Zoé

The news

Angel's legs couldn't stop shaking. He was going to see Zoé again, tonight. This fact alone made everything else blurry and plain. No one and nothing could compare to the black-hair girl with stars for eyes and a cotton candy smile.

Her presence was a source of both energy and calmness to him. She beckoned him at every seconds of the day. Her throw-head-back laughter, her bewitching accent, her glowing skin. They were all glued to his mind.

"Are you listening to me?" Mr. Res, his tutor, asked as he observed the timid grin that kept reappearing on his face.

Angel shook the stubborn images out and tried to focus on the mathematic equation that was facing him.

Zoé.

That was all he saw. The numbers, letters, symbols. They were only different ways to write Zoé.

"Angel, I'm serious." Mr. Res wasn't one for nonsense. If he was, he probably would not have obtained his doctorate in mathematics by age 25.

And why would a top rated doctor in mathematics be doing teaching a freshmen student, you might ask? Simple, Mr. Ferrymore. The man knew no boundaries when it dealt with his one and only son's future. He wanted the world for him. Too bad the little man didn't want the world. He only wanted the girl in the painting.

"Can we do this later?" Angel closed his books.

Mr. Res straightened up with his eyebrows furrowed together. "Angel, I have other things to do. More important things to do. I'm only here because I'm a good friend of your father."

Angel glanced at his watch. 8 PM. The museum had just closed but he wanted to be there early so he could have as much time as possible with Zoé. He loved to hear her musical voice narrating her family's stories to him. They were always enchanting and exhilarating.

"Is there somewhere else you have to be?" Mr. Res asked.

He scratched the back of his head. "Yes."

"Somewhere more important than a tutoring that will benefit your future?" Mr. Res continued.

His grave voice alerted Angel of his bad choices but dentistry had nothing on the love of a charming lady. Calculus was not as intriguing as Zoé's beauty.

"Can we do this tomorrow?" Angel hurriedly threw the books inside his backpack. He was losing precious time with Zoé.

"This is the fifth time you've asked to reschedule," Mr. Res grumbled on. "I'm worried that..."

Angel was already out of the door before he could finish the sentence. With his heart overflowing with love and his head filled with pictures of adventures, he left the library. As he crossed Bryant Park, he was predicting which stories he would get to hear, tonight.

Perhaps he could ask her to tell him about her hometown again. He loved to close his eyes and walk the pavements her feet used to walk on, touch the walls she used to touch, and smell the air she used to smell.

So wrapped up in his own head, Angel did not notice the absence of both guards and dogs. The museum was only protected by an unlocked door.

Angel walked inside and immediately went to the corner. The so familiar corner that retained his life thread.

It was empty. Angel stopped and wiped his eyes. He closed and reopened them but it was still empty. In fact, every wall, every corner, was empty.

At that moment, the earth did a little jolt then stood still. The birds ceased to sing, the colors reversed to black and white, the flowers lost their beauty and perfume. Life died along with every newly formed passion inside Angel.