Birdsong :: zalfie

3

Thinking of her now, sat at my desk, I sketched out her face.

Making sure to get every beautiful feature right. Although, that would almost be impossible.

Trying to capture the look she gave me over the other side of the table at dinner.

Marcus, my one close friend that I've made during my time in this war, and roommate, stands by the sink, shaving and brushing his teeth.

I glance down at the package that lay on the corner of the desk, it had been sitting there for a while now.
It had Marcus' name plastered on-top of it.

"Are you gonna open that" I ask him.

He puts down his toothbrush and takes the package.

I hear rustling of paper and a small chuckle.

"Christ, mother." He laughs.

I turn to see him holding up a white, oversized, knitted jumper "Mother has definitely crossed the line now."

He begins to fold the jumper up and he places it on his pillow.

"Well at least I get post." He raises his eyebrows at me.

We share a laugh, and dust falls from the ceiling.

Another bomb going off, far into the distance.

A single card falls to the ground from my set of cards that had been sitting next to my sketch pad.

I reach down to retrieve it, placing it back on the table, heads up.

The queen of hearts.

Marcus nods towards the card.

"You've got to get yourself a sweetheart lieutenant"

I remember sitting in a cafe in Brighton, I was sketching the street that I could see out the window.

Although, one time when I looked up, outside the window. I saw a woman, with long brown hair, carrying a basket, walking past.

Zoe.

I find myself following her. Walking straight out of the cafe, ditching my cup of coffee and half eaten iced bun.

She walks at a steady pace, and I keep my distance, keeping within two metres behind her.

I follow her until she comes to a stop right outside a random, lonely cottage, she knocks on the door and walks inside.

A while later, as I wander through the woods, trying to find my way back to the house, I come across her.

She stands a few feet in front of me, setting my heart off at 1000 miles an hour.

"Are you lost?" She asks me.

She's just standing there, in the middle of the woods, her sapphire eyes twinkling under the sunlight.

"No-n, yes I am." I stutter.

She smiles and shakes her head at me.

"Are you settling in well?" She asks.

"Yes. Yes I am. Thank you."

I could stare at her all day. In this very moment.

Her hair is pulled back underneath her hat, two single curly strands pulled loose on each side of her face.

"I saw you today" I say.

Her eyes widened slightly, and I quickly shook my head. "No no, I wasn't- I wasn't stalking you or anything. I was just having lunch in a cafe and I saw you walk past. Into a house. Were u visiting a friend?"

I find myself baffling on, but she listens intently.

The corners of her lips twisted up, just a little, and her eyes darkened with humour, and her hair fell around her face as she looked up at me.

"No. Friends. I have very few of those."

And then she gives me a small smile and walks away.

And as she walked ahead, I swear I could hear her start to hum softy to herself

And as I listened to her, I could almost feel myself falling for her even more,

Slipping

And crashing.