I Was Married to the Sun

Hazel unbuttoned her coat as she walked, looking up to judge the likelihood of the fine weather lasting. Winter was ending and at this time of year it wasn't uncommon to require both an umbrella and sunglasses within fifteen minutes of each other. The sky was a crisp, clear blue with no clouds in sight and Hazel determined it safe enough to shrug out of the outer layer as she continued to dodge around people on the street.

It was the curse, she thought, of living in a capital city. Everyone thought theirs was the only business that mattered and those who dawdled were knocked about or left behind. Adopting the same attitude was simply a survival strategy.

A splash of green up ahead caught Hazel's attention, and she allowed herself to be distracted by it until she realised it was only the display in a store window. While she'd stopped actively searching for the author of the enigmatic sentence, she hadn't completely given up on finding her. A good thing as luck would have it. Although, her bank balance was faring much better now she wasn't spending so much of her disposable income on caffeine.

Darting across the street before the traffic lights could change, Hazel pushed her way to a seat at the tram stop, dropping down next to a black and yellow poster proclaiming a tram weighed as much as thirty rhinos.

"I was married to the sun on a day bled white with rage? You're not still doing that are you, Ames?"

Hazel came to attention like a hunting dog on point, seeking the person who'd asked the exasperated question. There couldn't have been more than twenty people on the small platform so he had to be close.

"Well, I obviously am. It's not -" The rest of the girl's reply was lost in the rush of noise and heated air that signalled the arrival of a tram. A journal held loosely by her side, the red head looked exactly the same as she had when she'd left the coffee shop two months ago.

Hazel watched as the girl pushed her friend towards the open tram door with a light laugh and before she could talk herself out of what she was about to do, followed. Discarding her plans for the rest of the day, she signed her afternoon away to whims and impulse.

Trying hard not to picture herself as the crazed stalker from any number of horror movies, Hazel counted stops and was surprised when the girl's friend got off the tram without her. Hazel summoned her courage and sat opposite the girl, she'd come too far to let this go. It was now or never.

"Hi," Hazel began, capturing her attention and forestalling any questions. "I already know this is going to sound crazy, but I saw you write 'I was married to the sun' on a table the other week and I've kind of been trying to find you ever since."

The wariness faded from the red head's eyes to be replaced with a suppressed form of delight. "You have?! Honestly?"

"I haven't been able to get the words out of my head," Hazel admitted.

The girl grinned in response. "That's awesome. I'm Amelie, by the way."

"Hazel."