Hello all, this is my entry in the Summer Lovin' Story Contest. I hope you like it and please vote. I'd like to thank WorldHistoryBuff for a fantastic editing job and the Guild for their support.
This story is dedicated to apollona - for the inspiration.
Enjoy.
***
Anastasia sighed as she saved the final draft and backed it up. Another story done and hopefully those characters would stay silent in her head. 'Fat chance' she thought. Even if those stayed quiet there were always others that were more than eager to take their place. Her writing had started off as a hobby, a way to pass the time, and had developed into something of an obsession. She thought about plot and character development during most of her spare time.
To be fair she was actually pretty good at it even though it wasn't her day job. Several stories were already published on a popular website and had received a very good response. The feedback was positive enough to make her want to continue and improve. It often gave her a warm happy feeling that others were enjoying her stories.
The rain was pelting down on her window making her shiver with even the perception of cold. It wasn't the rain she minded so much it was the cold winter. She detested the season with an unashamed fierceness. She longed for summer, wished for it, even dreamed about it. Not just the beach and the fun it contained but the heat, anything and everything that was anti-cold.
Stretching out the kinks in her back from sitting in front of the computer too long she decided to check her email before bed. There was several junk ones that she trashed immediately and a couple from friends and relatives that she decided to leave until tomorrow. One caught her eye; it was a feedback email from the website where she posted her stories. She'd come to realize that some people didn't like to comment publically, they preferred to send her a private note with their thoughts on her work.
As she opened it her heart beat a little faster, a small thrill rushing through her as she waited to see what the reader thought.
"Hi, I really liked your story. Terribly romantic and a wonderful read. Please continue to write, I am enjoying your work. P.S I love the name by the way. Ares."
Ana smiled, it never failed to make her happy reading positive feedback. The P.S. confused her though. Without contemplation she quickly whipped off an email in response since they had kindly provided a return email address.
"Dear Ares, Thank you so much for your kind words they are much appreciated. I'm a little confused though. When you said you liked the name did you mean the name of the story or my pen-name? Just wondering. Regards, Isorropia -- AKA Anastasia"
She hit the send button and went to bed still wondering what on earth he meant, it was a he wasn't it? You could never tell with these things. She was always very careful with details she gave on the internet having been warned by other well meaning authors that had been doing it a lot longer than she had. This was a separate email account used only for her stories and related communications.
Aware of the time zones, Ana always checked her email again in the morning to see if there was any feedback left from around the globe. There flashing in her inbox was a reply from Ares.
"Anastasia, It seems that I'm destined to like any name you choose. I intended your pen name but it seems your actual name is one of my favourites. Did you choose Isorropia deliberately? Are you aware of its meaning? Yours, Ares -- AKA Ari"
Ana chucked to herself as she re-read the email. 'This guy is some piece of work' she thought to herself as she penned a reply affirming that she indeed knew the meaning of her pen-name due to her own Greek heritage. It amused her that someone else had picked up on it.
Curiosity got the better of her as she looked up Ares on the website to discover that he too had written a couple of stories. Resolving to read them at the earliest opportunity she quickly got ready and headed to work.
During the day the emails back and forth between them took on a life of their own. It astounded Ana how much in common she actually had with Ari. In one of her wittier commentaries she described it as living parallel lives. She had never corresponded with anyone like this before and she found it refreshing to attempt to explain things with the written word as opposed to relying on tone of voice and other non verbal cues. Email was a much more challenging medium but it also afforded a certain level of anonymity that she appreciated.
Over time Ana and Ari exchanged hundreds of emails, learning all there was to know about each other. It began with talking about writing, exchanging story ideas and even helping each other out with editing. Eventually they started sharing all manner of other things, past adventures at high school and how they ended up in their respective jobs. She heard all about his family, their ups and downs. He learned all about her wacky work colleagues and their bizarre love lives. They whinged about their parents, growing up in overbearing but loving Greek households and all the craziness that entailed and all manner of other things. They laughed over friend's antics and celebrated each other's successes.
After a few months Ana started to think of Ari as her best friend. It was an odd thing indeed to value someone so that you've never met or even talked to. And still every time something happened in her life she couldn't wait to share it with him and read his often hilarious response.
***
Months later Ari was sitting at his computer lazily going through his email when a new one entered his inbox. 'Ana' he thought. He adored getting her emails; they were so witty and filled with an energy he couldn't believe. Slowly he read through the words on the screen becoming angrier by the moment.
"That bastard!! I'll kill him!!" he yelled his face red from the tension.
"Woah Ari, what's up?" said a shocked Chris from the couch, his brother's yell giving him a scare in the quiet of their living room.
"It's Ana. That creep she's been seeing is cheating on her," Ari explained as he angled the screen for Chris to read the email.
Chris was shocked. Ari had spoken so often about Ana over the last few months that he felt like he knew her, like she was part of the family. He cringed as he read the words that must have been painful to write.
"So it's not bad enough I catch him with his cock down some slut's throat and he tells me it's been going on for months. My mum has to weigh in and start with the 'He comes from such a good family, it's just a little misunderstanding, don't ruin your prospects, what is everyone going to say....' and all that bullshit. I nearly hit her ..."
"Oh my, the poor thing, shouldn't you call her or something?" Chris offered.
Ari looked at his brother dumbfounded. In all this time they had never actually spoken, he didn't even have her number and now when she needed him, he wasn't able to help. This served to ratchet his anger up another notch. Without preamble he fired off a very short email giving her his phone numbers and asking her to call. All there was left to do was wait.
He found himself constantly checking his phone over the next couple of days. He couldn't believe she hadn't called straight away. He was beside himself with worry. She hadn't emailed either. No contact. His mind was travelling roads better left untravelled. Was she sick, was she depressed, had she done something stupid to herself? And here he was half way across the country unable to do anything for her, unable to get in touch with her. She was his best friend for goodness sake.
Ari shook himself at the apparent absurdity of the thought that you could have a best friend that you've never met but it felt true. He contemplated the sheer volume of information they had exchanged to date and he realized that no one knew that much about him. It was a surreal experience for him having this almost phantom friend that he also knew so much about but didn't know at the same time. He didn't know what she looked like, what she sounded like and he found he really didn't care about that. He did care about her, what she thought, how she felt about things, what she found amusing. Right now he just wanted her to call so he could know she was ok.
Ana spent the first few days after the discovery in utter hell. All she did was cry and sleep and think about all the time she'd wasted believing her now ex-boyfriend's lies. Believing that they were on the same path, that they had a future, that he wanted the same things she did. She recalled cringing when he said he still loved her and she nearly threw up when he tried to explain that it was expected that men have a little more freedom, it didn't mean anything. She was so angry at herself for not seeing through the facade he'd created.
Fortunately her sister was being very supportive. Marina sat with her, held her when she cried and made sure she ate. She also performed another very important function; she ran interference between Ana and her mother who was trying her absolute best to inflame the situation more. Ana's cousins also helped out by visiting the idiot, ensuring that he left her alone and didn't try anything. She appreciated this since the creep hadn't stopped calling or texting her until he was told in no uncertain terms by several burly boys to stop it or else.
She'd received Ari's email. It surprised her, she didn't expect that. So far they'd kept a certain level of anonymity, a certain distance. Speaking to him, actually hearing his voice was another thing entirely. She was completely unsure if she wanted to change the nature of their relationship but she understood what it took for him to make the offer. So many times she'd dialled his number and hung up before it went through. She was in such a negative emotional place that she kept thinking of all the things that could go wrong if they actually spoke. What if they didn't have the same connection, the same banter? What if he didn't find her as funny in person?
'Come on Ana, he's your friend. Just talk to him,' she chastised herself for the umpteenth time. With shaking hands she hit the redial button and waited, completely tempted to just hang up again.
"Hello," he said
"Hi Ari, its Ana," she said her voice quivering a little from nervousness
"Ana," he breathed, "are you ok?"
"Yeah I just needed to get my head around some things. Sorry I didn't call or email. To be honest I've been a little bit of a mess," she said in a rush.
"That's ok. I understand," he said relieved that she was all right.
They started talking like they'd been doing it for years. Ana talked about the break up and her feelings. Ari broke in with supportive comments and some wishful thinking of what he would like to do to 'The Jerk' as they dubbed him. The conversation naturally progressed to other things and before they realized it a couple of hours had gone by and Ana's phone was beeping that the battery was dying.
