Another Beauty and the BEAST story

Epilogue

I slam the binders of the book together, staring at the cover and the title. "Another Beauty and the Beast story" it says. I weigh the book in my fingers, my mind comprehending the ending. I look up. The view from the buss station is unchanged, a road with cars driving on it sprawled out in front of me. And in the background a small residential area is spreading out on the hill amongst the trees growing from the ground. Spring has come in its fullest today, the sun shining with actual warmth and the colors of the flowers spotting my view. 

I lean back on the bench I'm seated on, looking at the clock. The buss is due in 4 minutes. I close my eyes, letting the sunlight bathe my skin in warmth, welcoming the color from it after the winter. It awakens the world with its rays. There are a few other people on the buss station, either talking on the phone or staring down at one, probably drowning themselves in some meaningless activity while waiting for their buss to arrive. No one I know, and no one I'm particularly interested in getting to know. Adults, mostly, in suits or flowered skirts. 

I spread my legs out on the asphalt, watching the dust on my black pant becoming visible in the light. I completely underrated the warmth the sun would bring when I headed out this morning, putting on a white shirt and a dark-blue shirt on top of that. Now I'm almost cooking alive. I didn't bring my sunglasses either, which I deeply regret. 

"Excuse me... I don't usually do this, but have you read that book?" A voice drifts in to my ears, and I look around to find myself staring into a freckled face, framed by platinum blond locks falled out of her braided hairdo. Her eyes are displaying crystal blue life, and she looks both shy and intrigued at the same time. 

"Yeah, I just finished it, why do you ask?" I reply, still unable to take my eyes off of her. She wears an aqua colored checkered skirt with a white blouse tucked in at the waist, with a matching string tied around the top bottom of the blouse. Her leggings are a darker shade of aqua, and she has white sneakers on her feet. She has a bundle of books carried in her arms, and I spot the one I just finished in the pile. 

"Well, I finished just a few days ago and I recognized it... What'd you think of it?" She asks while sitting herself down next to me, putting her books in her lap, looking at me with genuine interest in her eyes. 

"Hmm, I thought it was okay. I like the character development, although it was pretty lousily written. And the storyline was pretty obvious. Also the ending could've been better," I say, while the girl nods in agreement. 

"I agree, but I must say I liked the part the horse, Philippe, played. But that might be because I love horses," She says and laughs a little. I laugh with her, but I don't really know why. I don't know her, but she brings something out in me, like the sun bringing the flowers to life, she awakens me.

"Oh no, I liked Philippe as well. The story not only revered around the two main characters but integrated Philippe and the other, minor characters as well, and that's good," I comment. She nods once again. Silence falls between us, and we're stuck watching each other. 2 minutes until the bus arrives. Suddenly I want time to go slower. The girl smiles and turns away first, her hair gleaming like silver in the sunlight, her skin fair and almost high-lighted fluorescent. Another minute passes, and I grow desperate. I want to hear her voice again, hear her laugh, hear her name. I feel as though I want to tell her something, but at the same time I don't know what it is. 

"This is so ironic, but what the hell," I say to get her attention. She turns her head toward me, her eyes drowning me with their beauty. "I'm Jack," I say and reach out my hand to shake it. I smile at her, and she smiles back. 

"Not as ironic as this," She replies and grabs my hand. Her fingers are slender in mine, her hand fitting perfectly, as if we were carved from the same puzzle. "I'm Elsa."