Change

The world seemed dull. More so than usual. Marta had been staring off into the distance beyond the café windows, as far as her n***d eyes could view. Her eyes focused on nothing in particular. Her mind wandered, full lips trapped between pearly white teeth as a once cup of hot chocolate became cold. She didn’t notice the lack of heat that had been warming her hands a few moments ago. Or that the person seated in front her had been staring at her. She sighed, breathe unsteady as she tried to wrap her head around what she had seen. What she had been shown. “Are you alright?” She flinched at the sound of the voice, eyes snapping to the person seated before her. Her heart thumped painfully in her chest as she tried not to show it on her face. She was scared. “I’m fine,” she replied with a smile on her face. The clear contrast between her feelings and facial expression went unnoticed. Her eyes were as clear as always, smile genuine as she’d pushed a lock of her hair behind her ears. Nothing out of the ordinary. He thought as he continued to scan her. “Are you sure?” The flinch again. This time she let go of the cup between her hands and placed them on her lap. A habit she did whenever she was nervous. “I’m nervous.” She didn’t lie. She just figured that he didn’t need to know why she felt that way in the first place. The real reason, that is. “My dad wants to talk to me about the company and I’m not sure it’s good.” He smiled, the light in his dark eyes seeming warm. But she knew better now. “You can ask me. You know I’m good at this kind of stuff.” Had it been the previous her, she would have taken him up on that offer. But she was weary. The dreams she’d been having recently were too real to ignore. And in every single one, she had to be cautious of this man. “You and I both know that my dad will know if I use your answers again.” She turned him down. She masked it as a joke so he wouldn’t be alarmed. She kept the smile on her face and made it brighter, eyes turning into crescent shapes. He shrugged, not trying to force her to accept his offer. Yet, his gaze on her never faltered. Even when her hazel eyes met his dark ones. Suddenly feeling uncomfortable, she rose from her seat and took her cup with her. He watched her every move, trying to find out what was wrong with her. When he found none, he shrugged and attributed it to her nerves. “I have to leave now. We’ll talk more later, alright?” She halfheartedly said, grip firm on her cup. Her eyes met his one last time before he made a low sound of affirmation. Then she walked away from him. **** “I’m sorry, can I get this warmed to-go?” She asked the man behind the counter. His back was turned to her, busying himself with a customers complicated order. “A minute.” He replied without turning around. The smooth timbre of his voice had the girl, who was waiting for her order, swooning. Marta rolled her eyes, lightly tapping the bottom of her cup against the countertop to distract herself. A feeling of helplessness overwhelmed her. For all that she now knew, she had no idea how to change anything. To her, it felt like she was fighting a losing battle. Her enemy knew her inside and out. The worst part about it was that he knew others as well. The conspiracy run so much deeper the more she more she thought about it. Her heart felt heavy. She raised her free hand and rubbed it against her chest, hoping to relieve whatever congestion was there. But it helped little. Her mind was too preoccupied for her to notice that the man behind the counter was standing in front of her. He cleared his throat, fingers gently tapping the counter beside her cup. But he never touched it. Marta gasped, a little flustered to have been caught with her mind wandering. She didn’t look up, fiddling with her bag for some money to make another order. She grabbed her cup afterwards, lifting it up to the man without noticing that his hand was already beside her cup. For Marta, however, time seemed to slow as her gaze met the man’s. His electric blue eyes were sharp and alert as they looked straight at her, through her. She could tell that he’d had genetic modification done on them, probably to get the job. But it wasn’t his eye colour that shook her, but how familiar they felt to her. The man’s thin lips moved, words forming yet none reached her ears. As if she were in a soundproof bubble. He didn’t look vexed, Marta surmised that he noticed her panic. The way she flinched and inched backwards, away from his reach. Her whole body numbed when her eyes scanned the rest of his handsome features and placed why he was so familiar. All the sound she’d been blocking out came back to her full force. Her hands trembled as she handed him the cup. “Are you alright, miss?” The way he asked it. His tone of voice and choice of words. Marta’s heart warmed despite the situation. And she smiled despite herself. A small nervous smile that barely raised her slightly pointed cheekbones. But that was enough to distract her. Her grip on the cup loosened and, before she could take hold of it again, it slipped out of her hands. She gasped out loud, trying to salvage the mess she knew she was making by grabbing hold of the cup before it fell onto the counter. But Marta has always been clumsy. Her hands accidentally hit the side of the cup and it’s contents splashed towards the young man with the electric blue eyes. And before Marta knew it, his front was stained with the milky cold chocolate beverage. If she could have dug a hole in the tiled concrete floor, Marta would have buried herself in the sewers. Her mind wandered for the second time that morning, wondering how she was going to get herself out of that mess.