Alice. Wake up, Alice.
The words came to me in a dream, or so I thought. It was Dave's voice telling me to wake up, his words sounding sweet like honey, and smooth like silk. I awoke to an empty bed, only myself and Stella occupying the creme colored sheets, Stella's ears twitching once every few seconds although sound asleep.
Must have been dreaming.
I rolled over with a small yawn, my honey blonde hair falling into my eyes and over Stella's nose, making her sneeze before her foot began to twitch. I smiled softly while watching the small movements before beginning to sit up, finger playing at the hoop in my nose, yawning as I made my way towards the bathroom. On the mirror was an envelope, sealed with 'Alice' signed across it in Dave's handwriting. I had shared a place with him ever since we began dating, and he had joined Crown. Joining the band meant he lost money, and the loss of money meant the loss of nearly everything for Dave, although he would never admit it unless you witnessed it first hand. Although our relationship was young at the time, five years later we were still together in the small townhouse in Gapevine, Texas.
Alice:
Within these notes are clues to where I am. Find me.
Xoxox,
Dave.
Behind the first note was a second, a hand written poem on the page.
Before that Day, I saw no light
Only darkness surrounded me
One eventful December evening
Kindest of all living creatures
Set in her ways like the mighty lion
Taunting with the curve of her lips
Only God himself could craft such
Resembling heaven with her smile
Eternity is what I wish to spend
Only darkness had I known
Now, I have kissed an Angel's lips on that Day of December
5th
I read the poem with a cocked brow and my lip between my teeth.
There's a clue in here?
I read the poem another ten times before placing it down on the counter, looking around for another clue if possible. Left the not on the counter before I began walking away, grabbing clothes for the day and getting dressed, brushing our my hair before picking up the note again.
"December fifth. Yes. Day we met, and also the first time we kissed, both true." I muttered to myself before throwing the paper down in defeat, nearly screaming as it fell in the wet sink, smudging almost all ink to the right of the page.
There goes that.
The black ink made the note almost impossible to read, defeat beginning to sink in. I glanced at the paper once more with widened eyes and a laugh of pure joy.
BOOK STORE ON 5TH
The clue was hidden in plain sight, the first letter of each line in the poem. The place I first met him.
After feeding Stella and myself, I grabbed for the keys to my car, nearly skipping as I walked out front to my vehicle. The easy part was finding the store; the hard part was finding the next clue. With no hint to as where it was, I asked for help from the elderly woman who owned the shop, only receiving a shrug in return. I closed my eyes as I sat in one of the oversized chairs in the store, thinking back to that crisp day in December.
The bell of the shop had chimed as my foot crossed the threshold of he door, the scent of old and new books alike filling the air. I was only 19 at the time, and new to Grapevine, the only thing keeping me from going home being the lease I had signed onto without reading the fine print. As I stood in the small shop, jacket being pulled closer to my body as a chill ran up my spine, I noticed him. He stood amongst a group of boys who all seemed younger than him, although it didn't make him seem old. He had an economics book in hand, clearly skimming for bordoms sake rather than learning. His friends began to whisper loudly as my eyes met his and he cracked a smile. I quickly looked down and made my way into the rows of shelves, ignoring the small snickers and fits of laughter coming from the group although I questioned going back to speak to him. I stumbled across an old leather book on the shelf that caught my eye: Dracula.
