The Road Less Traveled (Prof./Student)

Chapter 31 - Take me

"Well, that's a story that I've been wanting to tell you for quite some time now..."
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Curiously, I waited for him to begin talking. 

"It all started last semester. I was in the main office for the professors and I was correcting some essays when, suddenly, Mrs Robins came to me and asked me to read through a woman's work", he started telling the story but I interrupted him.

"Wait, Mrs Robins? She was my professor in literature and creative writing last semester."

He nodded as if he would already knew and continued: 

"Yes, she said that she was quite impressed and wanted a second opinion from another literature professor. So I read it and...I don't know what it was but something about that piece of writing was extremely captivating. It drew me in the minute I started reading it. The selection of words, how they were used and the emotions and the thoughts that stood behind them, revealing at times but also so damn mysterious... I never had something like this before. I think Mrs Robins became quite annoyed when I couldn't stop asking question after question, about the essay and about the anonymous author. But the only thing that I got out of her was that the piece was from one of her literature students, Liz White."

"Oh", I just replied surprised. 

"I tried to forget it, I really did. But it was hopeless. There were so many times when the thought of this damn work popped up in my head and I wanted nothing more than to meet this young lady, whose words just wouldn't let me go. I seriously considered coming to one of Mrs Robins lectures to meet her, but I also didn't want to seem like a total creep who was obsessed with some stupid words. Still, whenever I was on campus, I caught myself looking around, searching for her, even though I had no idea what to look for. When the next semester came, I was close to giving up. But then I saw that a certain Liz White was in one of my classes. I couldn't believe my luck", he said with a small smile in my direction before looking back onto the road. 

I really couldn't believe what I was hearing. He had been searching for me because of my writing. How romantic was this?! But...

"But you talked to me before your first lecture, how did you know it was me?", I asked him when the thought suddenly entered my mind.

"I didn't. I was walking to another building when I heard your comment directed to some other boys. It caught my attention and when I saw the title from the book you were reading...Honestly, I just thought 'Screw it. I'm gonna talk to her and if it's not her then that's okay'", he answered. 

We were almost at my apartment and I couldn't stop smiling at the coincidence. 

"But it was me", I whispered, deeply touched by his revelation.

"Yes, can you imagine? I couldn't believe it...But just for the record, you had already captivated me before I knew that it was you. Your eyes...they did something to me. But, the moment I knew it was actually you, I had this strange feeling that something was about to change, that you would have some big effect on me. Your words already had, so what would you do to me as a person? Looking back now, I guess that's when I first started developing feelings for you", he confessed and pulled into the driveway.

"I don't know what to say. I had no idea. I mean, I know that you like the way I write but that's a whole new level", I murmured and met his eyes.  

He shook his head before he started talking again:"It's not just the way you write. I thought so too when I first read your essay and concluded that I was simply a fan of your work. But when I felt that I was actually drawn to the person behind those words, I realised that it was much more about your mind, your thoughts, your feelings, simply anything that had something to do with you. I guess you could say that the words brought me to the person that I was meant to be with...But yeah, that's basically the story behind my grandma's words. She encouraged me to keep searching for the unknown woman that was constantly on my mind."