Their Life

Raindrops

"Here you go. Have a good day," Jacob said as he handed the package to the woman on the other side of the counter. He said it automatically. He had been saying the same thing to every customer that had come through. It had been a long day. Jacob was glad it was almost over.

He looked around the shop. There were only a few people left in the building. Sighing, he dusted his hands on his apron before taking it off and hanging it on a hook in the back of the shop. As he returned to the counter, the bell above the door rang. Jacob looked up to see a young woman entering the shop. He didn't know who she was, but he had seen her in his shop almost every day. However, today she was later than usual. Sometimes she would buy pastries, but she never spoke to him other than to say thank you. Jacob knew that most people didn't, but he wished she would. She reminded him of someone very important to him, he just couldn't remember who.

Jacob watched as the young woman wandered around the shop, looking at the pastries. Every time he saw her, he was struck by how beautiful she was. 

Just as this thought entered his head, the woman looked up at him and smiled. Jacob felt himself blush, even though there was no way she could know what he had been thinking.

The shop was quiet and Jacob was able to hear as the rain began to fall and pound against the windows of the shop. The woman must have noticed as well because she glanced at the window then back at Jacob. She smiled again, almost apologetically, and left the shop. As Jacob watched the door close behind her, he knew he couldn't let her go without at least learning her name.

Jacob rushed out of the shop and called after the woman. She stopped and turned to face him.

"Why are you leaving?" Jacob asked.

She took a step forward, holding an umbrella over her blond curls.

"You didn't buy anything today," he went on.

"I -- I need to get home before the rain gets worse," she said softly. "Besides, it's getting late. My sister will wonder where I am."

"Tell me your name."

The woman hesitated. She seemed to be struggling with something. Finally, she spoke.

"Queenie."

Jacob repeated the name. He had never met anyone with that name before, he had never heard of anyone with that name before, yet the name sounded familiar -- it felt familiar.

He saw Queenie watching him carefully as he said her name again. He recognized the expression. He had seen it before, but he didn't know where. She looked like she was reading him -- like she was reading his thoughts. Of course, Jacob knew that was impossible. People couldn't read minds. 'Magicians' would make it look like they could, but he knew it was just a trick. Real magic didn't exist.

Jacob frowned slightly. Queenie. Mind reading. Magic. All these words seemed to belong together -- seemed to belong to the woman in front of him.

As the rain beat down on Jacob's head, he knew he had seen Queenie before somewhere. He didn't know where, but he knew he had. And it had been raining. He closed his eyes and tried to picture her. He saw her standing in front of him, just as she was now, only there were tears in her eyes and behind her was the entrance to a subway station. Jacob saw two people standing in that entrance: a man with messy, brown hair and a woman with short dark hair. Somehow, he knew both of them. He knew the woman was Queenie's sister and the man was a friend.

Jacob opened his eyes. Queenie looked hopeful. Jacob still got the impression she was reading his mind. The man had used a certain word to describe that -- to describe her.