Just stopping by

Aisha sat by her desk with her computer and was editing a video. Despite the rainy weather, she was wearing a short top and white jogging pants. Over her ears she wore big headphones and over her shoulders and around her body was a big blue-grey knitted blanket. She was listening very care fully to the video she was editing, because while she had recorded a couple of hours earlier, her neighbor had had a boy visiting and hadn’t kept that a secret the way she and her bed had been sounding. She was about to cut something out when her ears caught onto something. Her head turned and looked for any activity in her room. She took of her headphones but there was no loud voices.
But then the person who had made the sound she had reacted to revealed themselves. It’s Echo. It’s Echo! She quickly took of her headphones and as she pushed the chair away from her table she pushed so hard that the chair tumbled backwards making some noise. “Just a moment,” she said as she rolled around on the floor and tried to get a hold on both her blanket, the long loose hair and putting the chair back up. She then rushed to the door, unlocked and opened it. The speed she had had made her hair sway a bit and she had her blanket over her shoulder. “Hey,” she greeted with the widest smile on her lips before she leaned in to hug him tight. “Come on in” she said as soon as she had let go of him. She wanted to close the door to keep the warmth inside.

There was never a day where she didn’t think of Echo or wouldn’t want his company, so when he apologized she shook her head a little. She made sure the door was locked. Her room consisted of a bed with a single plushie of a turtle. Underneath her bed one could catch the eye of a guitar head. She had desk right next to her bed with multiple different electronics to record videos and get the right lightning and sound. Besides from the electronics, she had loads of paper with scribbles, drawings, thoughts, and emotions. Right next to her door was some training equipment. The walls was filled with inspiring quotes and posters of different artists. What Aisha felt stood out the most was the little spare corner of her room, which was always decorated up with things she used for meditation.

Aisha let him speak and looked at him caringly and calm, even though the presence of him had made her very energized. She noticed how he put his hands in his pockets and pulled on a slightly worried smile. “I got all the time you need, I’ll just save my progress,” she said and nodded towards her computer. She swung her blanket off her shoulder and handed it to him. “Get comfortable, alight?” she said with a warm smile before she went and made the program save the progress she had made on the video. As soon as it had saved she turned her attention back to him and sat down in her bead, crossing her legs over each other, “What can I do for you?” she asked and merged her fingers and looked at him.

Aisha smiled widely as he asked if it was where she made her videos, “Yeah, it is,” she said and nodded a bit. “Some of them at least,” she said and winked at him. He had seen her apartment and knew that it was also suited up for videos and despite of that, some videos were shot while she was out and about. To be fair, she already felt like she was doing great, but of course she could still get bigger on the social media, but it would crave so much of her time that she would basically need to livestream her life.
She noted how he leaned forwards, and she did too, almost resting herself on her elbows. She caught herself holding her breath as he explained what was on his mind. She pulled a worried expression, “I know,” she mumbled and picked up on how he picked at his fingers. He wished for her to talk him out of it and shortly after started to talk about being selfish. She got off the bed and approached him, “No, no,” she whispered quickly, “You’re not selfish,” she said and took his hands before she kneeled down in front of him. “I know you really want to get them,” she said and licked her lips while she looked at their hands for a moment. She had so many reasons why he shouldn’t go, and he had only just mentioned it. “Revenge won’t change anything,” she caressed his hands and looked up at him. “The pain won’t lessen and you’re just going to have blood on your hands,” she let one of her hands occupy both of his hands so she could caress his cheek gently, “And I know it might not seem like there would be anyone who loves them, but some would love them and feel hurt for losing them… And they might want to seek revenge too. And it might hurt you and people you love,” she said and kept her eyes on his, ”So you would only be spreading more pain…. And regret because you’re not going to feel satisfied,” she said and pulled a sad smile. “Oh, Echo,” she mumbled and pulled one of his hands up to kiss the back of his hand once.

The expression on her face only turned more worried and sadder when he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. She really felt like he needed more grounding and physical comfort than just a simple hand caressing his cheek. She listened to him and could almost feel every emotion he carried, even though she had no ability to do so. “They can feel pain in another way,” she mumbled, “You don’t have to get blood on your hands to get a feeling of satisfaction,” she tried. Even though she didn’t want to give him new ideas, she wanted him to forget the idea he had gotten. She didn’t want him to endanger himself. Who knew, maybe he could find other ways to make their lives miserable – and the people would have to live with it. Dark thoughts, but many of the thoughts had been from voices she had heard before. Dead spirits or alike which had told her about their thoughts of vengeance.
She smiled a little brighter as she reminded her of why he needed him. As he teased her, she gave him a little nudge on the knee. “That’s rude,” she said with a light chuckle. She got up from her kneeling position, supporting herself to his knee, but only very little. “What should you do without me, huh?” she said and corrected a strand of hair and looked into his eyes. The hand which had corrected his hair found his shoulder. “You really need a hug, you do,” she said with a slightly sad smile before she stepped closer. Her legs found their way to each side of him. She placed a hand on the back of the stool, and she moved her knees up to the seat, so she sat on his lap. “Come here,” she mumbled and pulled him into a hug letting her hand find it’s way into his hair.

He thanked her, but she didn’t really know if he had gotten his mind on something better or something worse. She just hoped that if he got similar thoughts again, that he would come to her and talk with her before just jumping to the idea. No matter what, she was very, very happy that he had come to her place to talk. I meant that she had a good effect on him, and that he seemingly trusted her not to blame or judge him. Even though Aisha had both her parents and her brother, she was able to understand that Echo was in great pain from the loss of his family. Without ever stating it, she had actually wished that she would be able to fill as much in his life as his family once had filled. No, she didn’t want to be the only thing he could live or depend on, but she wished that she could fill him with love and joy. He deserved that.
It had been a whole nine months since they had been in the cinema together, where Aisha had told Echo that she was actually dating Shin and that it might get serious. She had apologized for the fact that she had kissed him. The only thing was that almost two months went by before Shin and Aisha put a label on their relationship. But it had been almost one and a half year of dating on and off. And Aisha never liked the uncertainty. She liked to know where she had people and whether or not she could count on them. It had now been a bit more than half a year that she had been in a relationship with Shin, and she still didn’t feel the certainty, nor had he been willing to meet her parents. It was almost like he was afraid of actually committing and it bugged her. Echo on the other hand was always ready, just like she was to him. She felt like she understood him and was able to be in the same room as him without any bad tension – except for the fact that he had just been talking about how he had wanted to get blood on his hands to hopefully feel more at ease. She made a little smile as he confessed that he didn’t know what he would do without her. It was crazy that they had been friends for a little under a year, and now he didn’t know what he would do without her. She stood in the same shoes, even though she had both Caroline and Howie who was some of her best friends… The thing was that Howie, and she was always about social media and Caroline seemed the most interested in ‘girly’ stuff. Echo filled every other bit that the others didn’t cover; and that was a lot. Their relationship was so much deeper than all the others and it might be the fact that they were so different from each other.

She felt how he hugged her back which made a small innocent smile appear on her lips. She had noticed how he had started blushing almost immediately, but to her it didn’t really matter if he blushed or not, what mattered was that he felt comfortable and loved. The way he almost purred under her touch made her smile a little. She had had her eyes closed for a moment but opened them as he hid his neck. She could feel how his face was warm and how his breath reached all the way down into her top. “Anytime,” she mumbled. She moved her seat a little, not paying much attention to how she was moving on top of him. Her intention was after all to sit closer to him and tighten her grip. “I really appreciate that you came to talk,” she whispered to him, aware that his ear was close to her lips. “And remember that I’m always here for you, okay?”

Even though Aisha couldn’t see that he nodded, she could feel it, the way she hugged him and had a hand in his hair. It was easy for her to feel. A soft appreciating hum left her as he said he was going to be there for her. She knew that, he had already proven it an abundance of times.
Aisha held her breath as soon as she felt that he grabbed underneath her thighs. She wrapped her arms a little tighter around him as he chose to stand up with her. In pure reflex she wrapped her legs around his waist so she wouldn’t glide out of his arms and so his hips could carry some of her weight. She chuckled a little as he couldn’t really find words for what he wanted to say. She didn’t mind it. Maybe the hug had been a little too much, but how was she to know if he didn’t say a thing?
She was placed on the bed and she let her arms and legs remove themselves as soon as they felt the bed underneath her. For a short moment she actually felt how her heart beat faster than usual. It only just lasted while he put her on the bed and took his distance afterwards. She had to remind herself to take a deeper breath in and wished that her cheeks hadn’t blushed. She noticed how he once again played with his hands and she wished to occupy them with something. Maybe that could be a gift for him? A ball, special finger rings or something that he could fidget with?
He sat down next to her and she corrected how she sat, so she hugged one of her legs. She snorted a bit as he asked how things went with her relationship and the double date. It wasn’t because she got offended or anything, but because she thought that it didn’t go very well. “Well It’s the usual slow and all with Shin and I,” she exhaled and licked her lips thoughtfully, “And it was a doubledate,” she corrected Echo with a light nod, “So it was Shin, his friend and the friend’s girlfriend,” she replied and pressed her lips together by the thought. “It was so crazy,” she said and turned her eyes towards her fingers where she looked at them for a moment. “I am positive that the other girl would’ve cut off my finger if she had had the possibility,” she said and looked up at Echo.

Aisha’s eyes widened as he suddenly took her hands to check if they were intact, it made her smile a little that he was worried even though it had been a little while since she had been on the double date. Luckily, she had only gotten a few scars which were so small that they couldn’t be seen anymore. He let go of her fingers and she looked at him with a little smile and shrugged. “I don’t know. She generally seemed quite psycho. Something was just so off about her,” she licked her lips and looked down at her hands a little troubled. His growls made a little smile appear on her lips. She chuckled a little as he mentioned that she probably should stay away from those who they paired up with on the double date. “Yeah,” she laughed a little, “I’ll do what I can,” she tried to assure him. She hadn’t really felt completely safe after that double date. She looked at him as he sat up again and asked if she was okay. She shrugged a little. “Honestly, when is anyone even okay?” she responded letting her eyes roll once. She didn’t want to say the words. She wasn’t okay. She looked down at her hands and shrugged a little. “I don’t… I mean… Delilah didn’t really say it…” She took a deeper breath in and licked her lips a little nervously, “But I would get the meanest glares if simply looked at her boyfriend,” she shook her head and sighed. “I think she might just have been overly protective of what she loves…” She looked over at Echo and felt something pressure on her chest, “And she wouldn’t mind getting blood on her hands if it came to it,” she said and gave him a sad smile. She had felt seriously threatened that night.

She was pulled in to a sideways hug and she could feel that he rested his head on top of hers while he spoke. She chuckled as he told her that Delilah was going to deal with her problems with out her and the way that he shook her, “Okay, okay,” she laughed a little. The smile had grown a little on her face. He was simply so sweet to her and the way he tackled whatever she came up with just seemed so… so nice.
She pressed her lips a little together and moved them from side to side while she thought about if Shin and she had problems. The biggest problem was that she found it difficult to tell him her troubles which only made it impossible for them to work on what she felt wasn’t right. “Yeah, we do,” she said maybe a little too confident, “Or you know, everyone has some issues, but I certainly wouldn’t go for Delilah’s man,” she tried to explain and looked towards him. For a second she forgot how to breathe and shook her head a little. “I don’t know I think it’s just me who’s… I don’t know picky?” she looked at him with a little grimace on her face, unsure of she wanted to say she was picky. “He just… What I dislike the most is that he sometimes buys me stuff,” she said and threw her hands a little out to the side. Some would say that wasn't a problem, but to Aisha it was. “And I know he just really wants me to feel wanted, that he thought of me during his day... And I just thank him and receive it as if I love it, when I really just feel like a burden and-” She closed her eyes noticing how she was rambling and talking fast. She forced a long breath out. “I don’t know,” she leaned back into her bed and let her arms spread out. “I think I’m more like a ‘spend time with each other’ kind of person,” she looked towards him. “Sleeping in late, watching a move, cuddling and you know, just being there,” she said and turned her body so she laid on her side. “We don’t really do that… And then there’s all the things with full moons and…” she sighed and closed her eyes. “I got so many issues with my relationship but I just… I don’t feel like I can tell him and for every time we spend a day together I just feel like it gets worse,” she confessed and rubbed her forehead.

She pulled a little apologetic smile though he looked towards the ceiling. She studied his profile. Every curve edge and bump. Shortly she knitted her brows together as he groaned. She folded her hands on the side of her head. She chuckled a little as she mentioned that she should try and talk to him about it. If it just was that easy. The problem was it was that easy. She just had to speak up. Her eyes widened a little as he mentioned his ex had broken up with him because he was way too closed. She didn’t understand that. She felt like it was so easy to talk with Echo and that he was easy to read… Or maybe it was just her who noticed how his eyes dilated when he looked at her, how it was almost impossible for him to frown when he looked at her, how his voices changed just a little bit when he talked to her and… She blinked a little rapidly as he turned his head and looked at her. Busted at staring. The smile crumbled a little and her eyes got a little more dull as her thoughts changed from thinking about how she noticed things about Echo to how her current relationship was. “Yeah… I wouldn’t say that I’m happy,” she mumbled. She groaned and rolled onto her stomach, with her arm out so it rested over his torso. “Can’t we just be unhappy in my room together?” she muffled into her bedsheets.

“Eternity,” she muffled against the sheets. She wanted eternity to just lay there. She closed her eyes for a moment but opened them as soon as she heard him start speaking. She turned her head towards him with a bright smile as he started to talk about Christmas. She arched her back a little backwards and held herself up with one elbow. “You are very welcome to join us,” she responded with a kind smile. She then looked down at her bedsheets and started to wonder whether or not Shin was going to be a part of Christmas or not. “I’m not sure if I’m going to travel to my parents or not, but I will make sure you can tag along,” she assured him. “And I don’t know if Shin is going to join, since meeting my family and all that has been quite scary and all that,” she mumbled and rolled her eyes a little, “My brother might be there,” she added. She knitted her brows a little as she thought about all of the things she had said, “As you might have figured out, me and my family haven’t really planned anything,” she laughed comfortably.

Aisha smiled kindly to Echo and gave him a caring squeeze as he said that it meant a lot. To Aisha, Christmas was quite important, and she couldn’t imagine her loved ones not having anyone to celebrate it with. It was such an important tradition for her. She knew, that if she was old or had lost her family, she would never wish to celebrate Christmas alone. To be alone on Christmas Eve. It was a thought which could give her chills. Aisha had also thought that Shin would probably have to celebrate Christmas with his mother, since she was alone. She wouldn’t want Shin’s mother to be all alone – and Aisha had to make sure her own family had someone to celebrate with, before she went somewhere else. Echo could easily be brought with her, no matter if they had to travel or not. She didn’t wish for Echo to repeat last year… Almost eating her...
Aisha pulled a little smile as Echo mentioned how he believed Shin would’ve have met Aisha’s family by now. She had thought so too. She turned to look at him as he talked about how his family really had wanted to meet the person, he had spent one day with. It made her happy that his family had been so excited for his love life. Her could almost see how he tried to remember them. How his lips formed a different smile by each memory of each face he imagined. It hurt her that he didn’t have them anymore. She laughed lovingly a little as he said they would’ve been excited to meet her too. “I would have been jumping up and down if I had the chance to meet them,” she said softly. “I wish I could meet them… Do something,” she sighed a little. She put her hand on his shoulder while looking at him. “I’m sure they would be happy about how you present them. Happy. Excited. Caring… Loving,” she could even feel how her own eyes got a little wetter as she spoke the words. “Do- Do you ever do anything in honor for your family? Like at Christmas or something like that?” she asked softly, almost in a whisper.

She was so happy that they were able to talk about this together because she was certain that it wasn’t just every day, he got things of his heart. She couldn’t help but smile a little as he agreed that he would wish she could meet them too.
He had been looking at the ceiling and hadn’t noticed how her eyes were glistening a little. She felt it was a sore subject no matter what, and she simply felt sad about how he hadn’t been able to celebrate Christmas with his family for years. So, when his head turned towards her, he almost immediately went to caress her cheek and even told her it was okay. She chuckled a little from the sentimental moment and tried to dry the tears away from her eyes, even though the tears hadn’t yet spilled. Their hands touch for just a moment as she did that, but nothing she was thinking much about. She smiled a sad smile as he explained that he wasn’t really celebrating Christmas anymore, but that he lit a candle. It warmed her heart, and she really liked the idea. The sad smile got purer and certainly happier as he reminded her of how he was going to celebrate Christmas. “Yeah,” she chuckled a little at him, “I’m sure it’ll be great,” she said with a warm smile. Slowly, she took his hand, holding it, and moved it up between them. “And I’m certain that everyone would love to participate and light a couple of candles with you at Christmas eve to send your family a merry greeting,” she said and smiled giving his hand a gentle squeeze. “It can also just be the two of us… Or just you… Or none of us… It’s up to you really,” she tried to tell him that it was all up to him and that she wouldn’t mind if he didn’t want to do it or if he wished for it to be in a specific way. Lighting a candle didn’t have to take a long time, but sitting by it and sending dear thoughts could take a little while, and she would love to make it a part of the tradition at their home, besides, everyone had someone they would wish were alive to celebrate with them, right?