So Far In Between

An unexpected turn of events

My hands still circled around the drawing in the little book. A few days had passed, and nothing strange or out of the blue happened. There were no strange occurrences when I was making tea, and there were definitely no notes with strange drawings at the bottom!

So I woke up to an empty house as my mother had already left for work so I decided to get ready myself. I had a part-time job waitressing at this little cafe, it was about a 10-minute drive. And the cafe was right by the water in this cute little seaside town called Bluebell Bay.

I quickly put on my uniform, a little blue top, with Bluebell Cafe's logo of a flying dove. And I grabbed some black tights and some black ballet flats. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and ran into the kitchen. Quickly grabbing a muesli bar from the cupboard and my car keys.

After a bit more faffing around, I finally got in the car and started to drive off. I had only got my license a few months ago, and to celebrate my mother brought me a light blue Swift. There weren't too many cars on the road as it was only 7 am on a Sunday morning. So it took me less time than usual to get to the cafe.

The cafe was dimly lit, and I could Matthew and Olivia setting tables through the window. I opened the little blue door, the bells jingling as I walked inside. "Morning, Lizzy," Matthew said smiling at me. 

"Hey, you," I said running over and giving him a hug, his big arms wrapped around me.

I had known Matthew for as long as I could remember. He was like the brother I never had, and I always felt safe when he was around. "Okay you two, start doing some work now," Olivia said smiling at us. "We are a very serious business okay, no mucking around," Olivia said trying to deepen her voice so she sounded powerful. We all burst out laughing.

 "Okay, Olivia, whatever you say," Matthew said rolling his eyes.

I helped Matthew set tables, and Olivia turned on the radio which was playing some old blues song. 

"Hows Chloe?" I asked him dragging out the words smiling. He smiled his cheeks turning pink. 

"She's great," he said happily. "You seem really happy I haven't seen you like this in a while." Matthew put his head down his smile fading.

We didn't usually talk about the 'accident.' Around 6 months ago, Matthew's Mother came home to Matthew lying passed out on the floor. He had taken too many pills from the stress of keeping up his school work, working and being the star soccer player. I guess he was just very good at pretending he was fine. Because I didn't even notice it. But looking at him now, I knew he wasn't faking being happy, he really was.

Around nine groups of people started walking in. Ordering coffees to go, and breakfasts as a treat. Olivia walked over to me as I was making a coffee. "After you finish making that, you can go on break." I smiled as I poured the hot frothy milk into the cup, and placed the plastic lid on top. Olivia took it and handed it to the middle-aged man in a smart business suit. And I took off my apron and placed it on the back.

 "See you soon," I called out as I grabbed a lemon muffin from the display cabinet and walked out the door.

The sea air hit me as soon as I walked out the door. I could see the waves crashing on the shore. There is something so extraordinary about the ocean. How it can be so beautiful and calm. Yet so dangerous and untameable.

I walked down the cobbled pavement to the little park facing the sea. And I sat down on the park bench and took a bite my morning tea. There was nobody else at the park so I was left to my own thoughts. And as I wanted to stay away from those as much as possible, I quickly finished the muffin and got up.

I decided to have a look around the town's little shops. Most of them sold interesting, artsy ornaments and clothes. As I was walking down the street I saw my favorite little shop. 'Bells and Bluebirds,' which sold everything from books to furniture.

But a voice in my head told me to keep walking. So deciding I'll go into the store later I continued on. There weren't too many things further along but my feet kept moving, almost in a trance. I could see a little shop in the distance. "That's strange." I thought, "I've never seen that before."

As I got closer to the little shop, I could see that it was very old. Yellow paint chips fell onto the ground and the dusty windows made it hard to see inside. A sign hung above the door saying. 'Fortune Teller.' And underneath was the symbol. Shivers ran up my spine and my skin started to tingle. I stood there stuck between wanting to turn around or running to open the door.

But my fate was decided. As an old lady, dressed in bright colors, patterns, and beads. Opened the door, and paint chips fell onto the stone steps. "Ahh. You're late." She said. Her voice was croaky, like heavy smokers. She smelled of strong perfume, spices, and salt, and strangely the scent calmed me.

Her eyes were a dark blue color, and they sparkled with wisdom. And a youth that had long faded from her appearance. She had long white hair, which fell down her back. I felt as if I knew her, and that she was someone I could trust.

"Well don't just stand there. Come on in." She said making her way inside.

And leaving all my worries at the door.

I followed....