I was walking down the street on my way back to my apartment when I saw Maya outside in her garden. I watched as a strand of her hair fell out of her ponytail and she reached back to fix it. She took down the ponytail and pulled all of the hair together and piled it into a bun. It wasn't a plain Abnegation bun, it was just all thrown together with pieces sticking out everywhere. I could see a little bit of dirt from where her fingers had touched. I didn't even realize I had stopped and was staring until she said something.
"Oh hello Four." She said smiling up at me.
She squinted up at me because the sun was right behind me so it was shining in her eyes.
"Hi Maya." I said.
She stood up and wiped her dirty hands on her pants. There was a little smudge of dirt right on her cheek.
"Did you need something?" she asked.
Did I want something? Well not really I suppose.
"No, I just wanted to say hello." I said.
She smiled a smile that showed all of her teeth.
"Well hello then." She said.
"I will see you later." I replied before quickly walking away.
I glanced at her again before I went inside. She was already down in the dirt again with a smile on her face. I don't think I had ever seen her without a smile on her face. It was rare for people around here and nothing something I was ever used to seeing. I stood at the window watching her work. I knew she was humming from the way she bounced a little bit and because I had heard her do so before. She always hummed a little tune to herself when she worked in her garden. I saw that she had managed to smudge more dirt on her face. I was contemplating whether I was going to go out there again and talk to her when someone came running up to her. I watched their exchange. Maya went into her house and came back out in clean clothes with her bag slung over her shoulder. She had a determined yet excited look on her face as she quickly followed the flustered man down the street. Obviously she was off to deliver a baby and wouldn't be back for some time. I turned away from the window and went to take a shower since I really had nothing better to do with my time.
Maya must have come back sometime in the middle of the night because she was sitting on her front steps in the morning sun when I left for work in the morning. She was drinking coffee out of a flowery mug. The sun blazed bright on her jet black hair. She smiled as I walked past.
"Have a nice day Four." She called to me.
I waved and tried to give a smile. "Thanks. You too."
I walked to work in confusion. Why had it just made me so glad that she had said that to me? Even before Tris I had been content to be alone. I hadn't needed anyone really. For the longest time after Tris I enjoyed my solitude. I genuinely liked being alone. So why all of the sudden was the isolation getting to me? The biggest question of all right now is why am I caring so much about Maya's attention? I shook my head to try and clear thoughts of her away. No, Four, I thought to myself, isolation suits me. I had my work and my own place and that was all that I needed. Just the way it had always been.