Meeting him
963 Words
It was late when she found him.
Elysia wasn’t searching this time, not intentionally, but there he was, standing just outside The Crescent Café, leaning against the brick wall as if he belonged to the night itself.
For a moment, she just watched him. The way the dim streetlights kissed the angles of his face, the way his presence felt like something unspoken, unfinished.
Then, as if sensing her, he turned.
“You’ve been thinking about what I said.”
Elysia blinked at the suddenness of his words."No, not really , I mean how do you know that?”
Lucas gave a small, knowing smile. “Because I know you.”
A strange chill passed through her. “You don’t, though. We barely know each other.”
Lucas tilted his head, considering. “Then why do you keep looking for me?”
Elysia hesitated. She could have lied, could have brushed it off with an easy excuse, but she didn’t want to.
“Because…” She exhaled, frustrated. “Because I feel like I should, not really like I should, but something keeps drawing me to and I don't know what”
Lucas studied her, his hazel eyes deep with something unreadable. Then, quietly, he said, “Maybe you should stop.”
Elysia frowned. “Why?”
His gaze flickered, something fleeting in his expression. Regret, hesitation, something close to sorrow.
“Because some stories don’t have happy endings.”
The words cut through the night, soft but sharp.
Elysia didn’t know what to say to that.
Before she could speak, Lucas stepped closer, close enough that she could see the way the light caught in his eyes. “Elysia… you don’t want to be part of this story.”
His voice was gentle, but there was something final in it, something that made her heart tighten.
But instead of walking away, instead of letting him disappear again, she held his gaze.
“I don’t believe that,” she said, and for the first time, he was the one left without words.
Back at Work – Lydia Notices Everything
The next morning, Elysia sat at her desk, staring blankly at an open document. The numbers, the marketing reports, none of it made sense today.
Lydia, sitting across from her, smirked over her coffee cup. “So. You saw him again.”
Elysia groaned, rubbing her temples. “Can you not?”
Lydia chuckled, leaning forward. “No, no, I love this. This is better than any novel I’ve read this year. Mysterious stranger, cryptic warnings, lingering glances oh, this is sooo good.”
Elysia shot her a look. “It’s not a novel, Lydia.”
Lydia sipped her coffee. “Then why does it sound like one?”
Elysia sighed, slumping back in her chair. “I don’t know, okay? I don’t know what’s happening. I just… I keep getting pulled back to him.”
Lydia tapped a pen against the desk, thoughtful. “And what if he’s pulling you in for a reason?”
Elysia frowned. “What do you mean?”
Lydia shrugged. “I mean, what if this isn’t just some tragic, moonlit romance? What if there’s a reason he keeps showing up and disappearing?”
Elysia laughed, but it was hollow. “Like what? He’s a time traveler? A ghost?”
Lydia smirked. “Hey, I’m just saying... people don’t talk about curses for fun.”
That made Elysia pause.
Because Lydia was right.
Lucas hadn’t said those words lightly.
And the way he looked at her last night, the way he almost walked away again but didn’t.
Something was keeping him close.
And Elysia needed to know why.
The next day at the office
Elysia couldn’t focus.
Her hands hovered over her keyboard, eyes scanning the marketing report in front of her, but the words blurred together. Somewhere in the office, the faint chatter of colleagues drifted around her, the clicking of keyboards forming a steady rhythm. Lydia was beside her, humming softly as she flipped through a file.
Elysia barely registered any of it.
Because some stories don’t have happy endings.
Lucas' words circled in her mind like a haunting refrain, his distant gaze flashing behind her eyes. The way he had warned her off, the way he had hesitated, as if he wanted her to walk away, but also wanted her to stay.
She had met him thrice and yet, it felt like she had known him for longer. That should have been enough to make her step back, to let logic take control.
But she couldn’t.
Not when every part of her was pulling towards him like gravity.
She barely noticed Lydia watching her until a pen flicked against her arm. "ouch"
“You’re gone again.” Lydia’s voice was light, teasing, but there was an edge of curiosity. “It’s getting worse, isn’t it?”
Elysia sighed, rubbing her temples. “I just… don’t get him.”
Lydia smirked. “Ah, the mysterious ones are always the worst.”
“No, it’s not just that,” Elysia said, shaking her head. “It’s like he’s both pushing me away and keeping me close. Like there’s something he’s not telling me, but he wants me to figure it out.”
Lydia raised an eyebrow. “So what’s stopping you?”
Elysia hesitated. “Maybe I’m scared of the answer.”
Lydia leaned back in her chair, considering. “You ever think that maybe you’re the one who’s haunting him, not the other way around?”
That thought made something shift in Elysia’s chest.
What if it wasn’t just that she was drawn to him, what if something about her was pulling him in too?
The idea was unsettling.
And yet… it made too much sense.
- Writer
