The Encounter
This is a short story that I wrote and rewrote at the beginning and end of my Creative Writing class, respectively. It was to show my growth in the class. Here is the final version of it. We were suppose to write something about a given setting, and I chose library. Enjoy! :)
Sunlight poured into the library from the skylight directly above his head. It provided warmth for the back of his neck, which was very comforting as he worked through the novel cracked open in his lap.
Curtis read diligently through the book. He devoured its contents slowly, digesting each new piece of information with glee in every turn of a page. Each page shuffled softly when it was turned, and the weight of the book felt comfortable in his lap.
Curtis's eyes jumped rapidly from word to word, shining from each new sentence that had been swallowed. His sleek black hair fell down around his eyes like shadows in the night; they exist, but don't bother anyone at all.
He loved the atmosphere that the college library provided: the intoxicating aroma of weathered-down books; the inviting way that each book in turn called out to him; the plush armchairs positioned right under the skylights, allowing beautiful natural light to brighten the reading experience. He just loved it so much that he sometimes felt drunk from pure happiness.
Curtis reads on and on, not once taking his eyes off of the crinkled pages sitting in front of him. He thought to himself that nothing could ever tear his eyes away from the wonderful book that he was reading through.
Nothing, that is, until she walked into the library.
She walked in and sat down in the armchair across from him. She opened up a work of Shakespeare and set it into her lap.
She was breathtakingly beautiful. Not in a way that most people saw beauty. She wasn't overtly attractive and didn't look anything like a supermodel; but she was so pretty and it was in a way that was so natural, so open and exposed. She was living in a world that almost never understood that kind of true beauty.
It was something in the way her long black hair shimmered beneath the skylight, like crystal dew on the morning grass; the way her lips and skin were so fair and smooth that she seemed so in tune with everything around her; the way that the very world of existence drew strength from her figure that made it so that Curtis couldn't keep his eyes off of her.
At some point, she caught his gaze. When she did, she smiled and blushed, looking away quickly, as did he. Their gazes upon each other met once again; and again they hastily looked away. After they had done this a couple of more times, she decidedly closed her book and sat there staring at him, waiting for him to notice her again.
She knew that she wouldn't have to wait long. Soon enough, he caught himself staring at her and put down his book, no longer pretending to read.
"Hi," he said shyly.
"Hello," she smiled. "I'm Amelia." She stretched out her soft hand.
"I'm Curtis. It's a pleasure to meet you, Amelia," he smiled back, taking her offered hand and shaking it.
And that is the story of how these two young lovers met one another. And the rest, as they say, is history.
~bhscorch
"The Encounter" by bhscorch is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.