Withered Souls

chapter one

The rain outside kept pouring like it had been waiting to punish the streets. It had been going like that for the whole week, and he did not find pleasure at it. Rainy days meant busy traffic, wet clothes and moody people. Who wakes up in a gloomy morning and feels ready to start the day? Absolutely no one. Scanning his eyes through the books, he finally found the row where the author's last names started with an H. There it is. The Illiad. With his search coming to an end, he grabbed the cover he wanted and walked to the cashier.
So many people filled the bookstore. It was a Tuesday evening so he wondered if people were trying to escape the rain or was reading still something the world took interest in.
"Great choice," a girl called at him. She stopped as if trying to have a conversation on the book, but he just gave her a smile, if you could call it that, and kept walking. Apparently women who read had the same reaction to him as women who worked in high companies and took business calls all day. At the company he worked at, it was always, can we have a chat about the new board decision or do you want to come by the office and check the new project I've been working on or if you're free we can have a coffee later, every single day. Cassian had told him he found it interesting that women still approached him when his face seemed as cold and unfriendly, babies would cry if they were ever in his presence.

"17.59 is the total. Do you have a membership?" The worker behind the desk asked. He was about 5 foot 10, a boy who looked like a teen. Maybe that was just his baby face. His hair was curly and his shirt filled with round pins, he couldn't really see the writings in them.
"A what?"
"A membership with the bookstore?" He repeated. You could tell the guy had put that smile on and as soon as a customer would leave, that kindness would disappear to.
"No, why? Do I need one to buy the book?"
"No, but it helps you save. If you plan to buy more books and be a regular customer, this would be a perfect solution."
"Do people, ofter get these?" He asked, not knowing such businesses offered memberships. Did she have a membership here? Or did she buy her books somewhere else?
He could tell that made the worker a little uncomfortable, definitely not prepared to go beyond his usual number of questions.
"Well, yes. Most do."
"Sure then, sign me up."

He was now a book and a membership card richer than thirty minutes ago. The time was now 6:30 and the sun was already down. Continuing its agenda, the rain proceeded its way not caring about the poor souls living below it. Tucking the book in his jacket, he ran to his car and set off for the coffee shop. Beside that book, hope was tucked in his chest, hope that he would see her again.

He finally made it half an hour later. The coffeeshop was crowded as usual. People standing in line, their heads down on their phones, waiting. The place had grown in him this past week. The cozy feeling of home, the wooden walls, the low lightning, but apparently now low enough to read, the flowers by the window and even the people felt better. These people came here to enjoy their drinks and relax their minds. There was no rushing, no pushing each other, no complains about how their break was over in 10 and their coffee was still not out. It felt like two different worlds. Maybe he was so absorbed by that company life, he had forgotten the world was filled with so many different people all living different lives. To an extent, even different realities.

Ordering his, now usual, tea, he sat at the table by the window, right across her. Today, her hair fell down her body like waves of silk. She was wearing brown sweater, a little too big for her he would say, and a white skirt. He noticed same rain boots she had worn for the past week, however her book was different. Did she finish it so fast? The reason he had bought the Illiad, which now laid in front of him, ready to be cracked in, was so he could find a connection with her.

He had seen her reading that book and drinking tea the same day his car had broken down after work. It was Monday morning and every Monday after work, he would go home for his family's weekly dinners. Boring but still mandatory. It was a rainy day, just like the rest of the week followed, and after calling roadside service he had rushed to take cover in a building nearby. That's when he saw her.
Sitting in the table by the window, reading her book and drinking her tea. He was mesmerized right away. Definitely not love at first sight, because he'd lie himself if he believed in any sort of love, but something about her had made him weak in the knees. That Monday evening, she was wearing a long white dress, with bow ties in each shoulder. Her hair was pulled back in a low pony and she glowed like dawn. He did not go in the shop, however, and after his brothers picked him up, he found himself unable to stop thinking of her. Of the lovely fairy dressed in white.
It didn't take much before he pulled up to the same coffee shop at the same time, the next day, and sit across her trying to catch a glimpse of her eyes.
He had noticed her reading this book, drinking this specific rose tea and in that moment, all he wanted to do is experience her life from her eyes. By the end of the week, he had gone and bought the book. He wanted to skim through the pages and have his eyes seeing the same words she had seen. Did she have annotations on? He wanted to order the same tea as her, just so his lips could taste the same way hers would, maybe even for a split second. He wanted to walk the same streets she walked, see every store she did, ever grow up the same flowers she did, just so when he went to smell them, he could do it the same way as her. They say humans are a soul choosing a body to live in. Well he wished just for one day, or even one hour, his soul could go sit next to hers and observe.