01 • Seeing

I first saw you in that deserted corridor past the art history classroom, the orange sun streaming through its tall windows faded with grime. You looked up from your phone as you passed me, eyes wide, curious. Our eyes met and your lips began to curl into a soft smile and as you reached the end of the corridor my head turned to look, but you were already gone.

The next time we met the sky was bright blue and clear, a gentle breeze ruffling the grass and the leaves. The campus devoid of people, my only companions were peace, coffee, and a cigarette as I sat on the wooden bench under the tree. I turned at the quiet skritch of a lighter, and there you were. Walking towards me. The cigarette caught, you lifted your head, and your eyes fell upon me. This time, it was my smile that met your mild surprise as you slowly made your way to the bench and sat down right next to me. Looking ahead, you said with an exhale, "I guess this smoking spot isn't just mine."

We sat there in silence save for the sound of our inhales and exhales, and as our cigarettes burned down to its final ashes I would ask for your name.

02 • Collapsing

You'd asked me to hang in there but the strength was slipping out of my fingers and a gravity was pulling me elsewhere, the ground shaking and the walls crumbling. The lights flickered and it would have been a typical chaos if not for the lack of screaming voices— each one distinct yet no different from the rest—with only the sound of my raspy breathing and your fading reassurances for company.

The memories faded in and out with each blink of my eyes and each rise of my chest—her bright eyes and her quiet laugh, your sharp lines and soft smiles. I was beginning to bargain for one last sight when I heard the sharp clack of your oxfords against the tarmac. My eyes rose to meet your crazed ones and your shoulders rose and fell, and neither of us looked away even as we both knew what was coming next.

One shot to the head. Clean. Simple. Efficient.

Just like you.

04 • Daze

There was only one thing on her mind as she put one foot ahead of the other, with loud music playing through her earphones shutting her out from the world. Finally, she reached the door, and took a deep breath as she swung the door open.

What would I do without coffee, she mused.

Pausing her music, she took in the drone of chatter and the whirr of the espresso machine as she waited in line for her turn. When she was second in line, she noticed the person in front of her—some bulk on his upper body, a smattering of tattoos, a well-worn tee... an his order of a double shot vanilla soy latte with toffee nut sprinkles and caramel drizzle. Without thinking, she let slip a little laugh under her breath.

He turned around, a bemused expression on his face. "It is good, you know. You should try it," ending with a wink. The barista called out his drink just then, and the moment was lost as he grabbed the cup and disappeared into the swirling crowd of New York City.

A little dazed, she moved forward to place her order—an iced americano—before she came back into her senses and promptly put the event out of her mind.

It would be a couple of weeks later that she would actually try the ridiculous drink, surprising even herself she'd remembered exactly what his order had been.

05 • Serendipity

She ran into him on the bus, and even though he typically enjoyed watching the world pass by, they spoke until the trees turned to a blur. They continued over coffee, all the way up to the ride home, and the same day every week after that.

Even though he would be on the bus before her, he'd always get up and let her take the seat inside—his legs were too long, he said. And sometimes when they'd spoken enough they would let other people speak, one in each earphone. She'd never given it much thought until she met someone who once said they hated only listening to music through one side—and even years later she would still have the tendency, the preference of hearing only half of each song.

They built this shared consciousness without realising what it would become, but it had gone into the universe and could never be taken back.

10 • Fermata

Your voice sends shivers through my body, like tiny spiders skittering across my skin. It pulls me to you like the strings of a marionette, my eyes helplessly drawn to you like a moth to fire. I move, like my body no longer belongs to me. I breathe, like my lungs cannot get enough. I watch, like my eyes have forgotten how to blink, how to look away. I sing, like the sounds are drawn out of my mouth by an invisible magician.

I forget what my fears are.

But then it ends.