw her husband walk in with a tired face. She immediately took her husband's bag and kissed him on the lips.
"Why were you so late?" she asked.
"I'm sorry, honey, I had a sudden meeting,"
Before her husband could finish explaining, "Dring," his smartphone rang. He immediately answered it.
"Hello, Mr. Jeffrey. Ah, yes, sir, that's right, sir. (A moment of silence.) Alright, sir, I will take care of everything tomorrow. Thank you for still wanting to work with our company, and I apologize once again for the previous miscommunication," her husband said.
Elena waited for her husband to finish the call and listened to a faint man's voice from her husband's phone.
"Alright, sir, thank you, sir. Good night."
Her husband hung up the phone. He took off his tie and walked past Elena, who then followed him from behind. After putting down her husband's bag,
"James, let's eat first. I cooked a lot just for today,"
"I'm sorry, honey, I'm going to sleep first. I have to leave early tomorrow, and besides, I already ate with clients outside," said James, her husband.
"Oh... is that so? It's okay then, you just take a shower and go to sleep," Elena said weakly.
"Yeah, I'm sorry, honey,"
James kissed Elena's forehead, then he walked into the bathroom. Elena sat at the dining table. She looked down and saw her body wearing sexy lingerie. A tear fell, but she immediately wiped it away. After James came out and went into the bedroom, she started to eat her own food because she was hungry. She looked at the large amount of food on the table.
"I can't finish all this. What should I do? (She looked at her room.) Did he forget? Today is our 6th wedding anniversary, but he looks so tired. I even wore his favorite lingerie, and he didn't even look. It's been so long since he touched me, maybe about 2 years, because we've been busy moving all the time. I really want to settle down and have a baby, but if I bring it up again, will he get mad? I'm so confused," Elena said in her heart, playing with the spoon on her plate.
After eating, Elena went back into the bathroom and changed her clothes. After that, she cleared the table and put the leftover food in the fridge to eat the next day. After turning off the lights, she walked to her bedroom. She opened the door a little and peeked in. It turned out James was still sitting up in bed, looking at his smartphone.
"Click." Elena walked in and lay down next to James. Her heart ached, but she tried to understand her husband, who was still sitting next to her, until she finally fell asleep.
***
"Huh,"
Elena woke up. She looked around. She saw herself in a fancy restaurant, sitting at one of the tables. She saw a lit candle on the table, then looked out the window. She was observing the city at night.
"Where is this? What city is that? Is this a dream? I thought I was sleeping, right? Why does it feel so real?" Elena asked in her heart, confused.
"Ahem," Elena turned to look across from her. Her eyes met the gaze of Ethan, who was sitting in front of her.
"Who is this handsome guy in front of me? His tuxedo looks so good, it fits his strong and muscular body. He's definitely not my husband, right?" she asked in her heart.
Curious about the man in front of her, Elena stared intently at Ethan. She could see Ethan was also curious about her.
"Um... excuse me, who are you?" she asked hesitantly.
"My name is Ethan. What's your name, ma'am?" Ethan asked, starting the introduction.
"Oh, I'm Elena. Nice to meet you, Mr. Ethan," Elena replied.
"Nice to meet you, Ms. Elena," Ethan replied, extending his hand.
Without hesitation, Elena shook Ethan's hand, and when their hands touched, Elena unconsciously smiled and did not let go of the handshake.