The days passed and Flo saw nothing of Theo. He remained in his room reading the same books while Flo sat at the library waiting for the odd man to return.
She knew something was on his mind, and she was starting to worry. Flo hadn’t seen him in two weeks and this was the only place other than his job he left his apartment for; so unless he’d found a library in his closet, he was surely avoiding her. She resolved to visit his apartment, and one day after work she did just that.
The elevator doors opened and she stepped into the floor of Theo’s apartment complex. The walls of the hallway were slathered with a drab and unassuming color, and the plain, identical doors seemed to stretch forever on either side of her. The absence of people and quietness of the area only increased her nerves. Would he be home? Probably. Would he listen to her? Who knows.
She knocked three times on the door. No response. Again, she knocked. No one came to the door, but Flo persisted.
“Theo! I know you’re in there,” she said knocking louder this time. There was a small rumble from inside.
Theo had been too preoccupied underneath his mound of books to acknowledge the visitor, but Flo’s voice aroused him from his spot.
“Well, hello,” he said opening the door.
“Hi are you doing okay? I haven’t seen you around the library recently.”
“Oh, yes I’m alright. Just busy.”
“Alright. I was just coming to check up on you. I really haven’t seen you since the other night, you know…”
They both knew very well what “the other night” entailed, but neither was disposed nor comfortable enough to address it. A stagnant silence lingered between them. Seconds passed and Theo itched to return to his studying.
“Okay, well, thank you for stopping by…” He inched the door closed, but Flo held it open.
“Not so fast, Mr. Antisocial,” she said with a sudden edge in her voice. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but you owe me an explanation. Where have you been?”
“I’ve been where I’ve always been—here at home…”
“Sure and you’ve been skipping your daily trip to the library like you always have, too, right? Plus whatever happened to going to the Met last weekend? I know something’s up, and I’m not leaving until I get some answers.”
Theo remained still for a moment staring down at the hall’s ugly brown carpeting as he rummaged through his thoughts.
“Auribus teneo lupum. Do you know what that means? It’s Latin. Literally ‘holding a wolf by the ears.’ It’s a situation where you’re stuck. Doing nothing won’t help, but doing something is just as risky. That’s where I am right now: between two risks. The more I’m with you the less time I study; the more time I study the less I’m with you. I’m stuck, and it was only until that night at the restaurant I realized. I’ve read whole books in Chinese, yet I couldn’t order a damn plate of dumplings. Unbelievable. Do you get it, Flo? Do you understand?”
Flo only stared at him with a devilish smirk on her face. She tried holding it in, but she couldn’t help laughing.
“Oh, Theo, you really are strange.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“Do you know where you are? Open your eyes. Look out the window. This is New York City, a place with hundreds of cultures from around the world and they’re all at the foot of your door. You want to study so you can learn all these languages, but what for? What’s the point in knowing a language without having anyone to talk to. So you can talk to yourself in French and Japanese and German and Spanish and Russian? There’s so many people you could meet and talk to and learn from, but instead, you’re here, wasting away the days fulfilling a dream that’ll get you nowhere. It’s time you live life and not just learn what it is from a book. It’s all on you, though, so what’s it going to be, Theo? Stay stuck or carpe diem.”
Theo froze, taken aback by it all. The implications of her suggestion terrified him, but ultimately, he knew she was right. His decision was made.
“Carpe diem it is.”
“Now that’s what I thought.”
That night, Flo and Theo rode a ferry down the coast of the Hudson river. The two drifted amid the radiating glow of the Manhattan skyline admiring the towers of electric light that emanated the familiar energy of the city. The same energy shone in the faces of the couple whose bright enthusiasm echoed their anticipation for adventures to come.
“So, carpe diem, eh?”
“Indeed, language man. Carpe diem.”
—-THE END—
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