𓂅 ◜. 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋.

𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐈 :: 01

୭̥⋆*｡ — ACT I.
CHAPTER 01 ✧ handsome stranger

your eyes sparkled with a glimmering light. there was the book you'd been searching for— heart of darkness by joseph conrad. a little novella— a fairly short read, a classic, as well. all you'd wanted on this day at the bookstore was a collector's edition. last time you were here, the shelf (where the book should have stood) was empty. and now, it was there— your fingers curl between the bookend and the novel's backbone to take it. you were triumphant. if you could only produce a sound, you would squeal or giggle happily. perhaps, you'd even sigh in relief.

for a second, you were sad, holding on to the strap of your satchel with your left hand, heart of darkness with your right. your little brown satchel— your best friend. inside was the notebook you used to communicate. it seemed to never end, that notebook. it carried everything that you ever wanted to say out loud. it carried words that longed to go spoken— sometimes when you looked back at that notebook, you noticed words that wreaked of pain and sorrow. you noticed sometimes, you drew little emoticons beside your sentences. and now you'd noticed that your hand was always tired.

inside your little brown satchel was a little pouch full of marbles to fondle with to relieve your hand pain— a gift from your vociferous best friend, xinyan. she'd crocheted the pouch herself— it was red and orange, her favorite colors. you thought of her and smiled. though, you did feel slightly downhearted when you remembered that she didn't enjoy going into bookstores, as you did. you knew why— she had a habit of speaking loudly, which disillusioned many people who'd known her.

inside your little brown satchel was your wallet, too.

you began to walk toward the checkout, a bounce in your step— this was a happy moment. you'd found the collector's edition book you'd wanted.

however, just as you were about to leave, you felt a light finger tap on your shoulder— someone behind you. it was startling, and you hadn't expected it— you flinched and jumped back lightly. you'd turned around to be met with a pair of golden honey eyes, glittering in worry— sea blue hair in choppy bangs around his forehead and face. he held his hands up, almost reaching out to touch your shoulder. he seemed to be not of this world. you noticed his pupils dilate and contract against his ethereal sunny irises. the male blinked, long lashes fluttering against his porcelain skin.

"i'm sorry, did i scare you," he said breathlessly and cautiously. your eyes widened, and you quickly shut them, waving your hand expressively in front of your face, to say no.

"oh, i just— wanted to ask where you got that book? i've been looking for it."

i was looking for it, too, you wanted to say, your eyes brimming with relief and delight. all you could do was open your mouth slightly— you doubted he knew sign language. you mentally panicked, puffed your cheeks, simply not knowing what to do. in the heat of the moment, you'd decided to gesture for him to follow you.

"o-okay," he said cheerfully— a euphonic giggle escaping his pink lips, "thank you."

he seemed to not care about the fact that you didn't speak. it made you smile. you felt indirectly comforted by the blue-haired stranger.

you turned the corners, tapped your chin, retraced your steps— soon you were back were you once were. you tapped your chin again— the lovely stranger seemed to have been looking at you fondly. a look of satisfaction came upon your face when you pointed to the shelf with the bookend— coincidentally there was one more copy of heart of darkness, to the content of the handsome stranger.

"thank you very much, beautiful stranger," he said mindlessly. you were visibly flustered— at a loss for words, quite literally. your cheeks felt warm, and somehow, you didn't feel all that startled by the casual compliment.

you smiled curtly in response, hands fidgeting around with one another at the spine of your book.

your mouth opened once more as if to speak, but you instead, vigorously waved at him. you could have sworn his honey-colored eyes swirled with sorrow when he reluctantly waved back. you thought his hand looked like a writer's hand. now that you saw it again, it seemed there was a stain of ink on his pointer finger. it was his left hand, too. he reminded you of the sea. he was someone to write about in a poem or a song.

and someone you'd likely never see again.

you checked out your book. now, inside your little satchel, was a collector's edition of heart of darkness. yet, there was still an emptiness, a feeling of alienation. if you could speak, you would have thanked the blue-haired boy for calling you beautiful. maybe you'd compliment him back. then he'd like you, and give you his phone number— you'd talk about heart of darkness over the phone.

it was idiotic to think this way, you concluded. you left the wanwen bookstore and headed to your dorm, where xinyan likely was.

you'd taken a liking to the bookstore. maybe, one day, you'll go again.

© CLOUDENONICE