FALLEN (NOW PUBLISHED ON AMAZON)

1.

"I was expecting someone more mature."

I look at him, not anywhere else, my eyes sinking in an emerald gaze that a few moments earlier inspired me confidence. Now, I realise that it was only cold, not the confident, strong and determined look his first impression gives. He seemed sweet, but we can only agree on one thing, we were wrong about each other.

***

I must admit, coming to London is always something exciting to me. I get to travel from Manchester to London about twice a year. This trip, though, was kind of unexpected, but I did like I usually do. I travel in a coach and it takes about six hours. I love it. It gets me to see the country a bit. Then, I take the undergrounds to sway my way through London, but today is a day of unexpected things.

I'm a true Manchester girl. I was born there and I will live there my whole life. I've lived in a small part of the city with my family, but now I have my own flat in the core of the city with my boyfriend. We've been living on our own for about four years now. We've established a very good routine together. The adaptation was a bit rough, because I started University and he didn't have a job. I'm glad we figured a way to make everything work even though we are quite struggling with money. There are days when we don't turn on the heat or lights at all to save money. We've been through rough times, but it's worth it. It got me here today travelling to London to realise my dream.

On my way earlier, there was an accident that completely blocked the three ways of the highway. Nobody had any idea what was going on, but it got us completely stuck in traffic without even moving forward for forty minutes. People were getting out of their cars to get a clue of what was happening. The girl next to me made a comment about the scene looking like a movie and that all there was missing were the zombies. It wasn't the most relieving comment to have one of the biggest and most stressful day of my life compared to an apocalyptic takeover.

Even though I was on a tight schedule, I wasn't that stressed about arriving late. I was a bit annoyed, like anybody who arrives an hour late to destination, but I couldn't do anything about it anyway. I had planned to arrive earlier to find myself an affordable last minute booking at a hotel nearby.

That's not all the bad luck that happened to me today. Once I got to the Heathrow airport bus station, I walked to a small machine against the wall to fill up my Oyster card to easily get to my appointment using the tubes, but my credit card got declined. I have no idea why, because I never use it. I always keep it clear. I needed to reach for help in order to make everything work. Stressful, yet again.

After more than seven hours of bus, I got to London right at rush hour. The tubes were flooded with people. I had to wait for the next tube hoping it wouldn't be that bad again. It was the same. I think I had to suck all the air my body in order to get in. The lifestyle clash between my reality and this city was surely making me feel more claustrophobic than the crowded tube itself. I ended up squeezed next to some French speaking ladies that, at least, were very lovely.

I finally got to the Wright Books publishing house's building and hurried in. If I would have arrived on time, I would have had booked myself a room at a nearby hotel. Unfortunately, I had to carry my small luggage with me. I made my way to the reception and widely smiled at the young woman seated at the desk, about my age, mirroring me. Even though today was stressful and quite awful, being invited here is a dream.

I would never have the pretension to say that I'm a writer, but I love to write on my spare time. One of my very good friends at work is my one and only fan and she is the one that sent my story to numerous editors. Wright Books was the first one to reach out and write back. I received a letter to settle an appointment to talk about the story and the publishing possibilities.