The Lost Moon Duchess

Daydreaming

-          Miss Anderson? MISS ANDERSON??

The voice of the English teacher took Selene out of her daydream. She whipped her head towards the teacher with a confused and slightly annoyed expression.

-          Yes, missus Cavanagh? - she replied with an innocent tone, looking straight at her teacher’s eyes.

-          You have not been mentally present in this class all day, maybe I should mark you absent?! – said the teacher with a mocking smirk, turning her back to Selene and walking back to her desk.

-          Do what you must missus. – Selene was not in the mood for her teacher’s snide remarks today. She placed her chin in her hands and closed her eyes wishing time would speed up and allow her to leave the daily mind-numbing festival of dull, pointless, repetitiveness that was high school.

-          Can anyone else, who actually has the desire to learn something, answer what the author wrote “We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with sleep”?

-          In the grand scheme of eternity, our lives are just a drop in a very large ocean, regardless of how important they seem from our own perspective…

-          No, no I already gave you a chance to answer miss Anderson.

-          Our lives and existence is temporary, and our reality is a rapidly fleeting perception which might as well be a fantasy. The importance we attribute to ourselves is as real as we convince ourselves to be, and it will inevitably be followed by “sleep” or death which will end the delusion we as people place on ourselves and call identity. – finished Selene in a low and unforgiving tone. Her voice echoed in the silence which had enveloped the room.

Miss Elsa Cavanagh was a short, slightly overweight, middle-aged teacher who had alienated her husband and obsessed over her one son as much as she did over her white Siamese cat. She largely based her self-esteem in humiliating her students and boasting her literary prowess. Selene’s keen empathy allowed her to perceive the shortcomings of other, but she would never exploit them for her own gain unless her own pride had been injured.

The bell signifying the end of classed rang and Selene stood up in the still silent room ignoring the eyes of her classmates and teacher fixed on her, placed the strap of her bag on her shoulder and walked out of the classroom with a prideful stride. Not being able to stand the suffocating environment in that building anymore she ran out the exit and into the parking lot, where she erratically dug out the keys out the front pocket of her bag and jumped in her car. Selene threw her bag on the passenger seat, placed her hands on the steering wheel and inhaled sharply. She closed her eyes and laid her head back gently. This town, this school, those people looking at her with their resentful eyes, she knew she didn’t belong, and she did not know why. She slowly opened her eyes and signed, put the key in and started the car, heading home, while the parking lot was filling up with students. She sped up on the steep road leading to her house and forced the breaks making the wheels screech to a halt. Her long copper hair was sticking to her neck due to the lack of air conditioner in her car and her forgetting to roll down the windows. Selene grabbed her dark denim shoulder bag which she had embellished by stitching a few flowers and walked inside. She lived in a small one floor house with her parents James and Elena and of course her border collie Sally, which her parents gifted to her for her 13th birthday. Her mum was not an animal lover but she conceded after Selene had begged for a puppy practically her whole life, in addition the forest right next to the house was a convenient place for taking Sally for walks.

Selene walked in her bedroom and threw herself on the bed, locking fingers on her forehead and resting her hands there. It was almost summer she though and soon she would be receiving response letters from universities. Selene smiled to herself imagining the freedom of leaving the country and studying in the UK, far from anything, even her parents. She loved them of course but she had always felt that uncontrollable need to leave. It was an unexplainable urge to run and roam far from home, see the world, she was sure there was more to life than her small town and the house she was born in.

 A sudden knock on the door took her out of her daydream, she jumped on her feet and quickly ran to open. She was still contemplating the freedom of studying abroad in her mind when she pulled the door open and came face to chest with a tall imposing figure which stood in her doorway. She slowly lifted her gaze travelling to the face of the man, her jaw dropping in surprise. It felt like looking directly at the sun, the man was the most stunning creature she had ever laid eyes upon. He was dressed in slim pale blue jeans, a crisp white shirt and a pair of sneakers. It seemed as his clothes further emphasised his stunning looks, his ash blond hair and deep blue eyes, which she could not move her gaze away from. Selene stood there unable to move or speak fully immersed in this stranger’s intoxicating beauty. She felt her stomach clench as a deep longing she had never felt before surfaced. 

The man smiled gently as delicate creases around his eyes caught Selene’s attention, making her heart race, as a row of perfect white teeth appeared. He was truly breath-taking, the smile wrinkles around his eyes made him look sincere and gentle, but his eyes spoke of a depth and emotion Selene could not yet name. She felt as time had stopped when the man suddenly spoke and the static electricity between the two carried his voice like a melody to her ears.

-          Hello, I just moved to the house opposite yours and came to introduce myself if that’s ok? – he spoke through his breath-taking smile as amusement seeped through his gaze.

-          H-hi. – Selene stuttered with a sour expression and looked away frowning in embarrassment. She could not believe how awkward and juvenile she was acting and just wanted to close the door in his face and hide away. Still she swallowed the embarrassment and forced herself to be as polite as possible, she looked back at him and smiled, dreading his amused expression. – It’s a lovely neighbourhood, hopefully you’ll enjoy it here.

-          Yes, it is indeed, and I am sure I will. – the tone of his voice made Selene’s skin crawl with what felt like electricity, his voice was so low and smooth, she looked at her feet trying to compose herself, feeling his gaze burning a hole through her body, penetrating through to her core. Despite always managing to keep a cool-head, Selene felt naked and small, feeling as if her emotions were on full display to the new neighbour. She blushed uncontrollably and stepped back from the door, as the closeness with his scent of male cologne intertwining with the fresh and musky scent of the forest next to the house was unbearable.

-          Guess I’ll be seeing you around then – Selene smiled a half smile at the man and reached for the door.

-          Wait. – said the man through laughter – Can I get your name?

-          Oh right, sorry, it’s Selene.

-          It’s nice to meet you Selene I’m Chris. – he said smirking and walked away towards his house.

Chris. His name was Chris.