As she stepped into the elevator and escaped the dancing birds, she began to ascend. The elevator stopped at the upcoming floor, and she sighed, hoping it wasn't a man who entered. To her dismay, it was a man, but it was someone she hadn't met before. 

     She waited for the weird stare or the odd comment to escape his mouth, but it never came. He was silent as he waited for his floor and left. She didn't know why, but this was..... refreshing. 

     She continued her days as she crossed paths with him, but the most he did was the obligatory good morning or the awkward smile people do when passing by. 

     Then, one day at an office party, she stumbled and was about to fall down a flight of stairs. She braced herself for impact, closing her eyes, but the pain never came.  She felt her arm being tugged, her eyes opened, and she turned to see who had saved her. It was the man she was seeing over and over again. 

     As she looked directly at him, she saw how differently he looked at her. No malice, no lust, just concern at first. Soon after, they became better acquainted. Their encounters became more frequent until they eventually became friends.

    He looked shy at times, but became more outgoing as he became more comfortable. He was quite the looker, too. He was lean with straight black hair and cool blue eyes, with a black rim surrounding the edge. He was also terribly sweet, respectful, and attentive to all she said. She had never met someone like this before, and before long, something began to sprout in her heart. 

     They spent their time at work, talking and eating together when they could. These actions then escalated to places outside of work. Dates and gifts turned into the norm, and handholding was a must, but only outside of work. He was invited to her home, and she was invited to his, but only at certain times. 

     They intertwined their bodies almost in secret as he constantly used the excuse of workplace etiquette and not trying to make her look a certain way to her colleagues. And with this, she agreed; others didn't need to know about her and him, and she felt it was better this way. 

     He always filled her ears with I love yous, and was attentive and understanding. A dream man, she felt, she made herself. And she didn't know how, but he seemed to grow more beautiful each day. As she brought this up, he smiled at her, "You think? I guess I have just been eating better these days". She felt like this was a nod to her, as if eating with her had a positive effect on him. 

     As weeks turned to months, she felt it was time to make it official. They were together, and she didn't care who knew. However, as she was on her way to talk to him about this, she saw a screaming woman by the nearby restaurants adjacent to the work building. The screaming woman was holding a suitcase, visibly upset. Her eyes filled with tears as she clenched Silas's collar. "Why are you acting like a stranger? I am here and ready like I promised. Why are you doing this to me?!". She kept on and on as Silas rejected her, trying to be compassionate, trying to sit her down. But she kept on, and it seemed like he finally had enough as he declared to the world, " I already have someone I love and have no plans to leave her. I already told you you have me confused with someone else. Do you think anyone in their right mind would just up and leave everything important to them?". The woman then became erratic, and security was called to escort her out of the square.

      As the spectacle died down, Silas saw someone whom he did not want to see right now, "Rose, I didn't see you there. Sorry you had to see that. You look lovely by the way". She looked at him with love in her eyes as she remembered how he declared his love for her in front of total strangers. He did love her. She embraced him with all her might, "Silas, why don't I take you out on your day off? What do you say?". Silas looked at her oddly, "I would love that, but I can't. I just recently got a new place and I'm moving my things. Maybe some other time". Rose looked disheartened but understanding. He had never lied to her, so she believed him. 

     Rose sat in her apartment as she envisioned her life with Silas, and even the idea of marriage popped into her head.  She felt like she couldn't contain herself and needed to see him right then and there. So, she decided to surprise Silas and help him move. She dressed herself and made her way down. She got into her car and was gleefully on her way. However, when she got there, he was nowhere to be found. The door was locked, and his things were still there. She drove around to see if he was near, but found nothing. 

     The sun began to set, but she felt looking one more time would suffice. So she parked her car and waited by the steps. 

     Waiting and waiting, she felt it was futile and creepy to do this, so as she stood, she looked side to side and, to her surprise, saw him. He was walking around the corner. Rose felt so happy to have waited, but her smile soon turned sour as he saw his arm intertwined with another woman. But what stung more was the expression on his face. 

     Why was he looking at that other woman like that? So loving, so affectionate, you could see his eyes twinkle when he looked at her. She felt betrayed; her body wanted to collapse. "Who was that woman?", she questioned as her sadness turned into rage, and all directed her.

     In her mind, Rose couldn't believe what she was seeing. She didn't want this scene to be real. The person she was so much in love with was happily strolling with someone else. As her anger welled up, it reached its peak when he brought he brought her close and leaned in for a kiss. Then, it all came out. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Who the hell are you!?", she yelled as she tore their hands apart and dragged Silas over. The other woman's face grew disappointed, but it vanished as she sighed. Her face showed indifference as she spoke, "You're right, what am I doing? I hope you two are happy together". She began to walk away. 

     Rose smiled in triumph, but her smile quickly dissipated when Silas walked forward, quickly grabbing the other woman's hand, stopping her. He looked as if he were in pain as the other woman left. It hurt to watch the scene play out. Too much to bear, Rose felt her body almost move by itself as she attacked the other woman. She couldn't remember the event very vividly due to her rage, but she felt like it was necessary at the moment. Yer the one thing she did remember: receiving a punch that knocked her back to her senses. 

      As the ordeal ended, she flailed as she was being held back and taken away by the Police. But in every instance, she never took her eyes off the other woman. The other woman also stared, but all she gave to Rose was a look of pity. 

     Rose calmed herself down and eventually called someone to get her out. And by the morning, her first thought was to call Silas. However, he had already left her a long message. "I'm sorry to tell you like this. I did like you at first, but this isn't going to work out. I already have the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. And please don't call her the other woman. She was never second in my heart". Rose felt her heart break in two as she finished reading that text.

 

     All her life, she wanted something simple, just someone sweet and loyal to be at her side, to love her as she did him. And when she thought she found him, he turned out to be just like the others. But he wasn't like the others. He made her feel special. He never hid himself from her. Thus, she felt she could change him, make him turn a new leaf if only he would choose her instead.

      She called and texted numerous times, but he never answered. She went looking for him at the now abandoned apartment and even at work, but he never appeared. She tried to find the new apartment he showed her; however, the memory was hazy. Yet, with that memory alone was able to find it. 

     She investigated the surroundings of the apartment complex, but he never appeared, and the tenants had never seen the man she showed them. Rose felt like she was going insane. She needed him. She wanted him. She couldn't let him go. 

     She then began to stalk Yvette, but all she could see was a boring, uneventful life. Yvette looked tired and bruised, but overall normal. However, on a certain day, she saw Yvette walk out in a daze. Rose followed her and found it odd that she was walking for so long. A

     As she peeked from a distance, Rose saw a man walking towards Yvette. The rain was heavy, so his face was distorted, but she saw how he held her, lovingly, like Silas would have done it. At that moment, her anger exploded again. That was him, her beloved Silas. She tried to follow them, but they escaped her again. Rose felt her mind in disarray. 

     For days, she didn't see either person, but she still visited the same park where she last saw them.

      As the days went by, her mind began to clear. What was she doing? She had family and friends who wanted to be with her and worried about her state. However, shame impeded her from going back to them just yet.

     December 24 rolled in. She saw families and couples walking around the lights, and she was alone. She went into her purse and took out a small pocket knife that Silas had gifted her. She remembered he had gifted it to her after seeing a movie together. The protagonist had a lucky knife with her that ultimately saved her in the end. She mentioned she liked it, and the very next day it was hers. 

     The memory made her smile, but those days were long gone. As she was about to throw the knife away, she caught a glimpse of something familiar. The other woman and a man. With the shimmering lights as her only source, his hair appeared black; he looked like her Silas. Suddenly, all that anger and longing welled up; her attention was set on them. She stood and walked; everything became white noise as she let everything go for this moment. The knife in her hand was unsheathed for everyone to see, and then a single thought went through her head. "If she's gone, I know he will come back to me."