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Emotions prodded and poked at Lillian from all angles. Her mind was crowded by senses and thoughts that weren't all her own.
Lillian still, after 25 years of living with it, found herself disoriented as she weaved her way through the paths in the outdoor market. Every time her jacket brushed against another person, the foreign emotion would jolt through her like a shock wave making her flinch. She kept her eyes trained on the ground with her shaking hands either hold her groceries or stuffed in her pocket.
She just wanted to get out of there.
She glanced up slightly seeing her next stop for groceries. Plums was written in her messy handwriting on a small slip of paper that she constantly folded and unfolded from her jacket pocket. A nervous tick so she had an excuse to avoid eye contact with anyone. Also, she couldn't forget anything. If she forgot, she's have to come back sooner than later.
She did not want to come back sooner than later.
Somehow through her struggling concentration on the task at hand, more and more emotions washed over her like water drenching her as if she were walking beside hundreds of fountains. Her body buzzed though she tried to ignore it. She tried her very best to focus on the kind voice in front of her that was trying to sell her plums.
"Five, please." Her small and feathery soft voice said. She quickly plopped the coins into the older woman's hands and grabbed the bag of fruit in return. She gave a quick and tight-lipped smile, being sure not to seem rude, before continuing to weave her way through the crowd. She breathed in deeply as she found a less crowded area. She steadied her breathing and put a hand on her chest to try slow the rapid, anxiety-induced beating of her heart. She unfolded her list again after rummaging through her bag to find a pen and checked off the last item on her list.
Thank god. I can finally go home-
While her own thought popped up in her mind, she started in the direction of her apartment. Through her lack of concentration, she found herself falling towards the ground after crashing into something solid. As she fell, Lily tried twisting her body to catch herself, but that only resulted in her hand getting slammed on the hard ground making her let out a small yelp.
Paranoia, fear, anger, shock and different emotions flooded her system like a stormy rain cloud in her mind. She blinked rapidly to wash away the negative emotions that pressed and crowded into her head.
Lillian looked up after she forced her mind to clear and she found herself staring into beautiful blue eyes. They weren't striking, like lightning. They weren't deep like the ocean. They were endless and serene like a cloudless blue sky. She quickly looked away as she wasn't used to eye contact but the image of their clearness lingered in her mind. The man whom she had run into bent down and was picking up her things. His eyes were cast downwards and his hat blocked his face from her vision, but he glanced up at her and she closing seem to pull her eyes away from his this time.
"Are you alright?" The man asked in the regular Romanian language, but there was something to his voice. Besides the deep and gruff tone, she heard a mixture of different accents. Maybe American? Maybe Russian. There were many. Lillian nodded mutely, little gasps for breath coming out of her parted lips. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." Lillian finally seemed to find her voice. Although she barely spoke above a whisper, her voice was still captivating. It was soft and light. It was a type of voice he hadn't heard in a very long time and he couldn't get enough.
With still slightly trembling hands, Lillian began collecting her goods from the ground with the help of the well built and kind man in front of her. When attempting to grab a pouch of apples one-handed she found herself wincing in pain and dropping them back on the pavement. Although the sound was almost inaudible, his head shot up as she pulled her hand to her chest and inspected it. A dark purple and a sickly yellow was already setting in on the bruise.
"You're hurt." It was less of a question and more of a statement. She waved him off, avoiding eye contact once again.
"J-Just a small bruise." She carefully started to grab for the pouch again when her reach was intercepted by a gloved hand. The man's arm picked up the small pouch and she looked at him with a startled face. He gave a minuscule smile and offered his free hand to help her up. She very delicately accepted it and hoisted herself into a standing position. Even though her fingertips were the only parts of her that touched his calloused palm, her hand and arms buzzed. As soon as she was stabilized on her feet she quickly but lightly retracted her hand from his. The feeling on his hand on hers wasn't a bad one, but it was foreign and she couldn't help but feel confused.
"Let me help you home?" Now this was more of a question. It was the lightest his voice had been since she'd been speaking with him. She hesitated. She had never had anyone in her home let alone near it. She had no friends to tell where she lived. She had just met this man and within the span of not even two minutes, she was actually considering letting him into her home. Maybe it would only be for a second, maybe it would be for an hour. She wasn't used to things like this. She didn't know him. He could be incredibly dangerous.
Lillian definitely got that vibe from him. It was small but still there. It was crowded, though, by guilt and resentment, and a sole and deeply rooted kindness that couldn't go away even if you tried.
Maybe it was because her mind was chaotic from all the emotions around her, maybe it was because the throbbing in her wrist distracting her, but Lily found herself saying, "Okay."
It was a quiet walk. Just their light footsteps on the pavement and their breathing could be heard. Occasionally the would pass by a family that were laughing and talking to each other, but eventually it would fade away and they were yet again left in darkness. It was a relatively longer walk, but Lillian found this path to her home comforting considering it was not nearly as crowded as the regular streets of Bucharest. As they walked, Lily occasionally tunes into the vibration of his emotions, but retracting because she felt guilty. His feelings were none of her business. Still, she was increasingly curious and worried about whether or not he was dangerous.
Even if she did find out that he was, what could she do? Lily knew no self-defense, the very thought of hurting someone made her tremble like a Chihuahua. Thankfully, his low voice interrupted her thoughts.
"So, what's your name?" She blinked rapidly and glanced toward him, realizing it was a rather important question seeing as she didn't know his name either.
"Lily." She was careful and hesitant. "And yours?" He seemed to hesitate also, almost like her didn't know what to say but finally, a relaxation cane to his eyes and he gave a very minor, almost undetectable smile.
