Snow fell gently but steadily as Danielle gazed lazily through the window. It had only been snowing for half an hour but the ground was already coated with a full blanket of white. The snow was coming down lightly but consistently in large flakes. When Danielle focused she could make out some individual flakes and shapes. It was always snowing in New City around this time of year. Danielle absentmindedly wondered if the weather would give Adam trouble on his way home. It was starting to get late and she had finished cooking dinner almost half an hour ago. She glanced at the grandfather clock that stood in the hallway by her front door. It was already seven. The roads were probably icy by now. Hopefully Adam was not caught in traffic, or worse, some kind of accident. Although, he could simply just be taking his time.
Adam had been growing even more distant as of late. He was staying out later and later and speaking less and less. Danielle figured it was probably the stress of the job search. She'd been cranky during hers too. Rejection after rejection really starts to take its toll. Danielle and Adam met seven months ago when he came to New City on a study abroad trip. In college, Adam had been a Political Science major so the trip made sense. Come to New City where the government is comprised of ninety percent females. It's a government unlike any other; a Political Science major's dream.
There was something about his presence that had drawn Danielle to him. She had never been able to put her finger on it. She just felt a natural pull to him. He too must have found something about her that he liked because his trip ended three months ago and he was still hanging around. Adam had taken up residence in her flat rather indefinitely, or so it appeared that way to Danielle. For the past two weeks he'd been constantly talking about getting a job. Everything was starting to seem relatively permanent.
Adam too was starting to feel as if things had become permanent, which is exactly why he was starting to worry. When he first decided to travel to New City it was mostly because he'd been avoiding the real world after graduation. He wanted a chance to have an adventure, to explore places he'd never seen, and to try new things. At first, New City had been exactly that. Incidentally enough as its name claims, it was a brand new city with a revolutionary government run almost entirely by women. The city was so new that parts of it were still under construction when Adam arrived.
He had enjoyed all of his post-graduate classes. He took long weekend trips to surrounding countries. Adam had done all the sightseeing and hiking that he could manage on his budget.
Most of all, he really liked his internship. That was where he met Danielle. She was the absolutely brilliant assistant to the Senator. For some reason, she had taken a liking to him out of all the other interns. Every time Adam struggled with something she managed to help him out.
As a thank you for all of her help when he interned, Adam offered to take Danielle out to dinner. Danielle was funny and interesting and not at all like the women Adam had known back at home. Eventually he fell in love with her, or at least something like love. It was enough to bring Adam to cancel his flight back home and stay in New City for a little bit longer. Enough for him to consider looking for a permanent job.
At his interview today, Adam was asked several questions. However, one stumped him more so than others. "Where do you see yourself in ten years?" Adam knew how he was supposed to answer that particular question. He knew he was supposed to come up with some scenario in which he puts his best efforts into learning about the company, mastering all the necessary skills and responsibilities, eventually working his way up into a higher position in said company, perhaps management. He knew he was supposed to make up a little bit about his personal life too. Maybe children, definitely marriage, a house with a white picket fence etc...
Adam gave that perfect answer but on the way home he found himself thinking more and more about what his actual goals were. He wanted a family, that much was true. More than that though, he wanted to make a difference. College had taught him that more than anything, Adam wanted to help people. He wanted to do something with his life that would change the world, or at least have an impact. Yet here he was, lounging around New City with a girl he barely knew and applying for jobs he had no interest in. Despite it's name, New City was starting to feel a bit old.
The question now became, what to do about that. Sure New City had put itself on the map. It was a small city run almost entirely by women, a place that people were now looking to. New City was definitely going to make an impact. Yet Adam knew that he wasn't going to have a part of that. New City was just a small chapter in his story. This wasn't the place for him to spend the rest of his life. Deep down, he'd always known that. It was time to go.
Adam parked Danielle's car in the driveway but hesitated before entering the house. The hard part was going to be telling her. They had grown so close in such a short amount of time. Danielle had told him a lot about herself, including her plans for the future. Plans that had recently started to include him. Adam knew that she envisioned a future in which they were together, and now he knew that he did not. Sighing he pushed open the front door. Prolonging the conversation would do no good. Adam would have to just suck it up and do what had to be done. No sneaking around, no beading around the bush, just cut to the chase.
"Adam finally!" Danielle's voice echoed through the front hall.
"Hi," he called out to her as he began to hang his coat up in the closet. Adam paused as soon as he realized what he was doing. He removed his coat and placed it down on a nearby chair instead.
"I was starting to get worried about you," Danielle told him. "It's really starting to come down out there. The roads were probably awful! How did your interviews go!" Adam recognized that she was talking quickly out of habit. Danielle always did that when she was nervous or concerned.
"The roads were rough but I made it back fine. The interviews were good, they really got me thinking," Adam tried to slow down the pace of the conversation.
"About what?" Danielle asked as Adam moved into the kitchen. "A more concrete idea of what kind of job you want?"
"No, not that. Maybe now isn't the best time to talk about it. Maybe we should just eat," Adam suggested gesturing to the set table and cooked meal.
"Well now I'm going to be thinking about it all dinner!" Danielle joked. Adam sighed. This was not going to be as simple as he'd thought. Everything seemed really clear on the way home but now that he was here and Danielle was looking at him with eyes full of concern Adam wasn't sure how to even begin.
"I've been thinking about booking a flight home," he blurted out. Danielle's eyes widened.
"Oh!" the surprise was evident in Danielle's voice. "When?"
"Sooner rather than later. I think it's probably time for me to move on," Adam admitted, avoiding making eye contact.
"What made you decide this?" Danielle wanted to know, placing her hands on her hips. Adam registered the telling signal; she was preparing for a fight. Adam sat down at the kitchen table, bracing himself for the conversation.
"It was actually something that came up during the interview. They asked me where I saw myself in ten years. I realized that if I stay here, I won't be where I want to be in ten years." Adam did his best to explain how he felt.
"So in ten years you don't want to be here...or with me?" The hurt in Danielle's voice was palpable. Adam almost winced at her tone. He never meant to hurt her; he just needed to do what was best for him. It just so happened that what was best for him seemed to end up hurting her anyway.
"It's not like that Danielle," he wanted to make her feel better. He had to make her understand that it wasn't her fault, that there wasn't anything that either of them could do about it. he glanced out through the window at the snow, trying to organize his thoughts. The snowfall had picked up considerably since he came inside.
"Then what is it like Adam? Tell me, where do you see yourself in ten years?" Danielle asked crossing her arms. Her eyes narrowed as she dove into defensive mode.
"Danielle, I want what I've always wanted. I want what I told you before. I want to make a difference in the world. I want to help people and have an impact." Adam knew he wasn't explaining himself well. In fact, he barely understood it. All he knew was that he felt like his purpose in the world wasn't going to be fulfilled in New City.
"And you can't do any of that here?" Danielle continued her line of questioning. She remained standing above him, refusing to sit down.
"No, I can't," Adam shook his head. "I told you all of this when we first met!"
"Yes, but I don't see how working for a brand new government that's already innovative in itself doesn't constitute making a change!" Danielle exclaimed throwing her hands angrily on her hips. In her opinion, Adam wasn't making any sense. Everything that he wanted was right here in New City. She just needed to make him understand that.
"Because I'm not meant to!" Adam replied equally worked up.
"What is that supposed to mean?!" Danielle scoffed. "What do you mean you're not meant to?"
"I just know that I'm meant for something more. I can't explain it I just know." Danielle rolled her eyes. Adam could tell she thought everything he was saying was absolutely absurd. He didn't blame her. Fate was a hard thing to understand but he had to try. "Do you believe in fate Danielle?"
"No," she practically snorted. "I believe in hard work and circumstance but not fate."
"Well I do. I believe that we all have a purpose and that things in our lives are going to drive us toward that purpose. I believe that fate brought me to you here in New City but I also believe that fate calls me away. New City isn't where I'm going to spend the rest of my life. I knew that when I came here, I know that now. I just sort of forgot somewhere in between." Adam did his best to describe the situation to Danielle. The look on her face was unreadable.
"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," Danielle finally said turning her back to him. "Fate?! It's not fate and don't pretend that it is. The least you could do is a be a man and own up to it." She spun back around to face him. "You don't want to be here anymore and you clearly have lost your interest in me. At least have the courage to tell the truth Adam. There's no such thing as fate." Her tone was so bitter that Adam found himself growing less and less compassionate towards her. At first Adam had been worried about how Danielle would take his decision. Now that she was ridiculing him he found his desire to be considerate of her feelings waning. Adam took another look at the snow to buy himself some time to calm down. He hadn't fully realized that when he started this conversation it would end with a break up. The snow was coming down hard and fast now. Adam thought it was oddly fitting.
"I'm not leaving because I don't like you, I'm leaving because I have to," Adam finally spoke.
"Yeah, right," Danielle laughed. "So I guess everything you said to me before wasn't even close to being true."
"What do you mean?" Adam asked, wondering what she was referring to.
"When you said you wanted to be with me and when you said you wanted to be together. When you moved in and when you decided to get a job you acted like you wanted to be here. Now, all of a sudden out of nowhere you want to go. Either you lied when you first me or you're lying now." Danielle hurled accusation after accusation.
"I never said that I wanted to stay in New City indefinitely." Adam replied shaking his head. "That was your plan, not mine."
"I can't believe you right now!" Danielle exclaimed throwing her hands up into the air in exasperation. "After everything! I helped you with your internship when you were just starting out and didn't know anything! I welcomed you into my home when you had nowhere else to go. I gave you a place to live, completely rent-free. I'm on track for a fantastic political career. We could have worked together, we could have done so many amazing things for this place."
"Those are your dreams, not mine!" Adam responded immediately. "And I am grateful for everything you did for me but I never asked you to. I don't owe you any kind of debt."
"Seriously? Are you for real? You know what, nevermind, don't answer that." Danielle snapped at him bitterly.
"Danielle, I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I wasn't lying when I said I loved you. But for me, it's just not enough. I want more out of life."
"I'm having a really hard time believing you right now," Danielle sighed. She felt like everything he'd said to her was a lie. He'd led her to believe that they had a future together, when in fact, he had no intention of staying in New City for more than a year.
"I think it would be best if I stayed somewhere else tonight." Adam sighed. Danielle glared at him.
"You're really just looking for an easy out here aren't you?" she laughed bitterly.
"Oh come on! I want to leave, you want me to stay. I think it's pretty obvious that we don't want the same thing." Adam urged.
"There's no point in me staying any longer now. I've made it clear that I have every intention of going home, and if not home, somewhere else. Nothing you can do or say is going to change that now. I've made up my mind. I'm going with my gut. I know that this is the right decision for me. My fate and yours just aren't connected anymore. We've both chosen our own paths. Now
please just let me take mine."
"Don't think for a second I believe your stupid fate lies Adam," Danielle reminded him.
"I'm trying to part on good terms here Danielle," Adam sighed, feeling defeated.
"Well that's not going to happen. You lied to me, you took advantage of my hospitality and my willingness to help you. You disgust me. I hope you get what you deserve. Now get out of my house." Her tone was biting, her words final. Danielle didn't leave him with much of a choice. He picked his jacket up off of the chair and left without a word. There was no point in fighting anymore. He was leaving, that was what he wanted. Adam walked out of Danielle's flat and into the blizzard.