Vodka

Izzy's boss is a short, pudgy man exuding a sweet and caring aura. However, being late after a lunch break was not something any boss would tolerate. After a short lecture on the significance of punctuality, Izzy went back to her cubicle, while her mind replayed the scene again and again. 

She intentionally left the office late. She had a plan hatched in her mind, about being early and catching Mike red-handed, but plans often did not involve emotional whirlwinds. When Izzy felt strong enough to face the world outside her cubicle, it was eight-thirty. 

She had already missed her bus. According to the schedule, the next one would come to the stop at nine-thirty, which meant she had one hour to kill. She sat and realized how exhausted she was. It was not completely physical. She replayed the image of Matt with that other, unknown woman, and the way he showed his affection towards that woman. Her eyes burned. 

She never wanted a relationship. To Izzy, relationships were sacred. "Once you start a relationship, you hold on to that." She would say, "A relationship is like your lifeline. You must respect and cherish it." 

She was too naive to think like that. As she grew up, she saw relationships changing. She saw how instant hook-ups and break-ups became a part of daily life. She loathed that life. "Call me old-fashioned, but I want a monogamous relationship. If I give my body and soul to someone, I am going to be by his side forever." 

She knew how ridiculous it sounded. She didn't care. 

Mike had been pursuing her for a whole year. After much flirting, coaxing, and convincing, she agreed to enter into a relationship with him. It was nice to have him in her life. There were some good memories, some sweet ones, some great ones as there were some sad ones. It all came in a package. This was all normal in a relationship like theirs, and hence it was alright. That was Izzy's belief. 

It was just a fragile belief of a stupid woman. 

She didn't feel it in the beginning. Her eyes were closing and it felt like just a small break from the noise and traffic of the road. Then she saw her. A beautiful woman sat beside her with a bouquet of red roses in her hands. 

"Are you alright?" she asked Izzy. 

Izzy nodded. She was anything but alright, but she was sane enough to not share that with a strange woman. 

The woman did not feel like a stranger though. Izzy sensed a familiarity towards her, something one felt when they saw their long-lost friend. The woman smiled at her and said, "Whatever it is, it will be fine." 

"You think so?" Izzy smiled back and felt it again. The familarity. 

"You know what makes everything okay?" Izzy shook her head. What could make her state better? The lady whispered like she was spilling an important secret, on which the balance of the world held, "Vodka." 

After ten minutes, Izzy found herself in a club with the lady. Everything that held her back had shattered into thousands of pieces, and forgetting all the cautionary tales, and all her rules about self-love, self-care and caution, she was downing vodka. 

She wanted to get drunk. She hated feeling so pathetic, and the lady was right. Vodka made everything better. The loud music vibrated through her bones. The lights dazzled her, and the darkness between the lights made her feel invisible. She felt a warm on her fingertips. She heard the lady saying something to her. 

"WHAT?" Izzy yelled. She could hear everything but nothing was comprehensible. Each word uttered by the lady jumbled with each other and created something in an alien language. 

"I SAID, DO YOU WANT TO DANCE?" 

Izzy nodded. "SURE." 

The dance floor was a melting pot of different people, emotions and desires. Some were dancing to forget pain, and some to inflict pain. Some were in love, some were looking for a partner for the night, and some were looking for a stronger intoxication. A newer, much edgy version of Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This was played in the background. Izzy started to dance. Were her steps matching the beats? Izzy couldn't care less. She wanted to dance. It helped her to forget. 

At one point, everything became a blur of lights and sounds around her. 

Izzy heard a heated argument somewhere nearby. 

No, it was not an argument. It was rather a scolding. Somebody was scolding someone else, probably a kid, but in a low voice. 

"That was your solution? make her get drunk and dance among a bunch of strangers?" A male voice whisper yelled. 

A female voice yelled back, "She was going through something difficult. Alcohol makes everything right." 

Izzy thought she knew the voice. She had talked to the owner of this voice. Who was she?

"Titi, you know well how badly this could have ended. She was calling people in. Everybody was mesmerised by her. This could have ended very badly for both of you." The man was still angry but the affection and worry in his tone was evident. 

The woman, Titi, groaned. "Don't call me Titi. I go by Scarlet now. And, no, I would have moved her from that place before something bad could happen." 

"What is your plan now?" The man asked angrily. "Look at her. She is so drunk, she might not even remember anything from last night." 

"Don't worry, she will remember you. No woman has ever been able to reject your charm, and she is your bride. I am sure your kiss is etched in her memory forever." 

Izzy stirred. The mention of a kiss made her think of Mike. Where was he? Where was she? She opened her eyes and saw the lady from the previous night standing before her. Izzy found herself lying. 

"Hey there, how are you feeling?" 

Izzy croaked. "My head..." 

"Haha..." The woman laughed jovially and said, "You will have a massive hang-over, but don't worry. You'll be fine. I know the best hangover cure in the world." 

"Where am I?" Izzy croaked again, and cringed at herself. She sounded pathetic. 

"My place. By the way, my name is Scarlet. Do you remember me from last night?" 

Izzy nodded. "My name is..."

"Ismelda. You told me. there, he is my elder brother, Sebastian. He gave us a lift yesterday since we both were drunk..." 

Scarlet was going on about something Izzy didn't understand. She heard the sound but the words were a jumbled mess. Soon, they started to fade away. Her eyesight though, became very sharp. It was like she was seeing for the first time. In front of her, stood a man straight out of fairy tales. A very tall man, with sharp features and a pair of intense green eyes looked back at her. 

Izzy felt her insides melting. 

A deep voice greeted her, "Good morning. And sorry to disturb you. I was worried that you were not well, so I came to check up on you. Both of you, I mean." 

Izzy said, "I am glad that you came."