Extinction (Hong Kong)

I woke with a headache. I also still tasted the sambuka and the hotpot. Not a good combination. Suddenly, my Blackberry began dinging. I reached to the ledge above my bed and touched the dial to put my alarm on snooze.

I looked beside me and saw Sophia hidden in the covers. I pulled the blanket off of her face and she didn’t budge, but the morning sun illuminated her.

“I am thirty-five years old,” I said quietly.

Sophia gently smiled and stirred. She opened her eyes and looked at me. “Happy birthday baby.”

I leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.

My Blackberry started dinging again.

We both grunted in displeasure. I reached up to the ledge and hit dismiss.

I climbed out of bed naked and got my toe caught in one of the sheets. I nearly fell but I caught myself but not without dragging the mattress off the bed frame. I steadied myself and headed to the shower.

I pushed open the small bathroom windows to let in the cool morning breeze – then turned on the hot water. I stood for a moment before entering watching the steam.

I got in and adjusted the temperature. Then as I washed, I said to myself, “I am halfway to my extinction.” And I tried to remember my earliest birthday.

And I remembered my first ever birthday party with my Jeter Elementary school friends. I was seven and I lived in the Ski Lodge Apartments in Opelika, Alabama. I had a crush on a little girl named Stephanie in my second grade class. And miraculously she came to my party.

And while my father was playing Pin the Tail on the Donkey with the other kids, and mom was in the kitchen with some of the other mothers serving cake, Stephanie’s best friend pushed her into my parents’ bedroom with me and then held the door so we couldn’t get out.

I remembered being so scared. My heart was pounding. It was surreal. I really thought I was dreaming – the girl I had a crush on – was in front of me. She was in my house! This is where I lived! She was so pretty.

Stephanie’s best friend was yelling through the door, “Kiss her! Kiss her!”

My mouth was dry and I started trembling. But I closed my eyes and leaned in.

She tilted her cheek toward me.

“Gary, what are you doing in there?” I heard my dad bellow at the door.

My eyes popped open and I think I ran in a circle trying to figure out what to do.

My dad came in and saw Stephanie just standing there fidgeting with her own fingers. I was hiding on the floor beside my parent’s king size bed.

That night after everyone had gone home, Snoopy, my sleeping companion, and I with my Superman pajamas watched from my bed Olivia Newton-John in “Xanadu” on my black and white television.

“Xanadu” is about a magical roller rink where a man draws pictures of beautiful women - and they unbelievably come alive and roller skate!

I took a piece of blank white paper and drew a picture of Stephanie based on her first grade photo. And being true to the movie, when I was finished, I opened my bedroom window and let the picture get sucked outside from a cold gust of wind.

Then I opened my bedroom door for Stephanie to enter when she came alive.

She never came. But my mom did and scolded me for opening the window in the middle of winter.

After I had dressed and just as I was about to leave for work, I came up on Sophia to kiss her goodbye. I had to lean a little further because I had moved the mattress when I went to take a shower. But then something caught my eye. A piece of paper was poking out from under the mattress. I looked at Sophia and she was still sleeping deeply.

I pulled the paper out and saw all my email addresses, my passwords, my Facebook login and password, and my MySpace.com login and password. I stopped cold.

I saw Sophia began to move. So I quickly took the paper and folded it into a tight square and hid it in my jacket pocket. She opened her eyes. “You look handsome,” she purred.

I smiled. “Thanks babe. But I feel horrible.”

“I can’t tell.”

And with that I leaned down and bit her neck. She squealed. And then I kissed her on the mouth.

And with that, I left.

On the MTR, I unfolded the piece of paper with all my email addresses and social networking logins. It was extremely odd to see all my secret passwords written out in her handwriting.

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