The wind gushed in through the window, sending the already littered sheets of paper flying across the room. Ryka, seated right in the middle of the mess, was unbothered. How did it matter anyway? She had been at it for months now and nothing seemed to change. The sheets continued to circle around her as she resumed staring at the frame in the far corner of the room. Behind the frame stood a recent degree that bore her name–a piece of paper that was supposed to open doors for your future, or so they said. All she had seen until now were doors that were shut so tight that no one heard her screaming on the other side. She had now lost count of the applications that she had filled out. The only time she took notice of the company’s name was when she received a sugarcoated rejection email. Lately, those seemed to be merging together too.
It did no favors to her that her relationship had recently come to an end. After two lovely years together, the uncertainty of the different places their paths may take them to had prompted him to break it off. If she had any energy left in her, she would have told him to stay. She would have told him that she did not remember a time in her life that she had been this happy without having to try. She would have told him that they would work it out because they had a way of solving complex problems together. She would have told him that the relationship lasted the entire course of their degree and in the end, both had failed her. Even so, one had more power over her heart.
“Hey Gill, wait up!” called Jay as he jogged to her. She picked up pace as she turned the corner to her home. “You underestimate how fast I can run, Gill.” he said, stopping to catch his breath at her door. “I’m not very much in a people mood, thanks Jay.”, and the door slammed shut in his face.
She tossed her things and pushed herself onto the couch. It had been a while since she was this exhausted. Work had been challenging off late–the project she was working on demanded a lot of long nights and meetings at ungodly hours. She glanced at the clock. 10:32 P.M. it read, and she was suddenly aware of how hungry she was. Walking to the kitchen, she considered the events of the day. The two meetings went about as well as could be expected, but she barely had time to squeeze in lunch before she sat down to complete the draft to be presented at the 6 P.M. meeting. That had lasted a solid three hours. When she finally wound down for the day and got into the elevator, Jay had decided to “surprise” her by showing up at the office and not letting her leave until he got his dinner date. “I just need to get home.”, she had finally said as she trotted off into the night. Busy day, but it left her feeling accomplished in some sense of the word.
Rummaging through the kitchen, the only edible food Gill saw was the truffle cake Jay had baked for her two nights ago. She felt a sudden pang of guilt. Hoping the situation was still salvageable, she went to the door. She pulled it open only to find Jay sitting by the stairs. Of course. “Thought you’d leave me stranded babe.” he teased.
Ryka had never been one to worry. She had been an easy child for most of her life, always trusting that things fall into place eventually. It was getting harder to hold on to the belief with the repercussions of her situation hanging in the air and try as she might, she couldn’t shake it off. “What if everything I have done in the two years was entirely a waste of my time? Does my degree even really reflect my passion? Will it ever land me something worthwhile? And what about our relationship? What do I do with all the memories I have of him? Should I beg him to stay? Will we ever cross paths again?”, the questions seemed like they could go on forever. If only someone had the answers.
Finally, she decided to pile up the runaway pages and began gathering them. The doorbell rang as she stacked them and she rose to get the door.
Jay carefully picked up the laptop from the couch and sat himself down. He raised his eyebrow at Gill quizzically as she paced around the room, “You’re hungry aren’t you?”. Then, “That is precisely why I have takeout.” he said pointing to his bag. She flashed him a huge smile as she spotted boxes from their favorite Indian restaurant. Placing them on the table, she went into the room to change out of her work clothes. Sifting through her drawers, her eyes landed on an old copy of The Notebook. She stopped in her tracks and pulled the book from under the others.
Ryka opened the door but saw no sign of anyone outside. She turned to go back in when she spotted a book on the doorstep. It was a copy of The Notebook. She picked it up curiously and looked around for the owner. Not finding them, she headed back inside. Once in her room, she inspected the book to check for any markings. As she did so, a note fell to the floor. She picked it up and began reading.
“Ryka Gill,
You underestimate your strength and ability to persevere. In the two years that I have known you, I haven’t known you to be someone who backs off from a challenge. And these are the most challenging times there are. At the time, I know it seems like all roads lead to a dead-end. But Lenin once said, ‘There are decades where nothing happens, and there are weeks where decades happen’.
This is something I realized when I met you. I waited my whole life for something magical to happen when it only took a few special moments. I lived my whole life in those moments with you. If you find that your weeks eventually lead back to me, I’ll be happy to be your decades.
– Jay”