1— Reckless tranquility.

It was sometime after noon, nearing evening. The tyrant-like Sun had let its subjects off, as it took its rest behind the clouds. The birds began to fly lower, avoiding the darker-looking clouds, as though they were mischief-makers. The cheerful whistle in the wind changed to eerie howls and just like the birds that hid in the shelter of the trees, the people walking on the roads knew rain was coming.

All hurried their footsteps, the constant yet dreadful sounds of shuffling and stomping reverberating, except for one person who stood at the side of the sidewalk, simply watching with a recorder in her hand. The repose of her features greatly contrasted those of the passersby, the bustle on the streets making her frown ever so softly. Just as quickly as it appeared, the slight disturbance of her peaceful appearance vanished, and she smiled.

Some kept up firm expressions, some annoyed, the rest bore empty faces. To her, those were probably the worst of all. It was fine to be frustrated, bored or exasperated, even, at the world… or even better, infuriated. Yet as she watched with her pink lips sealed, the faces blurred past her, all around her as though their souls had left, leaving their hearts vacant.

It was saddening, however maddening at the same time.

“April 23^rd, 2012. It’s been a fine day so far, and I’m standing… somewhere. It seems to be the city center though, since everyone’s just buzzing about. They’re all so… dead.”

The boy trudged his way through the crowd, his head bowed down. His hands were in his pockets, as though to warm them up despite the fact that it already spring. The girl recalled the eyebrows she’d seen slanting downward, hiding behind another pillar. Maybe his hands are cold, or maybe… just maybe, he wants to warm his heart.

Having such a thought in mind, she continued tailing after him and jumped slightly at the sudden flash. At the exact same moment, he looked up and she swore, she saw a smile light up his face. Quickly taking her recorder out, she recorded the sound of continuous thunders and grinned. If anybody were to walk by now, they would think she was a lunatic. Maybe she was one, since she didn’t know either. All she knew was that the many different sounds belonging to this world were too spectacular. How could she let them go?

The boy’s curse that reached her ear woke her up, and she resumed her stalking. She preferred calling herself the not-so-official paparazzi that was only interested in the not so rich and not so famous. Oh, and without the branded, expensive cameras. Those were creepily silent while snapping.

He’d grabbed her attention, because the sad frown on that pretty face made her feel that they were similar. In a sense, they were. And that was due to the fact that she knew from one glance that the face so void of emotions, the mouth covered with a mask, was trying its best to remain that way. She felt that, they were way too similar.

I wanted to see his lips curve up, not just his eyes softening and eyebrows relaxing. But, she supposed, it was better than nothing.

She almost hadn’t noticed the clouds darkening further. While she crept behind him, she observed the falling drops of rain, staining the pavement a dirty white… or greyish yellow. Whipping her buddy out, she clicked on the button and stood still, before squatting down. She listened close, as the water hit the pavement with a soft sound. If sounds could be attractive, or unattractive, she supposed this would be both.

It was then that she noticed the boy’s still body, and she felt the thrill of finding out new things switch to horror of being found out. Wait… he didn’t notice me. He remained standing there, and his hands left the pockets after half a minute. She watched as those slender fingers slowly took the black mask off. She longed to… no, she ached to see the face hiding behind it but he didn’t turn around.

You know what? that. logic. Stopping the recording, she took a huge gulp of air, inflating her courage, and ran so she would be in front of him. If she were anybody else, she would’ve thought it was crazy. After all, they were strangers. But that made it all the more exciting, didn’t it? They were strangers. They probably wouldn’t ever meet again.

She’d almost forgotten about his blonde hair, so when she saw him she froze on her feet for a second… or two. His dark brown eyes stared right into hers, the shock apparent. His fringe covered part of his thick black eyebrows, the two contrasting greatly. His lips were so different from what she had imagined, but nevertheless perfect.

He was painfully handsome, so beautiful.

So much so, that it was nearly a pity that she would never see him again.