Beyond Pages

02 Those Eyes

Story background: 
Everything happens for a reason. There has to be a reason for him to meet her eyes. 

* * * 

As her mother veered the car around the corner, the tires of the vehicle screeched, she could feel inertia settling in. 

She was thrilled that her mother had agreed to take her to the grocery store. Finally, she had a chance to leave that stuffy room of hers and embrace the autumn air. Autumn was here and she couldn't help the silly grin that was creeping on her lips.

Autumn was undeniably her favourite season. It was when the trees started picking up paintbrushes to add a huge dash of brown and yellow to their leaves. When that was done, they would then shamefully shed themselves bare, leaving their branches hanging empty in the air. Albeit they may look unusual or different or not tree-like, she thought otherwise. 

With their branches sticking out in every direction, waiting for winter to cover them white, they looked beautiful to her. Although their leaves abandoned them during the cold, she reckoned that those trees were strong enough to face the harsh cold alone; even when there was no one to seek warmth from. Their innate courage beautified them even more. 

Children, on the other hand, would grab this golden opportunity to play hide and seek in the mountains of leaves. They would kick the piles and piles of leaves by the park, their genuine laughter erupting the stillness of the town. And she loved it. She loved listening to the sincerity of their laughter. She, basically, enjoyed observing people who were enjoying the little things life had to offer. 

Autumn was also a time when the city folks started adding an extra jacket in their car to keep the cold away whenever necessary, wasting a tad more cash on electricity bill by turning on the heater and wrapping their necks with colourful scarves or clenching their cold hands onto a warm cup of hot chocolate to allow the comfortable heat to radiate to their bodies. 

However, these were not the reason that made her adored the season. To her, the season meant so much more than leaves giving into gravity and jackets and scarves. This season simply symbolizes change. Throughout this three-month time frame, the wind would start blowing cold air instead of hot air that she experienced throughout the sultry summer. Ice creams and chocolates would melt slower. Not forgetting the new semester that was coming up, she was excited to see the changes that would take place in her life. 

She was happy that she could finally restock her empty food shelves. She could not blame anyone but her little brother who gobbled up food like a vacuum machine. Food could vanish within the seconds when her hitting puberty brother was around.

Besides, she liked the carts that were provided in the store. They were red and that was her favourite colour. When she was younger, she would always hop into one of the carts to enjoy a fun cart ride around the grocery store.

Although she turned seventeen in June, she still had a soft spot for playtime. Plus, her child-like appearance would not earn her any unpleasing comments and stares. But her naïve looks did come along with flaws. No one could take her seriously. No one believed that she was a soon-to-be high school graduate!

However, her eyes could speak a thousand words. One look into those large evergreen, almond shaped eyes would make you catch your breath. One stare could earn you a free stroll in the greenest park. Thoughts would be interrupted and many a times, you would be left speechless after a quick glance of those eyes. It was like you are being drawn into paradise. A glimpse into her eyes was a temporal escape from the painful reality.

She mentally reminded herself to purchase a box of cereal; something that she had been craving for weeks. She wanted to get her hands on some mint chocolates too; with hope that they will keep her awake during her study time. But deep down inside her stomach, she knew that she simply wanted to succumb into the sweet pleasures that they offered. There was something about mint chocolates that she could not say no to. It had to be the combination of two very opposite taste that complimented each other so well. These silly desires of hers made her lips twitched upwards as she entered the air-conditioned store.