The Voice

                                             T h e   V o i c e    -    2 0 1 2

I awoke to the sound of my beeping alarm and groaned. I had stayed up late the night before, watching old episodes of The IT Crowd, completely forgetting that I needed to be up at six. I threw my blankets off of me angrily and hit the top of the alarm. Goosebumps coated my flesh and I shivered. Of course it was cold today, why wouldn't it be?

I slid out of the bed, rubbing my arms to get them warm, and walked over to my closet. The last thing I wanted was to go to work today. Actually, the last thing I wanted was to go to work ever. Couldn't I just sit around and do nothing all day? I was good at that.

"Moira, are you up?" I sighed, quickly grabbing a pair of jeans and a loose fitting peasant blouse. I opened my bedroom door and saw my flat-mate Clara McPherson in the hallway.

"I'm up." I said to her. She nodded before turning to head into the kitchen. You could almost feel the awkward silence that stretched between us, but I ignored it. Once we got to know each other better, we'd get on great.

With my clothes in my arms, I headed towards the bathroom she and I shared. I went in and started the water, hoping it wouldn't be freezing today. I had only moved into this flat with Clara a week ago, and had yet to get used to its little quirks. Like cold water, for one. I took the quickest shower I could manage and got dressed. I put on the bare minimum of make-up before starting to work on my hair.

My long red hair had a bad habit of doing what it wanted, instead of what I wanted. Some days it would lie flat, others it would curl, but today it was drying quickly and poofing up. Say what you want about volume, but I hated my hair when it did this. I scraped the brush through my thick mane before ultimately deciding to just put it up.

I worked my fingers through my hair until I had a decent braid, and then twisted it into a bun. I secured it with a stylized flower pick and sighed. Even with my hair looking this good and clothes fitting my body in the most complimenting way, I felt like something was missing. Like I was a child playing dress-up. It was probably due to the fact that before I'd gotten this job, I'd never dressed to impress anyone.

"Hello?" I turned sharply at the sound of a mans voice. Did Clara have someone over for breakfast? I walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, where Clara was sitting at the counter, looking at a newspaper. I looked around, but she was the only one there besides me.

"Was there someone here just now?" I asked her. She looked at me curiously before shaking her head.

"Just you and I." She said. I looked around uncertainly. I could've sworn I'd heard a man's voice.

"Must've imagined it, I suppose." I said, heading over to pour myself a cup of coffee.

"Must have." Clara conceded, before grimacing at my drink. I almost grinned. Since day one, she'd hated the fact that I take my coffee black. She thought it was too bitter and gross. I thought the same of her obnoxious amount of cream and sugar. Why drink it if you don't like the taste?

"Well, I'm going to be off." I said, finishing my coffee. She nodded absentmindedly and I took a moment to silently envy her. She worked at Scott and Dunham's publishing house and was allowed to bring her work home with her. She was still in her pajamas, with a stack of manuscripts waiting for her after she was finished with the paper. I wished that I could work from home.

I walked over to the door, slipping into my shoes and grabbing my purse before sliding outside. I got my coat off the rack in the main hall and pulled it tightly around me. The large coat was probably the least fashionable thing that I owned, but it did its job of keeping me warm properly. I unzipped my purse and grabbed my iPod as I stepped outside of the building. I slid the ear buds into my ears and smiled when Radiohead began to play.

I walked for a few blocks, my mouth moving in sync with Thom Yourke's words, before finally crossing the street. Just a walk through this park and then I would arrive at the boutique, just in time for my shift to start at seven. As I walked on the sidewalk, something in the corner of my eye caught my attention. I turned to look, but nothing was there. Nothing except trees. I pulled one bud from my ear and looked around. I swear I'd just seen a person.

"Can you hear me?" A voice asked. It sounded like the man's voice from the flat and I turned around swiftly. Was someone following me? "Please, can you hear me?" I groaned. The park was empty except for me, and I was turning around and around, trying to find the owner of the voice.

"Where are you?" I asked, getting annoyed. This was ridiculous.

"Finally." The voice said and I turned towards it. This time, I wasn't faced with nothing, but I wished I was. A man stood a few feet in front of me. He looked a bit older than I was, and had brown hair and blue eyes. I would've thought that he was handsome, but I noticed one last detail.

He was invisible.