My secret admirer

On a Monday, the first letter arrived. Sandra noticed it because it was the only piece of mail that did not belong on her desk. With a cup of coffee in one hand and a stack of reports that she had promised herself she would finish before lunch, she stood in the doorway of her small office. Her morning was already off to a bad start. She had overslept, forgotten her umbrella, missed the first bus, and arrived at work with a strand of wet hair stuck stubbornly to her cheek. There was no stamp on the envelope that was on her desk. It only contained her name and did not include a return address. Sandra. Nothing else. She frowned. She mumbled, "Probably another office prank." Juliet, a coworker, looked up from her computer. "What is that?" Sandra made her way over to the desk. “I have no idea.” Juliet sat up straight in her chair. “Then open it.” Sandra smiled faintly. "You want to know everything at all times." “That is because other people's secrets are more interesting than my own life.” Sandra chuckled. "You're inconceivable." "I like being curious." Sandra placed her coffee down and picked up the envelope,it was cream-colored, thick, and unusually elegant. Her name had been written in neat black handwriting across the front. Not printed,written. She turned it over because something about that made her hesitate. Nothing. She looked at Juliet,no name, no clue. "Would you open a letter from an unknown person?" “Absolutely.” “What if it's dangerous?” Juliet blinked. "Then you should definitely open it, at least you'll know what's going on," I said. Sandra grinned at that. The envelope was carefully opened by her. Her heart beat strangely as she unfolded the single, folded-in-half sheet, which contained only a few lines. Sandra, my dear, You probably don't know me, but I've been thinking about you for a lot longer than you think. The way you smile when you think no one is looking is something special. I hope one day you will smile because you know I am. In the meantime, keep this a secret from anyone who might notice. Two times, Sandra read it. Then a third time. The paper was slowly lowered by her. Juliet was fixed on her. “Well?” She received the letter from Sandra. Juliet read it. Her eyes widened. “Oh.” “What?” “This is not an office prank.” "Do you think?" Juliet placed the letter on the desk as though it were evidence in a criminal investigation. “You have a secret admirer.” Sandra laughed with anxiety. “No.” “Yes.” “No.” "Sandra, a romantic letter has just been sent to you." “It could be a joke.” "Then it's a very considerate joke." Although Sandra hated to admit it, the letter had an impact on her—at least, that's what she told herself primarily due to the sentence about her smile, which no one had ever mentioned before. Sandra looked down at the handwriting. Sandra had believed for the majority of her life that she was ordinary. She wasn't the loudest person in a room, she wasn't the kind of woman people noticed right away, and she preferred quiet cafés, old books, evening walks, and lengthy conversations. She had never been particularly interested in romantic relationships until her most recent one, three years earlier, when she fell in love with someone she believed would stay with her. He hadn't,he had left without explanation, taking with him the confidence Sandra had once possessed so easily. She had learned to protect herself since then, she didn't trust easily, she didn't fall in love with strangers, and she didn't give people too much of her heart. So why was she reading the letter again? “sandra.” She turned around. Juliet was smiling. “What?” "You must be blushing." "I'm not." "You are" Sandra folded the letter quickly. "I need to do some work." Juliet laughed. "Obviously, you do." The letter was put in Sandra's handbag. She attempted to get back to work. She failed for the next two hours. Every few minutes, her mind returned to the same question. Who was the author? She considered the obvious options: Kingsley from accounting, who had previously invited her to dinner, and John, the new marketing manager, who made an unusually friendly impression whenever she passed his office. Then there were the numerous people she barely remembered meeting, any of whom could have written the letter, but something bothered her, including Andrew, her neighbor, who occasionally assisted her in carrying her groceries upstairs. The fact that the author stated that they had been paying attention to her for longer than she was aware of meant that the person was not someone who had just entered her life but rather someone who had been watching from a distance, which should have scared her. Instead, it intrigued her,that was the part sandra didn't understand,by the time she left work that evening, the rain had stopped,the sky was painted with soft shades of gray and gold, and the streets glistened beneath the fading light. Sandra noticed someone standing across the street as she made her way toward the bus stop with her handbag over one shoulder. He was a tall, dark-suited man who was looking directly at her with his hands in his pockets. Sandra slowed down, neither the man nor she moved for a while, and then a bus came between them. When it disappeared, the man was gone. Sandra continued walking, telling herself that she was imagining things, that she was tired, and that there was nothing unusual about a stranger standing across a street. However, when she got home, she locked the door twice. A strange feeling settled in her stomach as she stared at the empty pavement. That night, Sandra placed the letter on her bedside table. Instead of throwing it away, she continued to stare at it. She finally turned off the light at 11:43, fell asleep slowly, and when she did, she dreamed of a voice she didn't recognize. A calm voice,a familiar voice,a voice that whispered her name. Another envelope, this time hidden beneath her car's windshield wiper, waited for her the following morning. Sandra looked around the parking lot before freezing. Her name was written on the empty envelope, which made her fingers slightly tremble as she pulled it free. Again. She opened it. You looked beautiful yesterday. Sandra's breath caught,she read the next line. Especially when you thought nobody was looking her heart began to race,there was something unsettling about the words now. Yesterday,someone had seen her not just at work,someone had seen her after work,someone had watched her she looked around again. Nothing. Then she noticed a final sentence written at the bottom. Sandra stared at the words, "Don't be afraid of me." She folded the letter and put it in her handbag, did not tell Juliet or anyone else, and drove to work in silence for the first time without any excitement or excitement at all. All morning, she felt as though someone was watching her,every time she looked through the glass doors of the office, she expected to see the same mysterious figure,but no one was there,at lunchtime, Juliet finally realized that something wasn't right. “You're quiet.” “I'm fine.” “You've said that three times today.” Sandra hesitated, then she pulled the second letter from her bag, Juliet read it,her expression changed immediately. “This isn't funny anymore.” “I know.” “Who could have followed you?” "I'm not sure." “Did you recognize anyone yesterday?” Sandra thought about the man across the street. She didn't mention him instead, she shook her head. “No.” Juliet looked concerned. “You should tell someone.” “I will.” “When?” Sandra looked down at the letter. “I don't know.” The realization that she wanted another letter frightened her more than the letters themselves because beneath the uncertainty, questions, and growing unease, there was another feeling that was beginning to take shape. This was something she had not told Juliet and barely admitted to herself. Curiosity. Whoever the stranger was, he knew things about her that very few people noticed,he knew the way she smiled when she thought nobody was watching,he knew where she parked,he knew when she left work and somehow, he knew exactly how to make her wonder about him, that evening, sandra returned home earlier than usual. She checked the hallway before unlocking her door nothing seemed unusual inside, everything looked exactly as she had left it. She exhaled then she noticed something on her kitchen table. merely one white rose. Sandra stopped breathing as she saw a small card in front of her. She slowly approached the card before picking it up because it only had four words on it. I told you I'd notice. Sandra stared at the message. She looked out the window as her heart raced and noticed that the curtains were slightly moving in the evening breeze. For the first time, she wondered whether the stranger had been inside her home then her phone rang. Sandra nearly dropped the card,she looked at the screen,unknown number,her heart hammered against her chest. She responded. “Hello?” A man's voice then came through the phone after the silence. Low,calm,almost familiar. “You should stop looking for me.” Sandra's blood ran cold. What are you? The line went silent. Then he said quietly, "Not yet," The call ended. Sandra stood completely still. She stared at the phone in her hand,and for the first time, she understood something,her secret admirer wasn't simply someone who had fallen for her from a distance. He was aware of her, had been observing her, and his pursuit of her had only just begun.