The Endless In-Between

1

She had seen him twice in three weeks.

The first time was an actual encounter – a real moment. The second was just a glance.

She hadn't seen him again.

Until tonight.

She had been closing the shop alone. It was Sunday, so Main Street was dark and empty. The pavement was still damp from the thunderstorm that had passed through earlier, red and green streetlights reflecting off the slick surface. Hailey unplugged the neon OPEN sign and turned the lock on the door before going back behind the counter to count the money in the till.

The room was quiet, except for the hum of the refrigerator unit behind her. An occasional car sped by, headlights creating weird reflections on the glass. Her phone was in her back pocket, so she pulled it out to play music while she finished up. The screen lit up, then immediately went black. Hailey groaned. Of course, she'd left her charger at home.

She started that the screen for a long moment, willing it back to life, but when that didn't work, she stuffed it back into her pocket and pulled out the bills from the register. Business had been slow today, so there wasn't much to count.

Hailey tucked the bills back into the till just as the lights began to flicker. She paused and glanced up at the fixtures.

Then, a rustling sound from behind made her breath catch in her throat.

Tiny hairs stood up on the back of her neck as a cool burst of air ruffled the stray curls that tumbled from her ponytail. The scent of warm summer day filled her nostrils, pushing away the aroma of fresh bread and cookies. She drew in a breath and leaned forward, placing her palms on the countertop.

He was behind her. She knew it.

She wanted to turn around but was petrified at the same time, her breaths coming quick and shallow. The room darkened at the edges of her vision and there was a faint ringing in her ears that began to grow. She swallowed and breathed in deeply, then slowly turned.

There.

Her eyes widened and she stared.

He was real.

He breathed heavily. Then his hands, clenched at his sides, began to relax. He closed his eyes as relief washed over his face.

"You see me," he whispered, a strange accent coloring his words.

She couldn't speak. Her breath was caught in her throat but she nodded slowly.

When he didn't hear her respond, he opened his eyes and the corner of his mouth curled with the faintest hint of a smile.

"You are real?"

His voice was soft, but clear.

"Yes," she whispered.

He smiled again and she could see his eyes better now. Deep, honeyed hazel with a ring of gold just at the edges. He breathed deeply then sagged back against the counter, his shoulders slumping. She noticed his clothing was odd - the shirt he wore was made of a rough home-spun material like his pants, which were tucked inside tall brown boots. Her eyes traveled back up his tall frame to his tousled sandy hair that fell across his forehead and over one eye.

"Finally," his voice trailed off as he raised one hand to touch her face.

Time slowed. Hailey, still in shock, watched wide-eyed as his hand reached her face. She looked back to him when she felt the warm touch of his fingers on her cheek - the dim light of the room casting shadows she was sure she was falling into.

"Who are you-" she started but was cut off as his head snapped up to look behind her, eyes darkening.

A siren rang out and an ambulance sped by on the street outside the shop. He pushed off from the counter and hooked one arm around her waist, pulling her to him protectively.

She was startled by the sudden contact and jumped back, looking over her shoulder at the flashing blue and red lights. There was a rush of wind from behind and when she turned, he was gone.

"No," she breathed, looking frantically around the shop. The light above her head swayed gently and there was that strange scent lingering in the air, but he was gone.

Hailey stayed at the shop for another hour hoping he would return. She recounted the money, stood in the exact same spot as before, but he didn't reappear. When it became obvious he wasn't coming back, she reluctantly closed up the shop and headed home.

The house was dark when she opened the front door. Her parents were already in bed. The only sound came from her twin brother's room – shrieks and shouts as he played online games with his friends.

Hailey thought about telling him what happened, but just as she was about to knock on Thomas' door, she stopped. He would think she had lost her mind. Nothing productive would come from that conversation.

Instead, she continued on to her room at the end of the hall.

Tossing her purse onto her bed, she sunk into her desk chair. Images of the boy at the shop immediately flowed into her mind and her heart began to race. He was tall, had sandy colored hair, and carried himself in that awkward way that people who don't know their strength would. 

Three times. 

Three times now she'd seen him.

The first time, in the stairwell going up to the office, she was certain she was about to be brutally murdered. He'd been standing in the middle of the narrow staircase on the landing just halfway up. He was heaving huge breaths, like he had just run a mile. He'd looked at her with such intensity that she couldn't breathe, her heart hammering in her chest.

And then in one blink, he was gone.

The second time was last week. She'd seen him in the hallway leading to the back of the building. She was taking out the garbage, but he hadn't noticed her. He stepped into an unused storage room by the back door and quietly close the door as she watched from the shadows. When she finally worked up the courage to open the door minutes later, she was surprised to find nothing there.

Hailey hadn't seen him again.

Until tonight.

There was something in his face that pulled on her very soul. His eyes - dark, but golden-ringed, danced behind her eyelids every night before she fell asleep. It was as if he's wanted to say something to her but couldn't - or wouldn't.

Hailey got up and plugged in her phone, then stripped off her work shirt and quickly changed into her pajamas. She crawled into bed and curled up around her pillow, closing her eyes. As she lay in the dark, she replayed the encounter over and over in her mind, trying to find some indication that he had imagined it, but it had been too real. She drifted off to sleep to the sound of his voice.

Finally,... 

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***Artwork by Yen-Lan