"i don't think i can ever live with another person." he said, fiddling with his lighter. "yeah i find you a bit annoying actually." her answer made him chuckle. he stretched his arm to stroke her hair before fishing for a pack of cigarette from his worn out tote bag.
"some days i just couldn't bring myself to live, you know, physically." she took the lighter from his grip to light his cigarette. "it was like a blackout from too much drinks, but for days." he took a long drag of it, craning his neck upward to exhale the smoke.
"so you just sleep the days away?"
"yes, but, i hardly slept at all. i couldn't stop thinking." he lied down on the floor with his left hand beneath his head.
"thinking about the past?"
"no. just trivial things. a lot of them." she peered over her shoulder to examine his face and coaxed a smile. for a while both of them didn't say anything and let the hustle bustle of the city from five floors below grow louder. he stared at her slender figure basking in pale light the deepening afternoon cast over the city.
"i hate it when people think they know me." she blurted out before lying down next to him. "they say my life would get easier if i let people in." she continued. he stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray and moved to his side to face her.
"i wonder how they do that. letting people in."
he drew closer and gently brushed her cheek. ever so carefully, as if she was a porcelain vase that had been shattered and then taped together. in silence, they were slowly pulling themselves into each other's embrace for the first time. tightly, like it was for the last time as well.