The Scheherazade Project

Alright, according to that ol' adage, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. A few of my fellow bloggers have taken part of The Scheherazade Project, and I have to say, most of their writing has been nothing short of amazing. Nonetheless, I figured I would take a crack at it and write about the latest topic. I'm really nervous about posting this, but here goes...

First Night

Although the whole set up seemed a bit sketchy, Karah was thrilled and her heart filled with a somewhat quiet anxiousness. She knew this may be the one.

A co-worker of hers from work, Natty, set them up about a month ago, which she found rather odd because Natty never quite displayed any amicable feelings towards her. In fact, according to office gossip, Natty had her eye on the job promotion. The same one that Karah, according to her boss, was a shoe in for. After working together with Natty on a big work project, things appeared to have improved between the two of them. Happy hours were shared every Wednesday evenings at the local Bishop's Collar, coffee break socials at 10 AM, inside office jokes, which eventually led to weekend beach volleyball leagues and movie nights at each other's apartments. While she welcomed this change in her friendship with Natty, she also had this sense of uneasiness; a nudge which appeared to be whispering in her ear, "careful, careful, careful..." As the friendship with Natty progressed, the more she deafened her ears to the whispers, the nudges.

Natty had entered Karah's office one Monday afternoon, eagerly sharing about her little jaunt through a matching service through the internet that she signed up for a few weeks ago. She shared about a date she went on Saturday evening with one of the guys she was matched with online, Mark. According to her description of this man, he seemed like a dream, but Natty wasn't interested because throughout the entire evening with this man, she kept thinking how perfect he would be for Karah. So Natty spent the next week coaxing Karah into meeting Mark for drinks, encouraging her that they were made for each other.

Karah finally relented into meeting Mark at the Arte Cafe and of course, as they say it, the rest was history. The chemistry between the two was nothing short of explosive. They were absolutely inseparable afterwards. And Karah? Well, let's just say that she was smitten.

Karah was caught in a whirlwind of emotions as the intensity of their feelings for one another grew. In the mean time, while Natty continued to be supportive of their relationship, Karah kept wondering in her head if Natty was still after that promotion at work.

After three months of dating, Mark invited Karah to accompany him on a business trip to Hawaii. He told her with that disarming smile of his, that there wasn't anything wrong with mixing a little bit of pleasure with business. Karah, in her excitement agreed to travel with him, dreaming of warm romantic evenings, walking hand in hand along the beach, watching the tropical sunsets...

It was planned that they would travel to Hawaii together, but Karah would have to leave a few days earlier than Mark because she needed to get back to work to meet a deadline. While Karah was excited for the trip, she was also feeling somewhat uneasy. After three months of dating, Karah and Mark had not yet consummated the relationship. See, Karah was a virgin and her plan was to save herself for marriage. These days, such a thought almost seemed archaic, but Karah kept to her standards. That is, until she met Mark. After that first meeting, she knew he was the one and so she planned to give herself to Mark in Hawaii.

Their days in Hawaii were spent lazing in the sun drinking mixed cocktails, snorkeling and splashing in the ocean, evening walks along white beaches, Hawaiian luaus and of course, spooning in their hotel room. Karah was wanton and wondered why she bothered to wait so long. But she knew why. She needed to wait until she finally met Mark.

The week flew by so quickly and before they knew it, it was time for Karah to fly back to Chicago. Prior to crossing the security gate, Mark softly kissed Karah good-bye, handing her a small wrapped box, requesting that she open the box during the plane's ascent.

It was torture waiting for her airplane to taxi out of the runway but when it started to ascend into the blue sky, she finally tore through the wrapping paper around the small box. What she discovered was a small coffin which fit neatly on her palm. Karah flipped open the latch and found a small note inside, obviously written by Mark. With widening eyes, her heart filled with indescribable terror as she read what was written on the note:

"Welcome the the world of AIDS"

Meanwhile back in Chicago, Natty received a call from Mark. "She got the note."

And Natty responded with a slow smile.