Ardent ; h.s.

011

Robin

CHRISTMAS EVE NIGHT.

So now here we were, face to face.

The affirmation of I don't chase, I attract that I revised every morning or wrote down in journals proved itself on a snow-filled night, I just never thought it would attract the person who rocked back and forth on their heels in front of me, their height acting as a tower over mine.

They stood nervous, I could sense it through their mannerisms. A feeling that seemed as if it didn't come often to them.

My eyes couldn't stray away from the person who stood in front of me, shivering, the tip of their nose and apples of their cheeks tinted a faint red, decorated with flakes of snow on their black hood and luggage in hand at half-past midnight.

Here's a hint, it's not the ghost of Christmas past.

I am still trying to decide if this is a Christmas miracle. The cold snow contradicts their warm heart.

Just casually knocking and showing up at my door as they worked for mail service and they were dropping off a package labeled fragile. In this case, the package was a full-grown man who stood inches taller than me and still had those dazzling green, mossy eyes with a certain sparkle in them.

"Harry?".

He gave me an awkward smile, his teeth slightly showing, as if he understood how sudden this meeting was, at least for me. It is unplanned, unexpected. I disliked surprises. He looked sober, so he definitely made the conscious decision to come here, to see me alone. At night. Late night. "I - um, what are you doing here?", I scratched at the nape of my neck trying to piece our interaction together.

Here I was thinking I'd have some ax murderer or ghost in the apartment, nope, just a guy who beautifully sings for a job and is devastatingly handsome.

Seems like we come to find one another through odd situations we only put ourselves in.

"Got room for a movie partner?".

Deciding to ignore his brief answers to my questions I opened the door more to let him in, closing it the minute he stepped in. Leaving his belongings by the entrance he took off a jacket layer leaving him in a black hoodie. Flicking on the light switch to the kitchen I grabbed two glasses and began filling them with water from the fridge, Harry sitting himself in one of the barstools on the island counter. I could feel him staring at me, suddenly filling up a cup of water became an embarrassing task.

He came back, again. I don't know why he would, sure enough it isn't the plants drawing him back here.

I could only laugh thinking about it. Why isn't he anywhere else, but here, in my space, in my kitchen, with me? The best he could have done was barge in when I wasn't present. Maybe I should've stayed at work tonight.

Placing the glass of water in front of him I spoke up cutting to what I really needed an answer to, "What are you doing here Harry? Isn't Mitch just a 10 minute drive from your place?", this time he couldn't avoid the question with an awkward pop up of his presence and a terrifying knock at the door. His fingers, as usual, were clad in silver and gold rings, hitting the sides of the glass cup with a light clink. His hands are red due to being outside.

"Funny story actually, on the way to the airport my taxi met some traffic on the streets - some snow accident I'm positive - along the way I got a call saying that my flight had got canceled".

He took a sip, "Sitting in the car I saw that the area looked familiar, saw your building just minutes down, figured I'd stop by, and ask if I could take the couch again, stay here for a night..or two", he cleared his throat whilst saying the last part, tapping his middle ringed finger against his cup, afraid I would kick him out with a pillow and blanket then leave him to sleep on my doorstep.