Eight letters, One broken heart

Chapter One

Thursday 8th December.

Melody, at nineteen years old, embodied charm that belies her youthful determination. Her chestnut hair was naturally curly but today had been straightened. Although she found herself to be an introvert, she showed an air of confidence, accentuated by the subtle sparkle in her round eyes. She was also quite clumsy, if not dropping things she'd bump into everything in her path. 

In her part-time role at the jewelry store, Melody enjoyed connecting with customers through genuine conversation and attentive service. Despite the demands of her job, her passion for fashion shines through in her impeccable sense of style, each outfit a canvas for her creative expression.

Today, three hours into her shift, Melody was already regretting choosing to work overtime. But in the back of her head, she kept thinking of the extra income to get her through it. During the Christmas period, there was rarely a minute to relax. One customer after the other constantly. Since it was early into the cold month, she mostly served mothers, daughters, and sisters. Nearing Christmas it would be men, with their last minute gifts who didn't know what they were looking for and so needed more help. 

Melody quite often felt lonely during this time. When she did have a male customer, they didn't know a thing about what they were picking for their partners, they did put in the effort. But she believed that they'd appreciate the gesture even if it wasn't something they might like. It kept her wondering if she'd ever be in a loving relationship and to receive these gifts as a gesture of love.

Although Melody was exhausted from working six days in a row, she did enjoy talking to customers. The time would go faster, and it did take her mind off the fact that she hadn't a minute to relax the past week. It gave her a bit of a distraction which made her shift more bearable. 

She was serving a lady who was purchasing a necklace for her daughter's birthday which collided with Christmas, unfortunately for her that meant double the gifts which they both laughed at. Melody did enjoy her job to some extent, she had to serve customers one to one, so she got to meet different people every day. It wasn't always the best of course she had the occasional 'difficult' customer but all she could do was try to help them although it wasn't always the case that they wanted the help, more so they wanted to rant or argue.

When Melody was finished wrapping the items and said a good farewell to the lady. The store wasn't too busy, and no customers were waiting. With a sigh of relief as the store momentarily quieted, Melody glanced at her watch, counting down the remaining two hours of her shift. Anticipation for a well-deserved meal beckoned, her tired eyes struggling to focus without her glasses. She was also too lazy to wear her glasses. She didn't need to see from afar so why bother she believed. 

Melody looked up from the till to find a guy fiddling with the display. Wait. Her heart started racing as she soon realized she recognized him. She squinted to be clear and certain if it was him. I need to start wearing my glasses, she thought. Same face but with facial hair, his brown hair was shorter. Scruffy looking. As he was holding a construction hat too. And then he looked up at her, all she could focus on were his captivating green eyes. The color was soothing, like a green forest, peaceful and quiet. She realized she was staring too long at him.

"Hi!" She exclaimed. Chill out. She thought and walked up to him. It was him, her crush from school. It had been three years since they had last seen each other. And again she couldn't stop staring at his eyes, soft and relaxed. The longer she stared, her heart moved faster and her cheeks started to feel hot. 

"Oops!" She exclaimed as she knocked her side slightly into the display, luckily nothing fell over but she felt embarrassed. 

"Hey," He responded, smirking slightly.