Delirium [SAMPLE]

THE GREEN LEAF floated down daintily from the old autumn tree which it originated from, not yet affected by the fall foliage.

It landed gently on the ground below, adding to the small pile of leaves which would soon gather once the fall blossomed and engulfed all. The oak tree was not far from the quiet, cosy restaurant where the one and a half dozen men cheered as the three waiters approached their tables, each with two trays completely laden with food.

They were all lumberjacks by profession.

The ambience within the quaint, little restaurant remained positively homely as the men chatted whilst tucking into their food, starving after a hard day’s work.

Reece had his eyes set on the sizzling slice of steak before him, his stomach growling with both excitement and anticipation. Cutting it neatly using both his knife and fork, he raised a piece towards his mouth which watered and eagerly awaited the arrival of the succulent meat.

Before he could wrap his lips around the fork and enjoy the tender meat, he spluttered and flailed about as his cutlery fell to the floor, taking his neatly cut piece of steak with them as a rough hand connected with his back.

The men chuckled at Reece’s reaction, their laughter hearty and deep, the attack playful.

“You should have seen your face!” The man next to him managed to exclaim between fits of wild laughter as he hunched over his chair and clutched his stomach, tears streaming down his face.

Reece coughed lightly, his face warming in embarrassment as he scratched the back of his neck.

A nervous habit.

Whether it was a good or bad habit, that was still yet to be determined.

“Here.” Kyle grinned as he thrust forward a napkin, his eyes brimming with humour at the ordeal that he had just witnessed.

Reece accepted the napkin, grateful. He thanked Kyle and dabbed at his mouth, attempting to erase any remnants of drool that remained.

Gary, the man sitting next to Reece, offered a sheepish grin when he turned to him with a questioning look. “Sorry.” He apologised, his shoulder still shaking ever so slightly as he attempted to control his laughter. “We were talking about the large tree you cut down today, and you were so out of it that I just couldn’t resist. And it was pretty funny to see you fawn over that steak like it was your last meal.”

“I missed breakfast today.” He admitted in attempt to save face.

Reece pushed his chair back and rose to his feet to grab some new cutlery, but not before assuring Gary that he would get him back for his little joke, and soon.

He grunted in annoyance as his eyes fell upon the lengthy queue leading up to the front counter where the man attending it was flying solo; serving all of the customers by himself.

Joining the back of the line, Reece’s eyes wandered off into the distance as he tapped his right foot impatiently. His mouth watered at the reminder of the juicy steak that awaited him back at the table. A part of him was tempted to return and destroy the piece of meat with his bare hands, though he doubted the restaurant staff would appreciate his lack of table manners.

It was a small town that he had moved to six months earlier, instantly falling in love with the abundance of fields, farms and overall homely feeling that that encompassed the whole area.

Sure, he did miss home and his family occasionally, but he had never truly appreciated the fast pace of the city life and instead, much preferred being outdoors and one among nature.

He had made the right decision to move here, the little town he now called his home.

Glancing out the window as he patiently waited in the queue, Reece’s eyes lingered on a group of rowdy teenagers who were clearly unsettling the people around them as they pushed and shoved each other, laughing loudly and happily without a care in the world. Even if the people around them gave them disapproving looks, Reece couldn’t help but take pleasure in their joy, happy to see the youth outside and enjoying themselves instead of being cooped inside behind a screen or electrical device of some sort.

As the group passed by, his eyes then shifted to an elderly woman struggling to a keep a hold of the woman next to her, much younger and excitable in nature. It was evident that the elderly woman was having a difficult time controlling her companion, who by the looks of it, desired to be set free from her captor.

Reece chuckled as the younger woman finally broke free from the grasp of her custodian and was now skipping and running around the town square, her simple floral dress twirling around her as she did. He was only able to catch a few glimpses of her face as she spun gleefully, a permanent, large smile etched onto her face as she giggled uncontrollably, grabbing the attention of all those around her.

Although, not all of that attention was good attention.

It was only then that Reece was granted the pleasure of taking in her full appearance. His heart hammered dangerously against his rib cage while his breath hitched in his throat.

He had to remind himself to breathe.

Reece stood as still as a statue, mesmerised by the sight of this woman who was staring up at the sky with an angelic smile, her arms spread out around her as she twirled around without a care in the world. She had her head tipped back, her fiery auburn locks cascading down her back like a waterfall.

It wasn’t often that Reece felt attracted to a woman so quickly, the simple fact that he believed in soul mates and love at first sight, no matter how cheesy or un-manly that sounded.

However, he would never admit to this.

His eyes were glued on this angel and his heart warmed at the sight of the emerald green eyes that twinkled in the sun. The auburn locks bounced as she paraded around the town square with the elderly woman from before calling after her, clearly not amused with the situation like he was.

A person coughed from behind him, bringing him out of the blissful trance that the wondrous sight of her had unknowingly trapped him in – the weird thing being that he didn’t wish to escape his imprisonment.

The man behind him coughed again, gesturing for Reece to move forward with his impatient hands.

“Sorry.” He apologised sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck as he approached the front counter.

After receiving the knife and fork which he had so desperately desired only a few moments before, Reece frantically searched for the woman whom he had been watching before, but both her and her custodian had seemingly disappeared. He even went as far as to leave the restaurant for a few moments under the pretence that he needed some fresh air, but he still couldn’t locate her.

With a dejected sigh and slumped shoulders, Reece returned back to his table of lumberjack pals and work colleagues with defeat apparent in his posture.

The rest of the lunch was quite uneventful. Uneventful for Reece, anyway.

He was unable to neither concentrate nor engage in any of the conversations that were going on around him and his buds were smart enough to understand that he needed some time to think.

His mind was constantly replaying the clip of the woman he had seen, almost as if he had watched her in a movie and could not get his mind over a particularly bewitching scene. So carefree and content as she twirled around in her beautiful summer dress. The moment his eyes had set upon the woman, his heart had coiled tightly within itself and his stomach filled with little flutters.

She had been so beautiful and captivating.

He had felt his heart tug with emotions from the very moment he had first laid eyes on her.

Reece knew that he had to see her again. It would be masochistic of him to deny or even ignore the connection he felt towards her.

She had hypnotised him with her beauty, set him into a trance.

He wanted to get to know her in a way no else did.

It was a moment that not everyone was blessed enough to experience. It was absolutely absurd thinking that he had fallen in love with this magnificent creature; however, it was equally absurd, if not more, if he even thought for a second that he would be able to forget her.

He had been granted a small taste of what happiness and desire felt like, and he wasn’t going to let it slip through his fingers because he was afraid. No, he was going to hold on tight and never let go; letting go was going to be the last thing that he would do.

Her heart-warming smile flashed before his eyes once more.

Reece chuckled to himself, the sound light-hearted and soft. This stranger had done a number on him without even knowing it and now she had disappeared; vanishing wholly from his radar.

Returning back to reality, Reece joined the current conversation taking place around the table. The current discussion centred around the concept of slam dunks and basketball. Despite how hard to tried to engage, his attention was trained elsewhere.

She had walked into his life unaware and accidentally, but Reece was determined to keep her there.