AROLLO Stories – ALENA Episode 1/10

Arollo Stories

AROLLO Stories is a new way to entertain you as our regular customers and fans, as well as people who have recently learned about AROLLO.

The main character in this story is Alena, a married mid-forties from Berlin. We dive into a turbulent phase of her life and are already curious how the story will end.

ALENA Episode 1:

My name is Alena.

I live in Berlin, I am forty-six-years old, I am married and I have two children, both moved out recently. Normal, so far. I am one of many, I know that. But did all the other sixty-four-year-old Alenas from Berlin decide from options like me at one point of their life?

Option one: I let go off the railing, on whose outside I’m standing now. Good: It’s a fast way out. Bad: A fall from the twelfth floor hurts a lot.

Option two: I drink myself to death. Good: Less painful than option one. Bad: Takes a long time.

Option three: I look for a new man. Good: Finding a man is easy. Bad: Finding a good man is hard.

Actually, it’s impossible. I know what I’m talking about. Before I met Frank, I had – like most of us, I guess – other partners. Like Milan, the depressed artist. Or Alberto, the sissy mummy’s boy. And Jonas, the…no, Jonas was good. Very good. Too good for me. Just before our first anniversary, he dumped me. That’s how it continued with all the other guys. In my mid-twenties, I had concluded the “men-chapter” in my life, sort of.

Until Frank came around.

“Hey!”, someone shouts.

I am frightened. My hands clench tighter around the railing. I can barely feel my fingers. It’s time to decide, otherwise my body will to decide for me.

I am standing outside at the inner-courtyard side of the rooftop terrace. Less drama, I thought. I don’t want someone to call the fire brigade because of me, and then there is a big scene with a rescue net and onlookers, or, God forbid, I fall off and die in front of a young child, who is damaged for life. My actions here should be done quietly and discretely. But I have hesitated too long already.

“Uh…Hello?”, I’m shouting. I still can’t see the guy who discovered me.

Something gives me hope, that my prince charming will come around the corner riding on a white horse and opens his strong arms for me. He catches me gently, kisses me hard, and then we ride away, and live happily ever after…

…or I’m reading to many schmaltzy books.

“Hey!”, the other guy is shouting again.

I see the waving hand on the opposite wall, far away enough, above the old oak tree, for me to see it. Fourth or fifth floor, I guess. I squeeze my eyelids together. No, it’s not my prince. More of the opposite: a pensioner. White hair, bad posture, and, although I have failing eyesight and dozens of meters distance is between us, I realize that he has the biggest part of his life behind him. He blows out a blue cloud of smoke. I think, he smokes a pipe. I would say, I can even smell the sweet-vanilla scent, which differs nicely from the bad smell of the pothead, who lives downstairs. Nevertheless, I spontaneously think about considering smoking pot as option number four on my list. It’s supposed to relax. Or hash-cookies? Everything  seems better, than continuing to stare holes in the wall of this penthouse…

“Forgot your keys?”, he asks and coughs. “Or did the wife come home all of a sudden?”

The old guy seems to be humorous at least. And charming as well, even though just the thought that I’d like to hide an affair with my actions here is completely absurd.

The spontaneous smile disappears, when one of my numb hands slips and I can barely hold my weight with the other one. I realize how I lose my balance; I tip over centimeter by centimeter …

AROLLO Stories – ALENA Episode 2 will be released next Thursday, October 3rd at 8 pm

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