Can Yaman International Presents: Moonstone

Chapter 2: "Wild Hearts"

At the end of Chapter 1:  What was happening to me? I didn't know. But the urge to see her face up close and look into her eyes was overwhelming and utterly irresistible. Nothing in this world could have stopped me from going into that store. Every molecule in my body screamed for a glimpse of her. So, against all better judgment, I stepped out of the shadows and walked into her light.

(Author's Note: Please read to the end of the chapter and leave your comments -- and don't forget to vote too. Thank you!)

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"Be patient where you sit in the dark. The dawn is coming." Rumi

Sanem:

The darkness had its claws sunk deep into this cold and foggy morning. The streets of the neighborhood looked abandoned and empty of life. I stepped off the stoop of my parent's house and carefully walked around the puddles as I strolled from my house to the family store down the block. Like I did every day.

It was a morning like countless others. I have been working at the shop almost my entire life and I always opened it each morning. I was the natural choice because I am a morning person. I love the quiet time before the neighborhood comes to life. Except this morning felt different. I could not quite put my finger on why.

There was a marked restlessness in the air. It seemed as if the shadows were shifting and changing positions. I glanced at the alleys between the buildings I passed. Thick shadows dwelled in the predawn darkness and I had the insane thought that they were watching me. I fought off a shiver and pulled my jacket tighter around me. Something compelled me to look closer. No... nothing good could be concealing itself in the dark. I shook off my fanciful notions and hurried to the shop.

I went through my morning opening routine just like any ordinary day. I put out the magazine rack, filled the outside cooler with drinks, and set out the fresh flowers. Our store was known for having fresh flowers all year round and people came from all over to buy them. The side of the store was a garden in bloom. The sight never failed to lift my spirits. I smiled to myself as I hummed to the pretty blossoms. I picked several daisies and quickly threaded them into a crown. I placed it on my head, uncaring about the looks I would surely get from some of the customers later. I was used to the looks and the whispering about me.

"Sanem... she is strange. Weird. Odd. Peculiar." And a mix of other words said behind my back.

That was me. My reputation as the bizarre girl in the neighborhood was well earned. I had sort of come to terms with it. I could change their minds but that would be...wrong. Regardless, the flower crown made me happy so it would stay on my head today.

I felt a shiver work itself up my spine and the feeling of being watched returned. I pivoted slowly and looked closely at the shadowed doorway across the way. Nothing there, I told myself firmly. I went inside and sat down behind the register with my notebook, trying to shake off the weird impressions I was having of this morning. The first customers would not come in for a while, not in this weather. I relished the opportunity to have some undisturbed writing time.

After a few minutes, I lost myself in worlds away from my own. Forming sentences and paragraphs that carried me away from my reality, placing me in an alternative world where all of my dreams came true. One where I was loved and accepted unconditionally. One where I was not wasn't so alone.

The tinkling of bells at the door announcing a customer shook me out of my trance. The shadow of a very large person fell across the floor. Somehow, I knew that this was no regular customer but curiously I felt no fear. My hand went motionless, the very air around me quieted, and I took a shaky breath.