The crisp pages tore each time her index finger and thumb divided them too hastily, but it was difficult to restrain the anticipation that grew with each passing sentence. A story of a maiden, young and overlooked, searching for her true love through life-threatening scenarios, played out before her eyes. What started out as a book had now became part of her own heartbeat. Blame it on the midnight hour and lack of sleep, but she was so enthralled with the soul-gripping, page -turner in her lap that she didn't notice when the sign above her turned from her street to another. Or that one to a different one. In fact, it wasn't until the driver honked the horn was she torn from the book at all.
She jumped.
"No stop, Miss?" Erica asked, having become accustomed to taking her to the same destination each night.
Sarryn smiled. How sweet for her to have taken notice. She shook her head.
"No, Erica. Please let me ride around again."
Erica just shrugged and turned back to the wheel. One more round then she would be forced off. It could possibly give her enough time to see if the girl ever got to meet her true love.
There was a boy of course. An underdog of sorts. The girl's best friend in fact. She never took notice of the sideways glances he stole while in the same proximity as her. Neither did she pick up on the subtle "I love you's" in the way he asked her not to forget extra clothes to fend off the cold, or how he would take notice of her different hairstyles.
If only there was an easier way for her to find true love...
Sarryn thumbed the page at the thought. Wasn't it true that there was only one certain way of knowing one's true love? Of course it was only a myth. At bedtime, her mother recited the fable of having a song from birth. It would be unique, she said. No one knew exactly where it came from, but it was hardwired into every soul upon creation. She forbade her of ever singing hers, saying to listen out for it as she went about the streets and through her day to day interactions. Her mother said that her soul mate would be the only one to know it.
To think she'd randomly meet a man humming a song she had probably just made up in her head as a child, while walking the streets of the city was quite possibly even more farfetched than the idea of a small girl slaying dragons and fighting giants to get to a prince.
Just then, the bus jerked to a stop.
"Hey! Dummy, what'chu think about coming out of the street like that? I could of hit you, you fool!" Erica admonished, shaking her fist as heavy footsteps ascended the bus steps.
A dark head of hair appeared over the front seat, and then a familiar voice apologized.
"Sorry, Erica, I didn't want you to miss me." Arrow gave a sheepish smile.
She shook her head and muttered something inaudible beneath her breath before stomping on the accelerator, giving the poor guy no time to take a seat.
"Arrow?" What was he doing out this hour?
Spotting Sarryn, he carefully maneuvered down the aisle and plopped in her seat with a lopsided grin that revealed indentations in either cheek.
"You know. Mom." He adjusted his glasses and avoided her gaze. "What do you got there?"
She cleared her throat and held out the book for him to look at. He took it out of her grasp and read the back of it. As he did, she couldn't help but watch him.
He had been through so much the last few months. After being admitted a month ago, his mother was still in the ICU and it was unlikely she would make a recovery. She admired his commitment to his family. In fact, she admired him for a lot. Always going out of his way to help anyone he could and helping her study through law school, he was certainly an amazing man. Anyone else could have easily allowed trials to harden their hearts and give up. Not Arrow.
Before then, she had missed his baggy eyes and sinking cheekbones. Behind his glasses taped in the middle, was a man who was tired and worn, but still carried a smile.
"Hopeless romantic still, I see," he chuckled, pulling her back into reality.
He handed the novel back to her and as he did, she pulled it against her chest and cradled it as if it were something precious.
She stuck out her tongue playfully at him. "I could have worse qualities."
"Like be a cat person instead of a dog person?"
"Hey! There's nothing wrong with cats!"
He raised a brow. "Agree to disagree."
She dodged her head to hide a smile and nudged his side with her shoulder. "As long as you don't judge me for having a hundred cats when I get older."
He grinned. "No promises.
"Well, at this rate I'll be a crazy cat lady." She looked outside, releasing a sigh. "Can't keep a relationship going to save my life."
"You and Nate?"
"He broke it off. It's whatever."
"I'm sorry, Sar," he said, his voice low and sincere.
She looked up at that, brown eyes meeting green. "Me too. Really."
Understanding what she meant, he nodded and looked down at his hands. "It's fine. I'm fine."
Biting her lip, she didn't answer him since the opposite was clearly true. Instead, Sarryn put her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. Without a word, he looped his arm around her and gave her a gentle squeeze. Simple as it was, the gesture stirred something within her. Something dangerous.
She immediately pulled back and cleared her throat. "So how's things at home?"
Arrow simply shrugged and looked forward, but she didn't miss the way his fingers fidgeted with the gold band around his finger. Only a week away, his wedding would take place. Until then, she hadn't thought about what that would mean. No more late study sessions at the local coffee shop and no more bus talks.
"Good. Wedding planning is crazy. She'll be happier when it's over."
She tried to smile but failed. Instead she leaned back against her seat and allowed the silence to wash over them.
Perhaps, she had been just as blind as the maiden in the book. Maybe, true love had been the boy who had punched her kindergarten boyfriend for kissing Susan beneath the slide. Maybe it was the boy who walked her home after a bad date in high school and wiped her tears after her first cat had died.
Maybe it had been sitting right beside her entire time.
No. That wasn't possible. He had never said anything. Wouldn't he have said something? Unless he didn't realize it himself.
"Um, Sarryn, is something wrong?"
Warmth crept up into her cheeks. Not realizing she had been staring at him, she quickly laughed and shook her head, albeit the laugh came out desperate and bordered derangement, even to her own ears.
"No, just thinking."
Goodness, she was awkward.
Fortunately, he let it go and watched the signs above. Her street was still blocks away and given she was suddenly disinterested in her book, she put her elbow on her lap and leaned her chin into her hand. Exhaustion swept over her, making it impossible to keep her eyes open.
Somewhere within her semiconscious state, she could feel someone pulling her against them and arms circling her.
A face flashed in her mind of who she wished it to be. It could never be Arrow. But in her dream it was and in it, he hummed softly against her hair.
The song he hummed sounded so familiar...
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