*This short story was written with the preamble "Write a story that includes the line “Do I know you?” or “Have we met before?”’ from reedsyprompts.
June 27, 2025 - 2:28 PM
We entered the packed New Year’s Eve bar to continue our celebration, pushing past some rowdy patrons on our right. The ones on our left were all watching the television attentively, speaking in more hushed tones and laughing amongst themselves.
The bar was filled mostly with men, tall enough that we couldn’t see over their heads. From above, we would look like rats in a maze.
We were two five-foot-five women. We were quite literally in over our heads, but that didn’t deter us. It was a special occasion. Sophie had just finished her residency at the top of her year and was ready to take on another chapter of her life and her medical career. I, on the other hand, didn't have such an illustrious reason to celebrate, but I didn’t care. I just loved the excitement and thrill of a New Year’s Eve party and being with her made it even better. I loved my sister. We shared a bond I treasured with all my heart and it was my idea to celebrate with some drinks. She wouldn’t have chosen such a venue but could never say no to me, provided I begged hard and long enough. It was just one of the many perks of being the younger sister. She would have loved to be at home spending it with family, where it was more quiet and controlled.
We wove our way through the thick crowd of bodies, holding hands as I led her. We finally reached the bar and specifically ordered non-alcoholic drinks, much to the bartender’s confusion. We didn’t drink alcohol, in homage to our mother who had tragically died in a drunk driving accident, some years prior. It was our silent tribute and vow to our dearly departed.
After downing a few beverages, we decided that it was already late enough we would just stay till the countdown and we could leave after into the new year. It wasn’t like our father would even realize we weren’t home, he had his own friends even though imaginary to celebrate with. We felt like we were orphans at that point, we only had each other. Dementia has a way of killing the people we love yet leaving their living body to torment and break down their loved ones. An underlying reason for me not wanting to go home. It was too somber, too heavy for me to manage emotionally.
As the drinking and the counting down continued, my eye caught a familiar face weaving through the crowd. My stomach dropped. As he walked through the bar, our eyes met. A stark reminder that no matter how hard we try to run from our past, it will still catch up with us. I knew he was there for me because he didn't even have a drink in hand.
He now knew that I was cognizant of his presence there, he had my undivided attention, something he always lamented was missing from our relationship. He was circling us like a shark to prey.
I wasn't a saint. I knew one day I’d be cornered, and the bill for my consequences would come due. But I never expected it to arrive at such a bitter time.
I beckoned Sophie for us to leave but at this point she was well into the countdown, the conversations in the bar and the ambience of the moment. She refused. She continued to count along with the others. I had stopped counting from the moment I saw him. I hadn’t even realized the bartender had mistakenly given her a beer until she began lifting it in the air as she counted.
Around the middle of the countdown we were approached by the familiar man. Familiar but in no way shape or form friendly. The atmosphere between the three of us became tense, now she too stopped counting. Words were exchanged softly between the two of us, it unfortunately began to escalate as he got angrier.
Sophie being the upstanding older sibling stepped in and the confrontation escalated rather quickly into a physical and nasty fight between the three of us. They didn't like each other, and her stepping in pushed the confrontation over the edge. Sophie threw the first punch, which was out of character for her. Now with no other choice, I joined in. The glasses we’d been drinking from fell to the ground. We got the jump on him due to the surprise. He eventually began to overpower us, we weren't much of fighters but we still held our own.
It turned into a brawl and even innocent bystanders were drawn into it. Some ran immediately, some slipped through the door quietly to avoid the fight and some stood back watching. At the end of it all we found ourselves on opposite sides of the only two sides you can find yourself on after a fight. Injured and not injured.
Sophie was bleeding profusely from her head and mouth on the floor. She had likely slipped on the very beer she’d been drinking and struck the back of her head on the edge of a table, then hit her mouth as she crashed to the floor. Upon this event everything in my world stopped for a moment. Shocked, he fled and so did numerous others.
In a desperate panic, I too fell to the ground and cradled her head on the floor, screaming at the now almost empty bar to call emergency services. Now in a state of absolute shock and horror and covered in blood, I pleaded with her to stay awake.
In a seemingly last gasp of air and strength she reached her hand towards my face. Pinching and caressing my cheek and through her blood-filled mouth she responded, “Have we met before”. My vision now blurry from the tears that washed over my eyes. Her hand then fell lifeless from my face, the speakers of the television bellowed “Happy New Year” over the hauntingly quiet and desolate bar.