The Nod - short story

He was a rare breed. His exterior was elusive and complex. His attention span was as nonexistent as her imperfections through his biased longing eyes. The boy was mesmerised. Hooked on her like a drug addict from the moment she gave him that nod. The nod, that still after five hours left him in a puddle of confusion. He had to know her. He was determined to get from acquaintance to something deeper, a lot deeper.

She was metres in front of him, he was following. He was dedicated, determined to know more. He was addicted from the beginning, from the title, the nod.

She walked with unbelievable grace, without a doubt she was flawless, he thought. No one had ever grabbed his attentions like she did. She grabbed it with her delicate slender fingers and rushed away. So he had to follow her home, know her address, know where to post his love letters dripping with the undying love he had for her. The foolish love. She was walking so casually and she came to an abrupt stop like his heart. He anticipated on her turning around, but she didn't. He was excited and he had been swimming in his fantasy land where their future love was already in play. A black cat. He realised she had paused for this revoltingly, deadly cat. Why wasn't she backing away? Why wasn't she screaming? he pondered. The boy highly disliked felines, he was a dog person. He thought she was too. In his daydreams, she and he were walking their dogs together at the beach with the breathtaking sunset setting an exquisite scene. But he walking a dog and she walking a cat would not do. That picture was not perfect. She patted the cat as if it was a lovable marshmallow. Was she blind? he considered. Cats were disgusting through his eyes. She was a cat person, he had to accept this. He put his head down and had his eyes focused on the uneven floor. He continued to follow her from behind, blending in with the grey crowd, hoping to not appear as a stalker without a life. But her beauty had consumed him. He was desperate to know more about this girl who changed him so drastically and so quickly. But a cat person? She can not be a cat person, he decided.

Her eyes were dark, like black holes they sucked him in and blinded him with the darkness. The boy was so sure she was the one for him. The one he never bothered to look for. And she found him, and she nodded at him. This intoxicating gesture she made was on replay for him mentally. He was convinced this thing was real.

The boy nervously hid himself behind a bush the beautiful leaves and branches covered his view of her. He could barely see her but he could see that she was approaching someone. A male. He pushed the covering vegetation away to have a clearer view of her purity. Her head slightly tipped back. It happened too fast, it was too sporadic. The nod. She had given that dream bruising stranger his nod. He could feel the build up of undesirable frustration, surprisingly it was not a pang of jealousy, it was simply a painful pinch that made him realise, his infatuation for her was as artificial as she was.