Chapter 1
354 Words
I shouldn’t have opened that door.
Not that day.
And definitely not to him.
“Mom! Where’s my hoodie?!”
I closed my eyes and leaned against the kitchen counter.
A morning like any other. Chaos. Noise. Cold coffee.
Tomáš was looking for something, the kids were arguing.
The doorbell rang.
“I’m coming!” I shouted, annoyed.
I opened the door.
And there he was.
Just a courier. Dark jacket, a package in his hand.
But his eyes… lingered on me a second longer than they should have.
“Elena?”
“Yes.”
He handed me the package.
For a second, we both held it.
A touch. Brief. Innocent.
“Mom!!”
I let go of the box.
“Sorry.”
He smiled. “It’s okay… I get it.”
“Do you have kids?” I asked before I could stop myself.
He hesitated. “No. But life… can be loud.”
Something about the way he said it stayed with me.
“Goodbye.”
I closed the door and leaned against it.
My heart was beating faster than it should have.
“Who was that?”
“No one,” I said too quickly.
Just a courier.
Two days later, he came again.
I opened the door.
Him.
“Package for Elena.”
“How are you?”
“Better… now,” he smiled.
My heart skipped a beat.
“I’m exhausted,” he added. “I might quit.”
“Really?” I blurted out.
“Maybe.”
Something in me sank.
That evening, Tomáš came home.
“It’s a mess again.”
The kids went quiet.
“You’re home all day,” he continued.
I said nothing.
I didn’t have the strength anymore.
A few days later, the doorbell rang again.
This time, I hurried.
“You didn’t leave?” I asked.
He smiled.
“I couldn’t.”
“Why?”
He looked at me.
“Because of you.”
I froze.
“You’re the only one who actually talks to me.”
My heart was racing.
And in that moment…
I understood.
He wasn’t just a courier.
- Writer
