The Red String

Chapter 1

"Soulmates exist, just always not romantically. I think there are certain people you will meet in your life who you just connect with more than anyone else and you know it isn't a typical thing, and you understand each other perfectly. And this person won't always be your significant other, I mean it could be your friend, or sibling, or teacher, or the person you're dating or whoever it could be just about anyone you've interacted with. But soulmates do exist, just not in the way you'd think."

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Eloise loved the library, it was her favorite place to be. She especially loved to read, in the corner far away from everyone else. Sometimes she would get so lost in a book, she'd loose track of time, track of who she was.

Eloise had a preference for being alone.

However, she couldn't help but notice the red haired girl, who always sat in the opposite corner.

She had seen her around school plenty of times, but she never caught her name, and she never could see the color of her eyes. Were they brown? No. They couldn't just be simply brown, they had to be more, they just had to be.

Eloise wished her thoughts about the red haired girl would go away.

However, they worsened, when one day, she decided to talked to Eloise.

"Hi there," She spoke quietly, as if she spoke any louder, she would break.

Eloise looked up, seeing her smiling gently. She noticed the girl wore a sweater, far too big for her, and you could barely see the edge of her fingertips peeking out of her sleeves. Her hair was messy, barely going down to her shoulders, and her skin was pale, despite her red cheeks.

"Hello," Eloise spoke slowly, setting down her book and staring at the girl.

She laughed softly and fiddled with her fingers, "I always see you alone in this corner, mind if I join you?"

"I don't mind."

The red haired girl sat down in the seat in front of Eloise and rested her elbows on the table, holding her head up with her hands and smiling.

"By the way, I'm Maria." She fluttered her eyes gently.

Cognac. Her eyes were cognac.

"I'm Eloise," The brunette replied, continuing to gaze at her eyes.

Maria chuckled slightly and straightened up, lowering her arms, "I knew you would have a pretty name, my name's so boring," She sighed.

"I think Maria is a pretty name," Eloise stated, and she couldn't help but noticed the way Maria's eyes lit up when she spoke her name.

"Thank you.." Maria spoke shyly, then glanced at her book, laughing quietly, "What were you reading before I barged over here?"

"Chameleon on a kaleidoscope," She replied, showing the cover of the book to her.

"That sounds good."

"Yeah, it is," Eloise gazed away, looking around the library.

After a few moments of silence Maria spoke again.

"Do you like being alone?"

Eloise turned to look at her, she thought for a moment before replying, "It's not that I like it, its just that I've grown so use to it." She straightened her back, "What about you? Aren't you usually alone too?"

Maria smiled, "Yeah, but there was a time where I wasn't alone, I...had people. But now all I have is my parents," She chuckled before looking down, "Don't get me wrong I love them but, sometimes I wish I had someone again, y'know?" She glanced back up at Eloise.

"Yeah, I do know," Eloise lied. She never felt the need to want anyone, she always felt like being alone was best for her.

But meeting Maria, made her think otherwise.

The two girls continued to talk amongst each other quietly, occasionally getting loud at some points and being shushed by passing libarians. They talked about the town they lived in, what could lie in the ocean, how beautiful flowers were, and just about how big space could be.

They spoke for so long, they hadn't realized that it was almost closing time.

"Oh gosh its already 6:30?" Maria blinked, chuckling softly and glancing at her phone.

"What time do you usually leave?" Eloise asked.

"Usually 4:30," She replied, shoving her phone back into her pocket, "I'm glad I didn't this time," She smiled.

"Me too," Eloise spoke truthfully, she had really enjoyed talking to the red haired girl.

"Do you wanna do this again sometime? I mean you're here everyday sooo.." Maria trailed off.

"Yeah, I'd liked to do this again," She nodded, smiling.

"Alright then," The red haired girl smiled and stood up, waving, "I'll See you tomorrow, Eloise!"

"You too, Maria."

Maria walked off without another word, Eloise stared after her. Shortly after she left, Eloise did too, and walked out of the library. It was beginning to get dark and she could barely see the sunset in the distance, that was over the building that stood in her vision.

She thought it looked pretty anyways.

The brunette continued to walk home, with the thoughts of the red haired girl and the sunset on her mind.

Eloise always had a preference for being alone, but for some reason, she couldn't wait to see Maria again.

She wondered if Maria thought the same.