Claiming His Black Mate by Laisha Lax

 
    ‘Claiming His Black Mate’
     
    The only source of light in Pauline Rheinlander’s living room emanated from a small night lamp, and in dimmed silence, tears fell from her face and soaked the cushion she was lying on.
    She was expecting Julia, her best friend and prominent psychotherapist, to knock on her door. She needed somebody next to her, somebody who would shine bright like another night lamp across the room, in hopes of pulling her back from the bottom of the dark ocean. She was not drowning; she had already drowned.
    Julia would usually knock once before coming into the apartment, but this time she just rushed in as she was in haste to provide a stronghold to her crushed friend. She sat down on the sofa and hushed Pauline, who was lying the curled up like a child. Half an hour later, after some chocolate and a few words of comfort, Pauline finally showed signs of life as she moved to sit upright next to Julie.
    “It really happened? That jerk really did that?” Julia asked.
    “Yes.” After a whole day, Pauline was finally able to restrain her sobbing as she spoke. “I had a feeling something was going on, but I couldn’t believe it when I found out.”
    “Of course it’s shocking! After all, you believed he was the perfect guy for you.”
    Pauline raised her thin eyebrows, slightly annoyed by being reminded of the illusions she had.
    “But you know what darling?” Julia continued.“You can be lucky it happened now. I know you were already dreaming about having a family with him, but can you imagine if you found out that he’s an idiot who fools around with his secretary while you were at home with your kids? I’m glad you found out what kind of man he is; before you did anything serious with him.”
    “Yeah, you’re right, just…I don’t know if I should stay there,” Pauline said as she swept away another tear from her cheek and took a breath in order to consolidate her thoughts. “I mean, he’s an editor of the sports news, and that’s the department right across from me. I can’t avoid him; he’s always coming into the ‘daily news’ department, and I have to check into his section once a day.”
    She sighed and then continued. “But I took a week off, so I don’t have to worry about that now.”
    “You’re a strong person, darling, you know that! I know that! You’ve always had that cute smile, even when times were tough. You will get through this,” Julia said, grabbing her around the shoulders.
    “Had… I’ve always had that smile. But firstly, it’s not cute, it’s chubby; and secondly, I don’t know how I will wear it ever again!”
    “One guy can take your smile away? Don’t be ridiculous! Sadness is natural, but it’s just a temporary state. You will move on.”
    “It’s not just sadness…as you know, we broke up three days ago and I called you yesterday. I wasn’t able to call you before that because…”
    Pauline hesitated to finish the sentence.
    “Because?”
    “I started to have some kind of hallucinations,” she said. “The night after we broke up, I dreamt of being attacked by some sort of animal, like bear or a bear. Actually, I was not attacked; he just stood there, motionless. But I felt as if I was being attacked. After I realized he wouldn’t hurt me, I felt a deep respect for him. We were just there standing there and staring into each other’s eyes, as we talked without using words. Problem is, when I woke up, he was still in my room. And he didn’t go away until I fell asleep. I‘ve seen him a few more times in the last two days, too. I saw him while I was awake.”
    Her eyes filled with tears again as she continued. “I don’t want to lose my mind, but I have a feeling I might!”
    Julia felt as if she could feel her friend’s pain. Yet, her psychotherapeutic experience had taught her not to fall too deeply in compassion. She knew that Pauline was probably compensating for her loss by falling into a fantasy, but there was not much