The Storm Between Us (REWRITING)

Mornings

Esmeralda slowly opened her eyes, looking around her room lit up by the morning light. she slowly stretched and stood up. she rubbed her head as memories of last night crept into her brain. but did that actually happen? if so how did she end up in her bed?

she walked out slowly, looking in the empty bathroom and around apartment but there was no sign of it actually happening last night. it wasn't unusual for her to have such vivid dreams but it felt so real last night.

she looked around again, desperate to find some clue that it was real. but she didn't even find so much as a smell of him. until she saw something on the back of her chair, she moved towards it and picked up the dark green shirt. it was his.

she smiled slightly, think of giving it back to him before frowning. there was thousands of apartments, how was she suppose to figure out which was his?

she felt a headache come on and went to find her aspirin. after a few moments of drinking her water she decided to get dress and check the damage of the storm of last night. she changed into a light gray sweater and dark jeans. she pulled on her light brown ankle boots and pulled her long hair into a tight ponytail. she glanced over at her face, deciding to put on a little bit of mascara before grabbing her bag.

she nearly walked out the door before grabbing his shirt and shoving it in her bag. she locked her door and walked down the steps. she noticed a few branches laying around and people trying to move some things that fell. others were speaking, talking of the storm. she walked to her car, nodding her good mornings to the neighbors as she looked at her car. she was thankful they had parking spaces under the building for the cars.

she decided to go for some coffee and breakfast, maybe she'd see him again. she pushed her hopefulness aside, it was unlikely, unless he came to her apartment. if he did why had he disappeared that morning?

she parked at her favorite hole in the wall coffee shop, walking inside and greeting Charlie, a tall woman that always had a warm smile to compete with the hot coffee.

"Esme, how have you been? i figured a new book was going on when you didn't show up for a few days." Char said with a bright smile, making her plain coffee.

"i've been good, how about you guys? how's the baby with the storm?" she asked in return. Charlie had given birth to the most adorable little baby two months back, her husband was mostly in the back with the baby.

"we were unsure at first but he's a storm baby i swear, it was like he liked it. we didn't like keeping him near the window but it was like it helped him sleep." she shook her head.

Esmeralda smiled a little, "i've never heard of that before Char, i believe you made that up." she laughed quietly.

"oh of course!" she said as if something just reminded her of something. "you would've been too young to remember, you adored those storms. i remember my mama telling me that you'd be out there in the pouring rain." Charlie was ten years older than herself. "i remember it a little myself, you wouldn't even have rain boots on, you just ran out there in your bed clothes running around. it was a miracle you never got sick."

the brunette didn't speak much, taking in this information quickly, trying to memorize it. their town was large enough that not many people knew her before the accident, but it was small enough so everyone knew what happened.

"they use to call you a storm baby, nothing made you happier than the thunder." she said with a smile.

"yeah i suppose i was too young." she said softly, realization flashing across Charlie's face made her look away before the pity slipped into her eyes. "thanks for the coffee." she placed her five on the counter before turning away to walk away.

she decided not to go to her car right away, instead she window shopped, looking around but some building still didn't have power. she nodded at some people who smiled at her, thinking of her parents.

she could barely remember their faces, everything was destroyed in the storm, she didn't even have a picture of them. she couldn't remember how her fathers arms felt as he carried her or the sound of her mothers voice. she was only five when the storm happened, away at a friends house.

she remember everything from that night funnily enough, she remembered everything after it as well. but anything before that was blurry. she remembered waiting from some family to come claim her, "she's my niece.", "she's my granddaughter.", or even "she's my cousin." she had imagined. but she didn't even get a friend, most kids thought she was cursed. the storm baby turned into a cursed little girl.

there was no goodbye, nothing to hold onto, and nothing left but herself. a year later the rest of the world had forgotten about her unless she was in front of them, then the sympathetic smiles plastered onto their faces greeted her. she was a sob story that she didn't even truly remember.

her childhood in pieces, collected from townspeople. sometimes she wondered if it was a blessing, to not be able to remember, nothing to miss then. but she didn't miss them, no, she just felt like she had a gaping whole in her. she felt stolen from. who decided who died and stayed? why did she have to be the one that stayed?

parents could make more children but children could never have parents again. she was utterly alone in a world filled with lonely people.