~ ~ ~
As the concert played on, Rose looked at her cell phone. Feeling as though she were a character in a play destined for a tragic conclusion, every thought, every emotion was perfectly underscored. A car idled outside. As if anxiously, it waited to take her to familiar places, to a person she seemed destined to meet. With doubt engraved on her face, her feet took their first steps toward the theatre’s exit. Once outside, she let loose her pinned up hair. In seconds, the plaza’s foreboding breeze was suspending it, adding turbulence to the thoughts that swirled within.
Another message emanated from Prav’s phone. It flowed through the airwaves and the fibres of optical cable until its recipient was prompted further.
Several more songs were executed in heavenly ways. So much so that Jennifer was now eager to include a playlist form The Tenors on her phone. She smiled at her father with appreciation for encouraging her to come this evening. However, her optimism went unrewarded when he appeared to be drifting toward a preoccupation beyond their fan-shaped auditorium.
Simon tested decorum by discretely viewing another text from Derrick.
‘Plan accelerating. Rose is on her way over.
Thought she was with you this evening.’
Simon’s heart sank with that revelation. The phrase, ‘thought she was with you’ lingered long after his phone fell into his lap. As the concert played on, Jennifer couldn’t help noticing her father becoming uncomfortable in his seat. The music was brilliant, incredibly riveting; it also elicited qualities that one might sense in their adversary: malice, desperation, the lack of a conscience. Simon felt an urge to leave, but a troubling sorrow devoured the energy required to get up. Applause after applause followed successive masterpieces. Each was half-heartedly acknowledged by Simon’s hands, though, as they struggled to distance themselves from a sorrowful heart.
SOPHIA - Age of Intelligence Page 38