Like The Sound Of A Smile

She was sitting alone at her favorite coffee shop when the bell above the door chimed its usual friendly chime. This familiar sound phased her not in the least. She was in her element her, not to be bothered by such trivial things as an entrance of another. No matter how many chimes it chimed, her concentration was not broken. Her fingers typing away on her laptop and her eyes fixated on the words spilling from her soul. The chiming chimed again, the coffee grinder ground coffee, chitter chatter filled the air, but here she was. Mewithoutyou invading her inner ear canals, she was intangible. She did not notice the boy sit down at the table to her right. She did not notice his questioning eyes. She did not notice him clear his throat to get her attention. She only saw letters into words into sentences into paragraphs. It was not until the boy tapped on her shoulder did she even bother to take in any of her surroundings. She broke concentration, looked to her right, and made direct eye contact with those doe-like eyes and stared straight into her past.

“Ellie?” he questioned in disbelief. A lump of considerable size grew instantaneously in her throat. Why had he been here? How had he found her? She took a minute to take in every single thing about him. He looked completely different, but then again, so did she. His face looked much older now. Older than she thought he’d ever look. His once youthful face was now thin and covered in at least three day’s growth of facial hair. His once dyed-black hair now contained a vibrant splash of blond. His square glasses were replaced by contacts. But his eyes. His eyes never changed.