Exile from Reality

Ayu feels the wide silken sheet spread across her body, as she lies on top of the soft bed. The light on the bedside table glows softly in the dimness, and outside, it is nighttime.

The windows reflect the city lights of the world below the posh, comfortable apartment, and Ayu closes her eyes for a moment. She breathes in deeply. The air smells of strawberries and hairspray.

She lies there, slightly spread-eagled, and the silk covers her. There is no one in the bedroom other than Ayu, but she stays there, keeping still and half-asleep, conserving her energy. She is waiting for someone.

Half an hour passes.

Noises come from the outside, and the doorknob twists. Ayu’s grey eyes flicker towards it, and the door opens. Kaji is standing there, with his collar loosened, and his hair messed-up. He is clutching a briefcase.

“How was work?” Ayu asks, and Kaji nods to her. “The usual.”

He eyes her, as she lies on the large bed, covered by a silken sheet that accents the shape of her body. Their gazes meet, and they exchange brief smiles. Kaji puts his case down on a table, and heads for the bathroom. He mutters something about taking a shower.

Ayu stares at the ceiling with a certain blankness, as she listens to Kaji making noises in the bathroom. She knows that he is coming out soon, and that he will come out and finally meet her. Ayu’s lips curl up in anticipation, and warmth spreads throughout her.

The silk is getting warm, and her damp brown hair is spread across the pillow and the large mattress, in curls and waves and ripples. Ayu waits for Kaji to finish.

After a few minutes, the door opens, and he is standing there, looking at her with full eyes. A slight smile is on his face as he approaches, and she, who lies there on the bed, covered in a silken sheet, waits excitedly for him to whip it off.

And later that night, two things are lost.