Source of Image: Gencraft
Henry was a 35 year old rich man, but he preferred to live an ordinary life. Henry has always loved writing more than anything in the whole world. He loved to live through his characters. He moved to a new house especially because his neighbor was a beautiful woman named Arabella.
Arabella was a 35 year old hairstylist and makeup artist. She cared a lot about her looks and wanted to have rich boyfriends. She spent hours doing make up and dressing herself. She always liked to be admired for her beauty.
Henry had a camera and with it he would watch Arabella from his window doing activities in her yard like swimming in the pool or reading books. He was surprised once when he saw she was reading a book, later he found out it was about fashion. He was so curious about her life that he contacted a psychic and a witch to tell him more about her life with her boyfriend Alex. And from the information he got from the psychic, he would spend hours crafting stories about Alex and Arabella’s relationship.
The psychic’s name was Bastet and she was good at her job. She could explain every emotion Arabella felt at any given time and that helped Henry to craft his story based on her life. Every fight and every reconciliation was important to him. It was like pieces of a puzzle and Henry liked to piece together this puzzle he called Arabella. Henry suspected that she had a secret personality, which she loved to read books about other subjects other than fashion. He suspected that she is smarter than she usually shows herself.
One day, Henry was stalking Arabella and watching her with his camera when he saw her crying in the yard. Without hesitation, he went over to comfort her.
He knocked her door. There was no answer for some time. But finally, she came to the door. She was cleaning her tears with a tissue when she opened the door. This was their first real conversation since Henry moved in.
“Sorry, I heard you crying. I thought you might want to talk to someone,” Henry said gently.
“You’re Henry, right? You just moved in next door? Sorry, I didn’t bring you any welcome gifts to welcome you to the neighborhood,” Arabella said, wiping her tears still.
“Please, come on in,” she continued.
Henry went inside and was surprised at the decorations. Everything was neat and the house was designed beautifully. It was cozy and Henry felt he was where he should be.
“Your home is really beautiful, you have a really great taste,” Henry said while looking around.
“Yes, I studied architecture for a semester in school, but I dropped out and became a makeup artist,” Arabella said, feeling a lot better someone complimenting her.
“Really?” Henry said surprised. He couldn’t imagine Arabella at school studying something.
“Yes, really! In fact, let me show you what I designed when I was at school,” Arabella said excitedly.
Arabella took Henry’s hands and brought him to a room with painted walls. Nature scenes were painted on the wall and there was a wooden table at the center. On the table, there was a greyish maquette of a skyscraper.
“I always wanted to become an architect and build houses and skyscrapers,” Arabella said thrilled.
“Why didn’t you? “Henry asked curious looking closely at the maquette.
“I was in a relationship with my boyfriend Alex. I needed to take care of him at the time because he lost his father. So, I dropped out of school. Moreover, he didn’t like me studying all the time. Now, we fight a lot. I think my relationship with him is coming to an end. We met each other when I was 18 and we seemed to match, but things changed when his mother died just recently. He feels he has no one. He is not the same person and he doesn’t open up to me anymore. We are cold, “Arabella replied feeling a heavy baggage on her shoulders.
“He is a grown man, you don’t need to take care of him. He can take care of himself!” Henry said a little annoyed.
“You need to follow your own passion and don’t sacrifice your happiness for the good of others,” Henry continued.
Suddenly there was a hard knock on the door.
“Arabella............ Arabella............. Open the damn door............”Alex shouted.
“I think its Alex! Get out of the yard! If he sees you here, he will think I am cheating on him!” Arabella said with a low voice.
“I thought you said you are ending things, “Henry said confused.
“We are ...... We are...... it’s complicated. I let him be in my life. Please just go.......... NOW!” Arabella said anxious that Alex might see Henry.
Henry quickly disappeared and went to his house from the back yard. He couldn’t help but be sad for Arabella because he was stuck in a toxic relationship and he was proud to have guessed it and wrote about Arabella in the story he was writing based on her life. He has new information to add to the book. He never would have guessed she was into architecture.
He went straight to his room where he wrote his stories and took his camera and started watching Alex and Arabella fighting. They were in the living room, which was near the yard and the tall glass windows made it easy for Henry to see Arabella.
Things got intense and it seemed Arabella ended her relationship with Alex. Henry, on the other hand, was on his final chapter and it was time to send the novel to the publisher.
A few days later, Arabella knocked on Henry’s door. She brought some cookies to welcome him to the neighborhood. Henry asked her to come inside and they talked for several hours about relationships and architecture. After their talk, Arabella went on a trip with her girlfriends and Henry was upset because he didn’t have anyone to stalk, moreover his novel was finished and sent to his his publisher, soon to be published.
One day, Henry was out shopping in the supermarket and Arabella was back from her trip and she came straight to see Henry but he was not at home. Henry forgot to lock his door. Arabella went inside and saw Henry’s books near the door. The novel was called “Arabella”, Henry didn’t even change the name. He wanted everything to be authentic. Arabella started reading the novel and realized it is about her life. How well he explained her emotions and how well he knew her. Arabella felt uneasy but she kept reading. The more she read, the more she got upset and her hands were shaking.
Henry was near the house. He parked his car and went towards the door. Arabella has already read a few chapters.
Henry came inside and was surprised to see Arabella.
“Arabella, you came back from your trip! I didn’t expect you to come back for another month,” Henry said not noticing his book in Arabella’s hands.
“Is this book about me?” Arabella asked, her voice shaking. She pointed to the book.
Henry kept silent. He didn’t expect her to figure him out.
“Are you stalking me? What is this? Who are you? How do you know me so well?” Arabella asked with a little fear.
“I thought you were different. I started to like you. I am calling the police,” Arabella grabbed her phone but Henry soon snatched the phone from her hand and she tried to get away from him.
“Just calm down........ Just calm down..............I’m not going to hurt you. I like you too,” Henry kept saying.
“Don’t come close to me..... I am warning you.......... I don’t like you anymore,” Arabella shouted and ran away from him and Henry didn’t try to stop her.
Arabella went straight to Alex, but didn’t say anything about Henry stalking her. She did not even call the police because deep down she didn’t want to hurt Henry. Alex asked her to get back together and she felt safe with him so she agreed. Alex did not want to lose Arabella again and so he proposed to her. She didn’t expect a proposal, but she felt she should settle down and who is better than someone whom she knows best: Alex. It’s true they fought a lot but they knew each other for so long, it was only natural they get married.
Ending 1:
The news of Arabella’s wedding reached Henry. He was upset.
“I could have had a nice relationship with Arabella had she not found out about me stalking her and writing a book about her relationship with Alex. I need to settle down someday and if Arabella didn’t hate me I could have asked her to marry me. I like her so much. I think she is a very warm and kind woman, something that I truly look in a woman,” Henry thought to himself.
Henry gathered all his stuff and looked at his house for one last time.
“Time to say goodbye. Good bye Arabella, we had a nice time together and my book turned out to be a good one,” Henry whispered to himself wishing things turned out some other way. He thought about apologizing to Arabella, but he was nearly sure things would not go as he wanted them. It was time for him to move on and leave and find another place and perhaps another girl to stalk and write about and write another book.
Ending 2:
When Henry found out Arabella was soon to be married, he was angry because he realized he didn’t want to lose her. He needed a true relationship with someone and who was better than Arabella. So, he went to her house. Arabella was standing beside the window and the window was open and she could hear Henry.
“Arabella, I’m sorry. Don’t continue your toxic relationship just because you want to feel safe. Trust me, you won’t ever feel okay. Your relationship with Alex should have ended years ago. But you keep going because you don’t want to be left alone. I know what it’s like to be by yourself. I’ve done it for so many years. But, now I feel incomplete without you! Arabella! Can you hear me?” Alex shouted while looking at her window.
Alex who was with Arabella rushed towards the door and without hesitation hit Henry on the head and then they started to fight.
“Don’t you dare come here for Arabella! She doesn’t want you!” Alex shouted in Henry’s ears.
“She doesn’t want you either!” Henry shouted back.
Arabella, who was standing there motionless and all quiet, came forward to speak.
“Actually I don’t want to be with either of you! I want to be by myself!” Arabella said leting all her emotion out, knowing that she had made a mistake accepting Alex’s marriage proposal.
“Sorry Alex, there is not going to be a wedding anymore!” Arabella said and took off her ring and gave it to Alex.
The two boys looked at each other and watched Arabella going towards the door. She closed it shut without looking back.
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Interesting endings I think the second ending is the best for the girl although I thought she would stay with the writer. Excellent story.
Thanks for sharing.
Good day.
Thank you so much for stopping by and saying your thought about my story.
I think the second ending is best as well.❤️
Both endings are interesting, @loneliestgirl. Which one do you like best?
One tip for you: in short stories, it is really best to stay in one character's perspective throughout the story. That is the character that is most meaningful to the rader. It's the character we become emotionally invested in. In this story, you show both Henry's and Arabella's point of view.
Thank you for sharing your story in The Ink Well, and for reading and commenting on the work of other community members.
Thank you so much for the tip. 💚
I like the second ending, because both relationships are toxic, and she should not be afraid of staying alone for a while.
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