Chapter 19

• I watch Ella until she disappears from my sight. The hotel's lobby still looks lively despite the wee hours of the night. And the soft golden light streaming from the inside allows a clearer silhouette of her retreating back, even as she enters the elevator.
• People are coming in and out of the entrance; some are in groups, some in pairs. Along the stretch of the glass wall, I can see the rows of couches -- all filled with people hanging out. Perhaps, some are catching up over late-night coffee, some just dating. Everyone else looks happy, except Ella and me.
• I slowly maneuver out of the parking lot, a pang of pain and loneliness enveloping me. This is my choice; I have no one to blame. Not even Yen who is the sole cause of my miseries. Nothing seems good enough to swerve me out of my conviction until this time. And perhaps, the only person who could free me out from the safe haven of my solitude is yet to be born.