Imperfect Unity

[Nathalie Blanchard]

It was 6 AM of a murky October day. The year was 2027. First thought that occurred to Nathalie as she woke up was that she should go back to sleep, but she was feeling too undeniably hungry to do so. And so she emerged groggily from bed. She freshened up, showered, and threw on an outfit.

She stood in front of the mirror, sweeping her long pale hair over her shoulder as she checked her reflection. She was wearing a pink sundress that came to her knees and white leggings, ready for the long day ahead of her.

There was a cafe just around the corner from where she stays and it is also known to open quite early. Sitting in the cozy corner of the quiet cafe, Nathalie sip her cup of tea before settling into her book; being a 5th year student, her life has been so hectic that she could feel her body is not responding to what her heart desires anymore.

But to be able to enjoy moments like these; with the raindrops pattering onto the busy path outside the cafe, Nathalie is very grateful, save for the affection stares from some people that she didn't have a clue about in the cafe.

but she has a lovely face
god in his mercy lend her grace

The pages, covered in spider-like scrawl, fluttered under her tentative fingers. They were old and yellowed and fragile. It felt like she was holding an entire world in her hands, a world of words and endless possibilities.

The pour of rain outside fell from the dark morning sky. Droplets of water pounded into the worn and cracked pavement. Dry caked earth was quickly being turned into runny mud, as water pooled up on the surface of the Earth.

 

[Alfie Martins]

Alfie frowned and pulled up the collar of his leather jacket and tried to keep his jeans dry, it was a lost cause for his converses. He had just managed to escape the house this morning and was now stuck out in the rain. He couldn't go back, he'd end up stuck with the kids, so he had to stay out in it.

Alfie ducked into a cafe, the only thing open this time in the morning, and shook himself off, much like a dog. He straightened out his soaking clothes and wondered if anyone would notice him doing magic. He couldn't, even if he wanted to, he didn't know any drying spells. Jessi was the one that was good at charms, he was good with offensive spells and Teddy, well, Teddy was good at everything. It sometimes bugged him how good Teddy was but he knew the boy had worked for it.

Alfie looked around the cafe, there was only one other person there. It was a girl, round his own age, who seemed to be engrossed in a book. He couldn't be bothered to try and be civil his early in the morning, especially when he didn't even know the person, so he sat down at a table close to her and rested his eyes while he leant back against the wall. It had been a long night with Oscar being ill, it meant no one else got any sleep, whether on baby watch or not.

The sound of the rain soothed Alfie greatly. In fact, it soothed him enough that he almost fell asleep right there in the cafe. He would've if his chair hadn't jolted suddenly, causing him to fall forward with his arms out and his eyes wide open in surprise. His heart raced until he caught himself and realized he wasn't falling, the chair had simply moved slightly. He sighed and his heart beat softened before he looked over to see if the girl there had noticed his little fall.

 

[Nathalie Blanchard]

Nathalie was just getting into the interesting part of the book that she was currently reading when the door to the cafe had opened with a cheery jingle and a boy, roughly around her age, entered. It was quite unusual for her, after all, most of the time, if not always, she's the only one who would usually stay in that place at that early in the morning. Nevertheless, she decided to not mind the said boy at all, after all, he seemed to not mind her presence too.

With a shrug, she decided to turn her attention back to her book, just occasionally glancing towards the boy's direction as if to see and confirm whether she had seem him before. The gentle sound of the rain pouring outside was just the only sound that she could hear, the other residents of the town had after all, seemed to find comfort in sleeping in their beds, or just staying at their homes while enjoying their own cup of hot chocolates, the weather was quite cold after all that it can probably entrance anyone to stay idle and sleep.

Just as she was about to take out her pad to see whether she had anything else scheduled for the day, Nathalie's attention was once again, turned back to the boy. He seemed to have fallen asleep after all, and the sight makes her kind of smile, just seeing how he seemed to be so comfortable in his position. However, the sudden movement of the chair where he was sitting at had caused her to giggle, what more when she saw the boy stumble out of shock. "Are you alright?" She said, the light tinge of her French accent ringing in the air.