The First Meeting
His eyes were the color of sandalwood; A piercing icy stare that could scan the depths of the soul. His perfectly arched eyebrows remained fixed in a condescending position, undermining the self-worth of the recipient. His sharply cut jaws were arrogance personified. His thin lips were pressed together in a sardonic smile. His thick, long brown hair waved about gently in the wind, partially obstructing his left eye from view even as he raised his hand to brush them aside.
The alarm went off blaring causing Anna to wake up with a start. She hit the snooze button with unnecessary force as she groaned out loudly, cursing under her breath. It was the same dream over and over again for the past two years and she was getting quite sick of it at this point.
“Stupid arrogant guy” she muttered under her breath as she threw her legs over to the side, preparing to greet another ridiculous day of human existence. As she entered the bathroom, she took a long hard look at her reflection, closely examining her features. Her hair stood crumpled like a bird’s nest that framed her oval-shaped face. Her soft blue eyes that contrasted against the backdrop of her light brown skin stared back at her. Her soft plump lips twisted to the side in utter disapproval as she let out a long sigh. She quickly opened the tap, letting the warm water fill up the tub as she proceeded to get undressed to take a quick bath.
“Anna!” a woman shouted from the floor below. “You are going to be late again!” she yelled. Anna hurriedly got dressed and rushed downstairs while wrestling with the knots in her hair. “Bye, mom! I will be running late in the evening. I got an assignment to wrap up” she spoke quickly before kissing her mom on the cheek and dashing out.
Anna was a first-year student at the local university specializing in ancient history. So far, the first three weeks had been uneventful, attending the usual lectures, getting to know her classmates, and being prepared for dreaded pop quizzes. She couldn’t help feeling that she should have left her town to explore another path outside.
“Maybe I should have got a job in the city or tried my hand at acting?” she thought.
She made her way to the library in the afternoon, humming the tune of her favorite song while throwing her mangled headphones into her backpack. She identified the pile of books that would be required to complete her assignment and set about on the chore of diving into them for information. As she arched her back and stretched her hands sideways a couple of hours later, she noticed that it was nearly half-past seven in the evening. “Jeez! mum is going to be mad” she muttered, hurriedly slamming the books into their respective sections before ramming her files and notes into her bag.
The walk back home was her way of de-stressing and letting her mind wander. Her thoughts would drift from the number of potentially habitable planets to guessing what would be up for dinner that night. As she rounded up her street and her house grew visible in the distance, she heard a sudden rustle among the thick bushes that outlined the opposite side of the street. Amidst the bushes, a pair of glowing amber eyes peered out intently scanning her from top to bottom. Anna blinked furiously trying to get her head straight. “What the hell?” she said shakily. As she started to move towards the bushes hesitantly, the sound of iron gates opening reached her ears. “Anna!” her mother called out from far. Anna turned around quickly and waved her hands letting her know she would be there in a minute. As she turned back to face the bushes, the amber eyes had long disappeared.
