Tragedy Befalls the Hopeless Romantic - Project Oneshot
An avid reader, you frequent your local coffee shop for the atmosphere and traditional bitter drink. Not only do you find the aroma enticing, you find it the perfect companion with which to read the latest book you’ve become enamored with.
Not many things interrupt the endeavors beset in your beloved literary landscapes, but taking notice of the beautiful girl across the room usurps your attention. Her beauty might have been a transitory distraction, but as you note the title of the book she’s holding ransom - your favorite author’s latest work in her clutches - your thoughts begin to fixate on her.
Your travels to the nearby café become infected with hopeful anticipation of running into her again. As you take a seat and prepare to revisit the last phrase of the last page you bookmarked, your mind runs iterations of the kind of person she could be. A few minutes later, she walks in, taking slow calculated steps to a nearby table. She reunites with her caffeinated drink of choice and pulls out a copy of the book you have in front in you. As this sequence of events begins to repeat day after day, you begin to take notice of each other. In the midst of the minutes and hours spent tracing lines of ink, you catch occasional glances at one another, and with increasing frequency you lock eyes.
If you allow yourself to drift into thought, you are met with could-bes, maybes, possiblys. You reign yourself in and resume to complete the sentence you left on. Without noticing, you succumb to a seemingly innocent encounter - she bumps into you and your book is knocked onto the ground. With this encounter, an exchange of words finally takes place and you find yourself engulfed in excitement as the conversation delves into the book you’re currently both reading, its author, and genre. The culmination of this interaction is a date. A date etched in fantasy.
The hopeless romantic is set free.
When the promised date and time come around you meet at your favorite bookstore. Book lists are exchanged, lines obsessively recited, meaning paraphrased. You delight in passion alongside the companion of your daydreams and as you find yourself sitting at the same table, exchanging words with coveted smiles and courageously keeping eye contact, you rejoice in the fervor of youth and romance.
As your meeting nears an end and you prepare to depart, she pauses. She hesitates to hold you up, but expresses concern. There have been recent reports of accidents in the vicinity of her pathway home. It unsettles her to think of making the journey alone. You read between the lines and without her prompting you, you decide to accompany her to ensure her safety.
Walking alongside her under a starry sky, engrossed in conversation, you forget the purpose of your company. And then as you reach a secluded area, no one around but the shadows of nearby structures and the occasional train, she stops. She reflects on the small gesture that led you both to this moment. She looks up at you, gazing into your bewildered face, and without hesitation throws herself into your unsuspecting arms. You’re left disarmed, waiting anxiously for her to declare the feelings you hold are mutual.
In your helpless state, she takes advantage and sinks her teeth into your flesh.
