Out of My Mind

I watched as she wobbled my way, unaware of me. Probably for the best, since I did look a tad bit creepy, staring at her and all that.

In my defense, she was beautiful. Beyond beautiful. There were no words in the English language that could describe her. Ethereal would be a close one, though.

Her hair was pale as pearls, falling down her back, a waterfall of curls. Curls so tight, there was no way they weren't natural. I used to watch my mom put in her hair curlers long enough to know the difference. Bangs framed her black rimmed glasses, hiding most of her face.

Everything about her, from her hair, to the way her shoulders were hunched forward, even to the way she wobbled in her wedges, led me to believe that she preferred to stay hidden. That it was a natural state of being and she knew nothing else.

A part of me wanted to meet her halfway. To push strands of her hair, hair that looked soft and as silky as . . . well, silk, behind her ears, to look into her eyes, which had to be just as mesmerizing as the rest of her.

Another part of me, the saner part, knew I couldn't. My heart, body, mind, and soul belonged to another. Who that was, though, was a mystery. The girl who owned me could be anyone.

It was time for me to find her. I was officially eighteen.

But something drew me to her, made my heart race and my mind blank.

There was always the possibility that she was my soulmate, of course. That'd explain the instant attraction for a girl that I didn't even know the eye color of.

It was nearly impossible, but it was still possible. In my life, nothing was every really impossible. That word was taken as a challenge for my family, passed down to me.

Besides, to really know the identity of my soulmate, there was a test, to connect our minds together. And until that happened, I planned on ignoring the attraction.

Still looking down, the girl was almost near me. I reached back and swung the front door open. A blast of warm air knocked her out of her head, the curls bouncing as she looked up, locking eyes with me.

I stopped breathing, struck dumb.

Her skin was the color of porcelain, free from any freckles and blemishes. How that was possible was beyond me. And the irony of that statement went right over my head, too absorbed by her to care about it. If anything, she was paler than porcelain.

Her pert nose was tinged red from the chilled air, her pale pink cupid bow lips looking chapped. The mysterious girl even had pixie-like features: high cheekbones, an angled chin, full lashes.

Lashes that were a silvery color, matching her hair.

Her eyes were the features that captured my attention, though. She was mesmerizing, but her eyes were something else. Enchanting. All-seeing.

They were a gunmetal gray, the color muted and dull, a certain sheen acting like another layer. They reminded me of dark clouds on a foggy day, right after a light sprinkling of rain. When everything felt far away, reality altered.

Questions floated around my head, observations, but none came out.

Coming back to myself, I hoped the heat on my cheeks wasn't obvious. Or the fact that it took me several seconds to start breathing again, or that I was very clearly checking her out.

That did not need to be added to the list of creepy things I did while in her present.

I ran a hand through my hair, taking some satisfaction in the way her eyes followed the movement, her lips parted. It helped a bit to know that the attraction was not one sided.