Like Ghosts in Snow

She was sitting a few tables away. There was someone sitting with her who had been talking to her, but seeing her face as she made eye contact with me, trailed off and turned to face me.

The other person was a young male, probably in his twenties, and was as beautifully pale as she was. He looked at me curiously, then back at her. She was still looking at me as if I was a fresh piece of meat. And not in the good, 'you're-so-sexy' way. No. It was like she was going to literally eat me.

The guy began to talk to her again, but she wasn't listening. Every ounce of her body was trained on me, as if she was ready to attack. It was a bit unnerving. The male got up and pulled on her arm to usher her outside before she had a chance to do anything, though, and I was ready to thank him for possibly saving my life.

The girl finally tore her eyes away from me and looked at her companion, before letting her head drop down in shame. The guy didn't seem mad at her, though. In fact, he looked sympathetic if nothing else.

They walked out of the café and out of sight. Unfortunately, that didn't mean she was out of mind. I was more intrigued and confused than ever. It made me so mad that I didn't know what it was all about. Maybe if I had known why she was being like that, I wouldn't have cared so much.

The waitress arrived with my coffee. I took a large gulp, not caring that it was hot. The burning sensation that enveloped my mouth and throat was welcomed.

The same thoughts ran through my head over and over again. Who was she? Why does she hate me? Who was the guy she was with? I started to imagine the possibilities. I'm not going to list everything that I had come-up with during the short period of time it took me to down my coffee, for fear of being declared clinically insane.

I will tell you, though, that most of them were along the lines of my evil twin killing her parents and her wanting revenge.

I finished my coffee and put it on my tab, then walked outside of the hotel. I was in more need of a smoke then than ever. I walked around the side of the hotel to the small alley in between it and the building next to it. The sound of the cars rushing past was even louder than the chatter inside the café.

I dug a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of my pocket. I used the lighter to light the end of my cigarette as I sucked in, taking a long, satisfying drag.

I looked towards the back of the alley. Either my mind was playing tricks on me, or there was someone back there. I could see a shadow moving out of the corner of my eye. For some reason, this scared me more than it normally would have. I put out the half-burned cigarette and began walking towards the front of the alley. The shadow started moving more rapidly, and I did, also. When I reached the street, I was already running. Running into the middle of a busy street, as we all know, wasn’t the smartest thing to do.

Everything happened so fast; I didn't know exactly what was going on. Fortunately, someone did. The car was speeding right at me, when out of nowhere, I was being shoved out of the way. I landed on the cold, hard ground ungracefully. I turned my head to catch a glimpse of my hero. Guess who it was. That's right. It was her. Unscathed by the accident, she ran to lean over my body. She knelt down beside me, looking into my eyes. I stared back.

The hatred that had previously filled her eyes was now gone, and replaced with other emotions. I recognized a few as worry, nervousness, and confusion.

And then she spoke. "Are you okay?"