The Galaxies Within

s e v e n t e e n

"You made that?"

The sudden sound of

a solemn,

feminine voice

made her jump in

a swift motion

before she turned around

to face the intruder.

For she was an intruder to Emily's

moment of silence and thought.

And it took Emily

not more than a second

to recognize her.

The young woman

who had been the cause

of her embarassment

several numbing times

at the coffee shop.

Leslie.

Emily could only nod,

as was routine for her

around Leslie's crowd,

her being the last person

she thought and wanted to

meet at such an

auspicious moment.

"You won't speak."

It wasn't a question,

nor was it any how snide.

A statement.

Merely.

Leslie had a

faint twinkle in her eye

when she spoke

as if it could be the

emergence of a smile.

"It's beautiful."

Barely a whisper,

Emily had to

strain her ears to catch it.

Her eyes opened

a fraction too wide

and

her ears did the same.

Only when sense

finally

stealthily

seeped into her mind

did she hear

the words

leaving her mouth.

"Thank you," she said.

Leslie's eyes

on the painted wall,

the same twinkle still

very much evident

in her eyes,

almost immediately

found Emily's.

"You should know...

know that

I don't have a fair

reason for all the things

I've said to you.

It was