The Silent Letters

Prologue <3

Esme threw her phone onto the green bed sheets beside her looking up at her apartment roof. King purred beside her as he stood up, turning around only to sink back into the duvet that was bunched up under him. Esme reached beside her, running a hand up and down his fluffy stomach. She blinked rapidly as tears threatened to spill, "What do we do now King?"

King meowed as he sat up and started to clean his fur. Esme got off the bed, straightening all the blankets on her bed. King chased after the moving fabric as Esme giggled as he chased down the corner she was adjusting. He huffed before jumping down from the bed. He walked over to the door and jumped up, opening it from the handle, he walked into the apartment disappearing like a grey fluffy cloud. Esme groaned as she followed behind him, her apartment was relatively clean. She brushed her hands down her shirt, flattening it down. She fed King quickly then grabbed her bag from beside the door. She left her apartment walking out into the stairwell, she locked the door behind her pocketing the key into her chest pocket. She walked down the stairwell, entering the adorable cafe she was right above.

Kim, the owner, was making coffee behind the counter as she spotted Esme entering the cafe space. "Your usual."

"Thank you." Esme took the coffee, fidgeting around in her pocket for the money she owed Kim, she handed the bills over folding her fingers around the warm cup. "So how's the morning rush been?"

"Oh you know, the usual. How was your morning?" Kim responded, dodging the question as she called out an order.

"Always the usual. I got fired today, well they used let go."Kim stopped with what she was doing as she turned to her best friend, "What! Why?"
"Apparently my commission wasn't high enough and I was mouthing off around my manager."

"Makes sense." Kim droned returning to what she was doing a minute ago. "You do know I always have a space for you here. I could always use the extra set of hands."

"Maybe. School just makes it difficult."

"I know, I know. As you always say, 'Definitely after graduation.'

Esme laughed as she moved down the shop heading for the glass door that was decorated in little painted flowers, "Goodbye Kim." Esme called out as she opened the door, smiling at the sound of the little bell.

Kim waved and Esme responded with a little wave of her own as she stepped outside the door, smack bang into another person, another woman. She stood back, "I'm sorry."

The woman had stepped back as well and Esme looked up, the woman had beautiful black hair that traced down her shoulders, disappearing behind her back. Big hazel eyes looked down at her and she felt her stomach drop as she noticed the beautiful black tattoo wrapping around her visible collarbone. A snake head. Esme's fingers itched at her side as she imagined touching it, feeling the sharp bone under the ink that stood out on the skin. "It's all good. Esme right?"

"How did you..."

"Your bag."

Esme looked down, noticing the embroidery stitching she had done in the side of her bag that had her name in clear black stitches. The woman offered her hand as Esme looked back up, "I'm Alice."
Esme shook her hand feeling sparks run down her arm. Alice smiled at her as she shoved her hand into her pocket pulling out a phone that was ringing. Esme moved to the side allowing Alice to enter the cafe but instead she went back down to the footpath, answering the call but not putting it to her ear. "It was nice meeting you Esme." 

"As well as you Alice." Esme replied as she moved up the footpath towards the university that sat at the top of the hill in the middle of the little town they lived in. She continued up the hill, feeling her racing heart slowly start to calm down and gain its normal rhythm back. Alice was the most attractive person she had seen in a long time in this little town, also the first time she had ever seen Alice. She turned back around halfway up the concrete hill just to find Alice watching her while talking on the phone that was now lifted to the side of her face. Alice lifted her hand and waved once more and as Esme repeated the motion she felt her heart flutter a little in her chest. She was in disbelief that a stranger could make her feel like this all of a sudden, a very attractive stranger.

She still had a hand wrapped around her coffee as she turned back around to continue the walk into the campus gates, she chugged the rest of the coffee before throwing the rubbish in the bin as she noticed her friends sitting under their group's tree. After their new year break it had been a while since the group had actually seen each other all at once. She sat down, slowly allowing herself to forget about her meeting with Alice that morning. But what she didn't know is that Alice wouldn't so easily forget about their early morning meeting.