A little too close

Caliope picked up her bag, and went to the door to grab the delivery. The young man was in a hurry; he gave her the box and got annoyed when he noticed she didn't have exact change. She gave him no tip.

After locking the door, Caliope walked back into the kitchen. As soon as she entered, there it was again, that feeling of thick air, the hair on the back of her neck rising. Amra was looking through the window outside. His eyes lost in the sight of some place in his mind. Continuing her good mood, she put the box on the table.

"We are lucky they are near us, so the delivery didn't take long... let me put this on a plate for you, and I will show you how to eat it."

Amra held silent for a moment then added "Open the mouth, put the food in, close the mouth, chew and swallow."

Caliope couldn't help laughing; it was a joyful laugh that made Amra turn his head to watch her. He smiled and she continued to laugh, a bit less, but with a blush after seen him smile.

"That is how one eats, that is true Amra." She smiled at him. "But what I mean is, every food has different ways of being tasted, and this salad is no different. I will explain to you. Come take a seat."

Amra walked slowly towards her and sat down next to her, watching her hands with new found curiosity. Caliope spoke to him while she laid the salad on the plate and poured the sauce on top.

"This special type of salad is quite simple, not many ingredients, but what makes it different is the special sauce it has, it is made with herbs and some spices, and it enhances the flavor of the most simple vegetables. You don't want too much sauce in each bite, so you need to be careful to pour it evenly around the plate."

"I want to try it."

Caliope looked at him and he did not move, after some long seconds of awkward silence she carefully held the fork with some of the salad in it, and guided it to his mouth. His eyes locked on hers as he parted his lips and took the bite. She felt her heart pound fast, her breath was heavier. His jaw tensed quickly, and then moved slowly as he chewed. When he smiled, her heart skipped another beat. He swallowed slowly.

"More."

There was something in his tone of voice that made her skin blossom with goosebumps again. She nodded smiling as she got another piece for him, and he half closed his eyes as this time he chewed it for a bit longer.

"What do you think? Do you like it?"

He opened his eyes fully again and nodded with an innocent smile. She looked down to the plate to grab another piece when he moved his hand and stopped her. Her eyes met his once more, and he slowly caressed her knuckles as he moved his fingers to the fork she was holding, taking it from her hand.

"Thank you."

His words barely a whisper, as he picked up another piece of the salad and brought it to his lips. She sat next to him and smiled as she watched him eat, each bite was a new found flavor for him, he was enjoying it and she could see him so joyful into this new adventure. There was something in the way he smiled, how he was discovering this for the first time. He felt so full of happiness for such a simple thing like eating a salad. There was nothing wrong with him; he was perfect, pure and innocent. She couldn't see anything wrong with him at all. Yes he was cryptic sometimes, he did not know her well yet, and he said things in such a way that it had made her confused before. Such as what she thought was a warning a few days ago before the incident, but there was really nothing much to look into. He was different, but he was good, he felt good.

Amra finished his plate and looked down a little disappointed. She smiled at him and poured some juice into a glass, passing it to him. He took the juice and drank it slowly. She could almost taste the juice as it fell down his throat. And he put the empty glass down on the table, his eyes smiled at hers and she giggled softly. She felt blushing more as his eyes were on her. He lifted his hand as if stopping something, or someone. Only then she realized there was someone else in the room. She looked at the door and there was Miss Clark. She was serious, worried even, her eyes wouldn't part from Amra's, but he was not looking at her, he was looking at Caliope.

"Caliope, can you leave my son and I alone for a moment please?"

Caliope stood up slowly and looked down feeling somehow embarrassed. Amra released a soft, almost imperceptible sigh. He kept smiling at Caliope and shook his head at his mother.

"Yes Miss Clark."

"Thank you."

Amra nodded to Caliope and she felt as it was hurting her to leave the room, or was it hurting her to leave Amra? She walked pass Miss Clark into the other room where there was a tall and dark haired man sitting on the main sofa. He smiled a polite smile to her and stood up.

"Hello?"

"Miss Woodward, pleasure to meet you, I am Pronab, friend of the family."

He was friendly but distant at the same time, and though he looked at her, his gaze kept returning to the kitchen door as if expecting they would soon come out. Caliope was still a little surprised, and excused herself to the library, where she tried to center her focus back on what she was supposed to finish, cataloging the books and nothing else. What had happened there? Amra did nothing wrong, he was being friendly for once, almost normal. Why would Miss Clark get worried and hurry home? She picked up a book and took notes of the author's name when her cellphone rang again. It was Vanessa.

"Hi there!

"Are you coming today?"

"Of course I will, I promised I would, didn't I?"

"It is almost 5 and visitors hours end at 7 little Miss Smartass."

"What?!"

Taking her phone away she looked at the clock, it was certainly 10 to 5. How and where did the time go so fast? Did she really stand there in the library so long without working? That was so embarrassing and she felt ashamed at herself for wasting such valuable time. She had lost all track of time, she felt as if it only were minutes ago. Where did her mind wonder? This was becoming worrying, she had been feeling strange lately, too aware of nothing in particular, tense, worried, imagining things.

"Are you still breathing?! Hey! Caly!"

Quickly putting the phone back to her ear she was a little too surprised still.

"I am sorry, I..." she paused and looked around still shocked. "I lost track of time at work. I will be there soon, I promise. I have to go."

And she hung up the phone, left the book on the desk and went to the living room. Pronab was still there, but nothing of Miss Clark or Amra was to be seen or heard.

"Everything ok Miss Woodward?"

"I seem to have lost track of time, and I need to go visit a friend at the hospital before visiting hours end. I wanted to ask Miss Clark if I could leave for today. She is still there?

Pronab nodded then quickly added.

"Don't worry; go on, I will tell Elaine you left, all will be ok. Nice meeting you."

"Thank you."

Caliope rushed out still worried at her lack of attention lately. She felt as if all of this was getting more intense as the days went by. After grabbing a taxi, she pleaded to the driver to make sure she got to the hospital on time before the visiting hours ended. Once they got there at 5:35, she left the driver a 100% tip as a thank you gesture and rushed inside to see her friend.

"I almost thought you wouldn't make it honey."

"Let me catch my breath then I will nudge you for that."

"Oh you can't blame me; you were the one who forgot about me."

"I did not! I was working and the time just moved too fast for me."

"Yeah right. So? Did you bring me something to snack at? Hospital food is horrific!"

"I am sorry but no, you won't be getting any special treats from this bad friend."

Vanessa jumped out of her bed with a grin "You are the best friend in the world! What did you bring me?!"

Caliope grinned and passed her a paper bag with some junk food inside, Vanessa's favorite. She hugged her tight and began digging into the food as they talked some. Five minutes passed from 7pm when the nurse knocked on the door to let her know that visiting hours had ended.

"Please don't forget about me tomorrow ok? I am going be released at 3pm."

"I will be here as I promised, I won't let you go back to your hotel without me."

"Bye darling, have a great night."

"You too, enjoy your last night in this luxury!"

Vanessa smirked as Caliope left. She got into another cab and went home. She was relaxed and took a bite of some takeout food she grabbed on the way back. She went to sleep after cleaning up some dishes. Once in her bed, she cuddled the sheets and smiled. The memory of Amra's smile, his eyes, his touch, it brought a slight shiver to her skin. 'Don't over think this' she thought to herself 'he is strange, he felt nice, but don't take it too far'.

Next morning, right on time, she got into Miss Clark's car with her routine ride to the residence. Marco was the name of the driver; she figured that if he was going to pick her up every morning, she might as well find out his name. Marco was not as old as many of the people who worked for Miss Clark; in fact, the family friend she met yesterday wasn't too old either, Pronab. She asked herself if she would ever see him again.

After the way she left yesterday, Caliope was expecting Miss Clark to reprimand her, or ask her to be more careful. But once she got inside the residence, Miss Clark smiled at her on her way out.

"I have some meetings to attend to Caliope, please keep me posted if anything happens. Have a good day."

"Miss Clark?"

"Yes Caliope?"

"My friend is checking out of the hospital today at 3pm. I was hoping I could pick her up."

"Don't worry, I will have Pronab come here at 2:30pm so you can leave."

"Thank you Miss Clark!"

"Bye for now Caliope, keep up your good work, my library is already looking better!"

She closed the door on her way out and Caliope felt relieved. Leaving her bag on the little side table where she always left it, she washed her hands and walked to the library. There was only one small window located in the library, an old Victorian window with carved frames. The light came in right down to the desk located in the middle of the room. And right there from the door, she felt confused and strange as if there was someone in the window. As soon as the thought came to her mind, she realized it was Amra, no one else caused that impression on her.

After some hesitation, she walked into the dark room. He did not move, but she knew he was aware of her presence.

"I am sorry... for yesterday."

"I am sorry too Amra, perhaps I shouldn't have given you any food without consulting with your mother."

He chuckled "Food has nothing to do with this. I only came to apologize, for my mother. I did nothing wrong, and neither did you. She worries too much."

"I will be having that more in mind from now on. Did you have any breakfast yet?" She smiled.

It was then when Amra turned his gaze from the window to smile at her, and she felt as she was struck by an invisible force that made her knees shake.

"It is very nice of you, but I should leave and let you work."

Caliope bite her lower lip and nodded a little disappointed. Amra closed his eyes and turned back to the window. She had to remember her own words, not overthink things, and act normal. Some seconds of silence were needed for her to pick up another of the books left on the table and she walked to her notepad and continued writing author and title. Amra stood there, in silence, then turned to look at her again as she got immersed in her apparent task. She knew he was watching her, and it made her nervous. It was one book after the other, slowly, putting them in order. One more book on the table, noting the name of the author, name of the title. Another book, same steps, author, title. Suddenly she felt as if something was clouding the light, she turned her head and found him looking over her shoulders to what she was taking notes on. And she felt as her heart stopped. His eyes went from the notes to her, and everything went still. She couldn't breathe.

"Amra. Please... I need space." She breathed half panicked.

He didn't even blink once. Slowly he stepped back and walked towards the door. As he was about to leave the room, she felt panic increase.

"Please! I am sorry, don't go!"