Life in the Parallel

her,,

It was a Monday afternoon and I was getting ready to go into town to get a book from my favourite book store, 'Love Reads'. I had been visiting that store for years. It had every book you could ever wish for. Even the overly romantic kind, which I had never been fussed on up until later that day. 

I grabbed my jacket and my bus ticket and set out to leave my house. I locked the front door behind me and approached the bus-stop. The leaves fell gently from the tree in front of me. It wasn't long until the bus arrived, which I was grateful for because of the cold breeze and how it clung to my face in all the wrong ways. I got on. Bought my ticket. Looked for a seat. I could see there were no empty seats apart from one next to a girl towards the back of the bus. To stand or to sit? To be humble or an opportunist? 

I took a leap of faith that the girl wouldn't expect me to engage in any type of conversation and sat next to her. Let's just say I wasn't the best conversationalist, although I do enjoy the occasional chat about Chaos Theory and Sting Theory, but that didn't seem to be a viable option of conversation in this scenario. 

She had earphones in, listening to music. But what type of music? Was she a punk lover or simply a classical enthusiast? She didn't even acknowledge the fact that I had sat next to her, which I was fine with. But I was intrigued. Very intrigued. She was staring out of the window at the scenery. I kept turning to look at her, trying to to remain unseen. She had the most beautiful golden-brown hair I had ever seen. It wasn't completely straight but it wasn't overly wavy; just in between those. Perfect. 

She went to grab her bag which was right next to my leg. She looked up from searching her bag and that was the first time I saw her eyes. Ocean Blue. At that moment, all of those soppy love novels about looking into someone's eyes and seeing something remarkable and phenomenal made sense. I didn't even know her yet but I knew I wanted to. Oh yes, I was intrigued. 
Overwhelmed by my thoughts, I didn't realise how long I was staring at her. 

"Excuse me? Is something wrong?" 

 Her voice totally overpowered my mind and made me feel all types of awe. 

"Oh.. Sorry. No."

"Okay." She replied, putting her earphone back in. 

Had that simply been it? End of conversation? Earphone back in? Never to talk again? I try my best to regain the conversation, using the only skill I know best - awkwardness. 

"Do you have a pen I could borrow?" I ask, my mind tormenting me for saying asking such an estranged thing. 

"Ugh, no. Sorry. I only packed my laptop." She replies instantly as if it has been recited in her head many times. 

"Okay, thank you anyway." I respond, saddened by the fact that our conversation is about to be desolate again. 

But to my surprise... "So, where are you heading?" Her voice resounded. Her voice was my favourite sound.

"Love Reads. It's this cool b..." My voice got taken over by hers.

"Bookstore. I know, I work there" 

"Oh wow. I've never seen you there before."

"Yeah. I only started working there last week. My dad owns it, actually."

"Mr Oscar's your dad?"

"Mhm"

"He's great. Such an intellectual man. You should be happy that you were given the intelligence gene" I say out of wit. 
She looked at me with red cheeks but she seemed wary.
"Too strong?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"Haha. I guess you could say that. My dad is a very well known man. Everyone goes on to me about how lucky I should class myself to be brought into such a family"

"What are you listening to?", I asked, nodding to her earphones, trying to change the subject, inferring that it's a touchy subject. 

"The smiths. I love them"

"Me too! To die by your side would be such a..."

"Heavenly way to die." She finished my sentence. 

She was perfect. Beautiful face, beautiful eyes, beautiful hair, great music taste, great personality; everything. 

The rest of the bus journey was just us talking about our interests. I even slid in a few questions about her interest in Chaos Theory. She believes that one small difference can affect and change the whole state of life - just like me. She also liked singing and the human mind. She was a smart one. 

We got off of the bus. I walked towards 'Love Reads', continuing conversation with the girl. 

"Have you read 'To Kill a Mockingbird? It's my favourite."

There was no reply. Not even a mumble of words. I turned around. She was gone. But how? Had I done something wrong? Had she simply been a figment of my imagination? But no. That wasn't possible. She was real. I didn't even know her name...