9th February, 1970-
I met a beautiful girl today. Her name is Laura and she is the very essence of beauty, with her long silver hair and bright blue eyes and olive skin. She served me coffee and smiled afterwards. I have never had somebody smile at me like that, not since Mother Gertrude…
16th February, 1970-
I have been consistently going back to that coffee shop, just to see if I can get a chance to see Laura again. The first time I went back, her shift had already ended and it had been some grumpy grandmother that had served me in her stead. The next two times I had gone there, she had been on kitchen duty so I hadn't gotten a chance to see her. I had been served by a small, wide-eyed girl who was obviously terrified of me. I hadn't had any luck on the fourth day either- it had been her shift and she had been waiting on people but somehow, she hadn't just noticed me. She had noticed me on day five though. As she poured coffee for another man, she had looked up for a brief second and had caught me staring at her. Flustered, I had hid behind the menu I had been holding up, yet I couldn't stop myself from looking at her once more. She had been looking at me still, with this peculiar curiosity in her eyes. I had offered a small wave to ease tension. She had smiled her beautiful smile and waved back like one would do an old friend.
I hadn't gone to the coffee shop yesterday.
Today, however, the most pleasant thing happened. I was on my usual table, looking at Laura as she gracefully manoeuvred through the tables then looked up after dropping off a plate of cookies for a customer and caught me staring. I waved politely and she waved back. Then she came over and sat across me on my table. I felt my whole body flare up.
"Hello," she said in the most melodic voice I have ever heard. "You've been staring an awful lot at me and I was wondering if there was a problem?"
Unable to form words, I simply shook my head.
"Okay," she drawled and adjusted on her seat. "Should I get you some coffee?"
I nodded. "Would be nice"
She made to stand up but then, I did something that shocked myself. I held her arm to stop her.
The last girl I had held back had screamed till some bulky men came along and beat me. I half-expected Laura to do the same thing. She didn't.
"It would also be nice if I got to know you" the words came out in a stutter but I was clear enough.
I half-expected her to say something along the lines of 'why would I ever go out with something like you?'. I half-expected her to feel disgusted and insulted, to yank her arm away and never look in my direction again. But she didn't do any of that.
Instead, she smiled her beautiful smile and said, "Sure, but I'm awfully swamped today. Maybe tomorrow?"
My heart rate jumped up. I tried my best to calm myself down before I entered stage one of my transformation. The last time I had been that excited, I had been held down by some bulky men and muzzled until I was finally calm enough. But even when I had been, I had still been placed in a watch home for two days till I was certified 'fit for the society'.
"Tomorrow is just right" I said to Laura
"Alright" she got up and I let go of her. "I'll see you then, um…"
Heaven knows for a split second, I forgot my name. "Just call me Jaren"
She nodded. "I'll see you later, Jaren"