Venus [BARRETT]

ONE

FAIRYTALES

☼

They weren't brown. Nor were they blue. No, the minute they met mine across the aisle, I could tell very clearly that those pair of eyes were sea green.

A certain shade of green I'd never see again. A certain shade of green that left me feeling as though I could never love any shade of any colour more.

When our eyes met, an electric shock jolted all throughout my body and I lowered mine, the spark between giving me faint goosebumps. My heart had picked up on its pace, and I felt. . . funny.

I carefully placed the novel I was holding suspended in the air back onto the shelf and continued pushing the trolley, filled with books I needed to alphabetize and put away.

Yet, even with my gaze now downcast, I felt his own on the back of my neck, urging me to look up. I resisted this, silently hoping he would leave so I could calm down.

The tension was alive and breathing. The air around me felt heavy and expectant, waiting for him to say something — because it looked like he had something to say.
An itching inside me needed him to come close and say hello.

It was strange. I'd never felt this way toward a stranger. I wanted to peel off the sensation like a coat.

My fingers kept repeating the motion of picking up books and placing them on the shelf, the soft thuds the only sound, before footsteps joined in.

I involuntarily held my breath, but the steps weren't coming closer.

He left, and I was alone again.

I went home to my boyfriend.

I forgot about those hazel eyes.

☼

I lay on my bed, holding my hands above my head. Thinking.

I loved these types of afternoons. The world grew so blue through every window, and my limbs felt heavy to lift.

My bedroom was quiet, an odd feeling. Typically, I had music on.

"Why do you still have these baby books?"

My boyfriend, Tom, stood back up from my bookshelf, looking over at me on my bed. I sat up, noticing the books he was referring to, and felt offended.

"Anderson is not for babies," I retorted, frowning. "Maybe everything else is, but I like them. Some of them are pretty dark and gross."

Tom shrugged, chuckling. "They're for babies."

"And? I like them."

My boyfriend walked over to me as I lay back down on the bed, no longer feeling quite so ethereal and heavy.

"What're you doing?" He asked, sitting down beside me to run a finger through my hair, twisting it around.

"Laying," I replied, feeling my eyes close slowly.

Tom lay beside me. "Well, will you still be laying here when night comes?"