The Man Who Never Speaks

3. Silence

"I think I've seen this film before
And I didn't like the ending."

————

Days after, the memory of FP and his little cabin in the woods kept on chasing her. It wasn't just the thought of his soft brown eyes that shimmered with hurt, or the flannel that somehow matched him perfectly even if she didn't really know him.

More so, the moment she had reached for the elephant at the mantelpiece. She had taken it into her hands, something that had clearly upset him. She had felt guilty ever since, especially since he had been so generous to give her shelter.

To ease her own mind and show him that she was genuinely sorry if she had done something that he couldn't easily forgive, Alice decided to send him another note.

At first she convinced herself it was out of politeness, to apologize and thank someone after they had done something nice for you, but truth was that she didn't want their conversations to end here. After all, she had come to learn that FP really wasn't a talker, so writing one another was their only option for now.

Once again, she followed the path back into the woods. By now, she knew the route by heart and could find her way back to his house with her eyes closed if she had to.

It was refreshing to be surrounded by the trees as she made her way back to him, as if she was stepping into another world. His world. His territory.

Thank you for giving me shelter in the rain. I'm so sorry if I overstepped.

— Alice

After yelling at her, he hadn't expected to ever receive another note from her again. He had been way too scared to write one himself.

She had been so open, so sweet, so wonderful and he had repaid her by letting his emotions get the best of him. It had been a long time since someone had been so close and it was terrifying.

FP dared to smile to himself as he read her note. From the moment she had closed the door behind her when she left, he had felt so incredibly guilty for ever raising his voice. He hadn't forgave himself for that and he had never thought she would ever forgive him.

Knowing that she didn't mind taking the lead was comforting. Now he knew that she had been thinking about him too, he wasn't so afraid to write her back. Fortunately, he had the chance to make sure that they were fine.

It's alright. Hopefully you don't have a cold.

— FP

Alice wasn't even sure he was going to write her back. Even when she did try to understand him, it was hard to find out what was going on inside the head of a man who never speaks.

She wondered why she was still holding onto a possible friendship that could be complicated, when she had always made herself believe that she was fine without anyone to lean on. But when he yelled, she had been truly afraid that she had ruined everything.

It had looked like she had crossed a line and though he had told her his name right before she left, she figured that very moment was were it would end. But he did write back.

Reading that he thought about her health and that he wasn't mad at her made her heart glow more than it should. He wanted this blossoming friendship to continue as well, didn't he?

If I did say something wrong, please tell me. You looked mad.

— Alice

Usually, Alice wasn't the kind of person to worry that much about situations like these. She was a politician after all, pissing off people was basically what she got paid for.