Chapter 3 # - The things she never said
347 Words
Daisy had a habit.
A terrible habit, according to her best friend.
She fell in love with fictional men.
Not literally.
At least she hoped not.
But every time she closed the final page of a novel, she found herself grieving something she never truly had.
The possibility.
The fantasy.
The idea that somewhere out there existed someone who looked at a woman and knew her.
Not the version she presented to the world.
Not the polite smiles.
Not the careful answers.
Not the comfortable masks.
Her.
Every complicated, messy, hidden part of her.
The part that nobody ever seemed interested in discovering.
Rain tapped softly against the apartment window as Daisy curled beneath a blanket, another novel resting against her knees.
The heroine was standing in a grand castle.
The hero was confessing his devotion.
Daisy smiled despite herself.
Then sighed.
Because books always ended.
Reality didn't.
Reality was Monday mornings and grocery lists.
Reality was watching couples hold hands while pretending it didn't bother you.
Reality was hearing your relatives ask when you planned to settle down.
Reality was dates with perfectly nice men who made her feel absolutely nothing.
She closed the book.
The apartment suddenly felt too quiet.
Outside, the city glowed beneath the rain.
Inside, only a single lamp illuminated the room.
For a moment, she simply sat there.
Thinking.
Dreaming.
Wondering.
What if there was more?
What if she had been settling for less than she wanted?
The thought startled her.
Daisy wasn't reckless.
She wasn't the kind of woman who chased fantasies.
Yet lately, something felt different.
Like standing at the edge of a doorway she hadn't noticed before.
A doorway waiting to be opened.
Her gaze drifted toward the old library visible from her window.
Even at night, it seemed alive somehow.
Ancient.
Patient.
Watching.
A strange shiver danced down her spine.
She couldn't explain why.
Only that the feeling had been growing stronger.
And for the first time in years...
Daisy found herself hoping life might surprise her.
She had no idea how dangerous that wish could be.
- Writer
