Chapters (30)
“Hai, hai,” says the bouncer, but I’m already running. Like fog fading from invisible glasses, more and more people seem to solidify around me, blocking my path. I’m grateful for all that sangria I had. It spurs me onward as I force my way through this thickening crowd. My feet pound a new chant in my mind: I’m not losing it. I’m not losing it. Or maybe they’re saying, “Don’t lose it. Don’t lose it.”
But I have a feeling that I already have.
I run up the narrow street choked with neon signs and super-bright LED displays of pale half-naked girls until it opens up to a wide avenue with green hedges in the centre and Dutch-style buildings on the other side. The traffic light up ahead changes yellow. I’m too late. The wall of pedestrians politely waiting for the light to complete its change blocks my path. I jump up and down fruitlessly, trying to keep the couple in view. People back away from me in fear. I see someone with a long shock of hair weaving through the mob, blending in, disappearing. I’m not imagining things. I’m not losing it. “Wait! H—” Shit, what is her name? It’s on the tip of my tongue.
“Cybelle!”
I jump again, startled. It isn’t the girl who’s calling me. I whirl around and see Yukie coming up from behind me. “Are you okay? Yoshino said she saw you leaving, but your purse is still at the bar. Why were you running? Is everything okay?”
I could bear hug this woman. “Yukie, thank God you’re here. Look across the street — do you see that girl, with the super-long hair?!”
“Uh, yes, I think so …” She squints. “In the green coat?”
“No,” I sigh, dejected. “No. It’s okay. She’s gone.”
“Who’s gone? Someone you know?”
“I …” I don’t know what else to think. The crowd flows around us as the crosswalk turns green. “Never mind. It’s okay. Let’s go see how my nachos are doing.”
Yukie smiles. “Okay! But just so you know, we ate them all!”