Page 4 of Scorched Hearts
Maya let her face completely relax, releasing all the built-up tension from the day. Her hands felt sore from multiple surgeries, even after two painkillers, and she knew the only remedy would be to rest. There was no time to do so, however, with the entire moving business. Her belongings lay around half-packed in the particular chaos of changing where one calls home.
She made her way to the bathroom, keeping the light as dim as possible to ease the stinging behind her eyelids. The bathroom was never as clean as she’d like it to be. For now, she convinced herself it was due to Sylvia’s messy nature, but in no possible world could Maya herself keep her surroundings clean. On her free days, she wanted either rest or exhilaration unrelated to home or work.
At this point, she’d saved up so much by sharing a flat, that she could easily afford to hire someone to clean her house every day. But the concept made her feel strange. No, she was saving up to acquire real estate. Something her parents could never dream of but she’d finally achieve.
The bath melted her soreness away, and content, she quickly fell asleep.
“I think I found the perfect flat for you,” Maya’s real estate agent, Arthur, filled each word with the perfect mix of professionalism and joy they teach at business school. Or so she imagined.
“Send me over the pictures and everything, and we’ll talk once I get to the city, all right?” Maya looked around her empty room. “I still have a lot to do regarding the move.”
“No problem,” Arthur chirped. “Good luck moving!”
For now, Maya was moving into an empty rental of her old, high-school friend. She didn’t have much to transport, since she didn’t own any furniture besides her silver-framed mirror, but she didn’t have a large car, either, and Phoenix Ridge was located basically at the other side of the state.
“Need any help?” Sylvia popped her head into Maya’s bedroom, chewing on a carrot.
“You mean can I help you, so I can procrastinate studying?” She flashed Sylvia a warm smile. “Sure, I’m not your mom. I need to carry the boxes in the corridor downstairs.”
Sylvia eagerly followed her to the corridor and grabbed a box.
“For fuck’s sake, what do you have in there?” she panted.
“Books. Have you ever seen medical textbooks?”
“Didn’t you finish school like years ago?”
“Law and medicine have this in common—we never stop learning.” Maya winked and descended the stairs with piled up carton boxes in her arms.
The day welcomed them with a clear sky and warm sun rays dancing along the road. The truck Maya had ordered was late, and the driver called to apologize for an hour and a half of delay, to which she could respond with nothing besides no problem.
“Do you want to go for a goodbye coffee?” Maya suggested as they carried the last box to the lobby downstairs.
Sylvia nodded, and they headed toward the only cafe nearby, which served bitter coffee to exhausted adults and half-melted ice cream to crying children. Gossiping teenagers sat around slurping on banana smoothies, their straws getting stuck in their braces.
“I’ll miss our once-in-a-month movie nights,” Sylvia confessed, savoring her iced latte.
“Me ,too.” Maya nodded. “We can do them online, though.”
For a moment, she sat in silence. All her formative memories were contained within the city of Phoenix Ridge, and now she’d be moving back to it all.
“Why’d you leave in the first place?” Sylvia asked after a while. “Isn’t Phoenix Ridge a bigger city?”
“Bigger doesn’t always mean better.” Maya sighed, “But in this case, yes. I didn’t get the position I applied for there, but I got an offer from Forest Vale Hospital. After I settled in at Forest Vale, I was learning a lot working under Dr. Roman, I really saw no reason to go back. But now that the opportunity has arisen at Phoenix Ridge Emergency Department, and with a much better salary…it was a no-brainer.”
The other reason remained unsaid, emotions lying dormant for years lazily stirring in Maya’s chest, preparing to wake up once she returned.
They enjoyed the nice shade formed by the alley trees, watching toddlers crawl around the lawn and parents chasing after them. Maya thought fondly of her time at Forest Vale, but she had no doubt she wouldn’t look back. Part of her regretted not taking steps to move back to Phoenix Ridge earlier. The opportunity had come to her as a true blessing. Phoenix Ridge was home.
“Do you miss your parents?” Sylvia prompted.
“Hmm… I wouldn’t say so.” Maya smiled. “I think we work best when at a distance from each other. I like to call from time to time, but we have our problems,” she concluded.
Sylvia nodded. “I get it. But also, it’s a sad thing to say.”
“Not necessarily. They have tensions between each other, and that can sometimes affect the kids, too. I’m really close with my brother, though,” Maya remembered with fondness the adventures she and her older brother had gone through together. “I can’t wait to see him.”
The truck driver called, and they quickly ran back to the apartment. Packing went smoothly, the truck turned out to be more than big enough, and it was time for Maya to part with her life in Forest Vale. She hugged Sylvia tightly, promising to stay in touch even if she went back to Germany.