It Doesn't Feel a Thing Like Falling
You Don't Know How Lovely You Are
The snow had fallen harder over the past hour that the couple had sat chatting. It now towered on cars and fire hydrants, threatening to topple over with the slightest touch. The two did not even give it a second thought. The snow gave the coffee shop a warm feeling, a feeling of safety. On this particular evening, that was what this pair needed most.
Maggie had been itching to ask Alex what was bringing him down. Even though he seemed to have lightened up since she had approached him with the hot chocolate, she still sensed a deep mournfulness in his dark eyes. She didn’t dare ask him though, since she felt it was not her place to do so.
Alex, on the other hand, had been itching to ask her a million questions all along. He was so intrigued, so enthralled by Maggie’s presence that he wanted to know so much more than she was putting forth. She didn’t seem very outgoing to him, and on any other day that would be a difficult thing for Alex to get past. He was a shy soul himself, so he felt even more awkward around other people like him. However, tonight he needed the company. He needed something to get his mind off of the crushing importance of the date.
“So what do you like to do in your spare time?” Alex asked, his face reddening a bit. After the sentence left his mouth, he was scared that it would be misinterpreted in a flirty way, and that was not a road he wanted to go down at the moment.
Maggie sat for a moment, trying to think of an appropriate answer that would suffice. Alex studied her, admiring her soft, but hard feminine features. Her cheekbones were very pronounced, as was her jawline, which was accentuated even more so because of the messy bun that held up her dark blonde hair. Natural, golden streaks shot through her hair sporadically, creating a natural sun kissed look that Alex had seen on few woman. She had pale green eyes that resembled the color of sea glass. They were alert and careful, observant and interested. Her lips were quite thin and the color of a pale pink rose, slightly chapped – probably from the arctic weather Baltimore had been having over the last couple of weeks. Alex found her beauty quite striking and the freckles that dotted every visible surface of her skin was endearing. Alex found her skin one of the most intriguing characteristics. She looked as though she was made of delicate porcelain – something Alex found rare in the girls he had come across in his career.
Maggie held herself in a slightly awkward manner and was never particularly graceful. Alex could see that she was an extremely shy person, and yet, that deepened his understanding of her. He could tell that the high level of beauty he found in her, she did not find in herself.
“You’re going to laugh at me…” she said smiling, “But I help a lot at animal shelters.”
Alex laughed and said, “Animal shelters? Oh, how nice of you.”
“I told you that you would laugh!”
“No, no. That is very nice of you. You love dogs?”
“Oh, yes. I love all animals, really, but dogs have always held a special place in my heart. I’m not entirely sure if it’s just because I never had one, or… If I just really like them.”
Alex looked at her in shock and said, “Never had a dog? How could that be possible?”
Maggie’s smile faltered slightly and she answered, “Well, I’ve never been in a position where that was possible…”
Alex sensed that he had touched on a topic that seemed to hurt her. He laughed to try and make up for his unassumingly probing question and said, “Understandable! At least you get to work with them whenever you feel like it!”
She smiled lightly and said, “Exactly. I truly enjoy it.”
Alex’s mind kept touching on the reason why he was at the coffee shop, and each time it threatened to enter his mind, he’d push it viciously away. He was terribly awful at dealing with his issues, which often resulted in panic attacks to relieve the anxiety he felt towards the situation. He prayed with everything he had that that wouldn’t happen tonight, even though it always did, without fail, on this specific day.
As if reading his thoughts Maggie looked up at him shyly and said, “If you don’t mind me asking, what really brought you here today?”
Alex stared at her, surprised at her perfectly timed question. He knew that she had probably been wondering the real reason he was there the whole time, but was scared to ask. He looked like death at the moment and would be extremely intimidated to touch on that subject at all as well, if he were her.
“I, uh, I did actually want to get away from my house. Today’s… Not really a good day for my family. Never has been,” he replied, swirling the remnants of his (now cold) hot chocolate with a thin, brown stirring straw.
Maggie nodded, clearly seeming at a loss for words. She was unsure of whether or not to question him further, or let the subject drop. Alex seemed to be extremely torn up over whatever was wrong with that day, and she didn’t want to push him in any way.
“And, now I’m sure you’re wondering why,” Alex said in a tone that sounded defeated. “Well, my brother died today – six years ago.”
Now Maggie seemed really at a loss for words. Alex felt sorry for her – he knew what it was like to have to rack his brain for words to comfort somebody. Luckily for him, he didn’t need comforting anymore. It was a pain that he dealt with on his own – the comforting phase had long passed him by.
“I’m terribly sorry…” she said, a look of pure sympathy and sorrow in her eyes.
Alex wanted to just get up and envelope her in a hug. He had certainly gotten his fair share of sympathy since his brother’s death, but he had been pitied as well. He hated nothing more than being pitied. He was well aware that he was sensitive. His brother’s death had torn him completely apart – threw his world out of line – and yet, people seemed to treat him as though he, himself was going to do the same thing his brother had done. Alex had no intention of taking his own life, though. He had gotten too far in his career and had achieved so many things on his long list of dreams to dwell too much on the situation.
There was absolutely no pity in Maggie’s eyes, however – only pure sorrow for a tragedy. He felt an instant, deep connection with this girl he had only met an hour or so prior. She had treated him like a normal human being the entire time, when everyone else had taken one look at his disheveled exterior and steered clear. She had actually gone out of her way to help him out and he secretly thanked her heavily, feeling as though he almost owed something to her.
He shook his head and replied, “Don’t be… It was a while ago. Things are much better now.”
“That’s good,” Maggie said, again at a complete loss of words. She had never experienced anything remotely close to what Alex had been through, so she couldn’t at all relate.
“Yep! It’s just a little more difficult when this day rolls around, so I decided to get out of house for a while.”
“I totally understand,” Maggie said with a soft, almost maternal smile. She sighed and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. 8:47.
Wow, she thought, shocked. That went fast!
“I think I’m going to go check outside,” she said, getting up and going to the glass door.
In a moment of panic, she whirled around and stared at Alex. She had prayed all night that she wouldn’t be stuck here, but it looked as though her prayers were completely ignored.
“We’re stuck…” she said nervously.
Alex jumped up and walked to where Maggie stood frozen. She was right. Just outside of the door was a giant blockade of thick, immovable snow – a product of shoddy plow skills.
“It does look like we’re stuck, doesn't it?
Maggie had been itching to ask Alex what was bringing him down. Even though he seemed to have lightened up since she had approached him with the hot chocolate, she still sensed a deep mournfulness in his dark eyes. She didn’t dare ask him though, since she felt it was not her place to do so.
Alex, on the other hand, had been itching to ask her a million questions all along. He was so intrigued, so enthralled by Maggie’s presence that he wanted to know so much more than she was putting forth. She didn’t seem very outgoing to him, and on any other day that would be a difficult thing for Alex to get past. He was a shy soul himself, so he felt even more awkward around other people like him. However, tonight he needed the company. He needed something to get his mind off of the crushing importance of the date.
“So what do you like to do in your spare time?” Alex asked, his face reddening a bit. After the sentence left his mouth, he was scared that it would be misinterpreted in a flirty way, and that was not a road he wanted to go down at the moment.
Maggie sat for a moment, trying to think of an appropriate answer that would suffice. Alex studied her, admiring her soft, but hard feminine features. Her cheekbones were very pronounced, as was her jawline, which was accentuated even more so because of the messy bun that held up her dark blonde hair. Natural, golden streaks shot through her hair sporadically, creating a natural sun kissed look that Alex had seen on few woman. She had pale green eyes that resembled the color of sea glass. They were alert and careful, observant and interested. Her lips were quite thin and the color of a pale pink rose, slightly chapped – probably from the arctic weather Baltimore had been having over the last couple of weeks. Alex found her beauty quite striking and the freckles that dotted every visible surface of her skin was endearing. Alex found her skin one of the most intriguing characteristics. She looked as though she was made of delicate porcelain – something Alex found rare in the girls he had come across in his career.
Maggie held herself in a slightly awkward manner and was never particularly graceful. Alex could see that she was an extremely shy person, and yet, that deepened his understanding of her. He could tell that the high level of beauty he found in her, she did not find in herself.
“You’re going to laugh at me…” she said smiling, “But I help a lot at animal shelters.”
Alex laughed and said, “Animal shelters? Oh, how nice of you.”
“I told you that you would laugh!”
“No, no. That is very nice of you. You love dogs?”
“Oh, yes. I love all animals, really, but dogs have always held a special place in my heart. I’m not entirely sure if it’s just because I never had one, or… If I just really like them.”
Alex looked at her in shock and said, “Never had a dog? How could that be possible?”
Maggie’s smile faltered slightly and she answered, “Well, I’ve never been in a position where that was possible…”
Alex sensed that he had touched on a topic that seemed to hurt her. He laughed to try and make up for his unassumingly probing question and said, “Understandable! At least you get to work with them whenever you feel like it!”
She smiled lightly and said, “Exactly. I truly enjoy it.”
Alex’s mind kept touching on the reason why he was at the coffee shop, and each time it threatened to enter his mind, he’d push it viciously away. He was terribly awful at dealing with his issues, which often resulted in panic attacks to relieve the anxiety he felt towards the situation. He prayed with everything he had that that wouldn’t happen tonight, even though it always did, without fail, on this specific day.
As if reading his thoughts Maggie looked up at him shyly and said, “If you don’t mind me asking, what really brought you here today?”
Alex stared at her, surprised at her perfectly timed question. He knew that she had probably been wondering the real reason he was there the whole time, but was scared to ask. He looked like death at the moment and would be extremely intimidated to touch on that subject at all as well, if he were her.
“I, uh, I did actually want to get away from my house. Today’s… Not really a good day for my family. Never has been,” he replied, swirling the remnants of his (now cold) hot chocolate with a thin, brown stirring straw.
Maggie nodded, clearly seeming at a loss for words. She was unsure of whether or not to question him further, or let the subject drop. Alex seemed to be extremely torn up over whatever was wrong with that day, and she didn’t want to push him in any way.
“And, now I’m sure you’re wondering why,” Alex said in a tone that sounded defeated. “Well, my brother died today – six years ago.”
Now Maggie seemed really at a loss for words. Alex felt sorry for her – he knew what it was like to have to rack his brain for words to comfort somebody. Luckily for him, he didn’t need comforting anymore. It was a pain that he dealt with on his own – the comforting phase had long passed him by.
“I’m terribly sorry…” she said, a look of pure sympathy and sorrow in her eyes.
Alex wanted to just get up and envelope her in a hug. He had certainly gotten his fair share of sympathy since his brother’s death, but he had been pitied as well. He hated nothing more than being pitied. He was well aware that he was sensitive. His brother’s death had torn him completely apart – threw his world out of line – and yet, people seemed to treat him as though he, himself was going to do the same thing his brother had done. Alex had no intention of taking his own life, though. He had gotten too far in his career and had achieved so many things on his long list of dreams to dwell too much on the situation.
There was absolutely no pity in Maggie’s eyes, however – only pure sorrow for a tragedy. He felt an instant, deep connection with this girl he had only met an hour or so prior. She had treated him like a normal human being the entire time, when everyone else had taken one look at his disheveled exterior and steered clear. She had actually gone out of her way to help him out and he secretly thanked her heavily, feeling as though he almost owed something to her.
He shook his head and replied, “Don’t be… It was a while ago. Things are much better now.”
“That’s good,” Maggie said, again at a complete loss of words. She had never experienced anything remotely close to what Alex had been through, so she couldn’t at all relate.
“Yep! It’s just a little more difficult when this day rolls around, so I decided to get out of house for a while.”
“I totally understand,” Maggie said with a soft, almost maternal smile. She sighed and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. 8:47.
Wow, she thought, shocked. That went fast!
“I think I’m going to go check outside,” she said, getting up and going to the glass door.
In a moment of panic, she whirled around and stared at Alex. She had prayed all night that she wouldn’t be stuck here, but it looked as though her prayers were completely ignored.
“We’re stuck…” she said nervously.
Alex jumped up and walked to where Maggie stood frozen. She was right. Just outside of the door was a giant blockade of thick, immovable snow – a product of shoddy plow skills.
“It does look like we’re stuck, doesn't it?