Between a Breath
Belle stares out of the library window. The familiar grey sky of Storybrooke stretches without end. She frowns, hands clenched and trembling. They keys jingle in her left hand. She snuck out of the hospital and yet nothing is familiar.
"No," she sighs. "I suppose not. It was a crazy idea."
She pauses. On the other side of the street is Mr Gold. A dusty heap of fabric is slung over his arm. She gasps, hands flying to her mouth as her heart palpitates and worry floods her veins. The keys clatter to the old library floor.
One hand to her head she slowly slumps to the ground. "What was that? It… I…"
She shakes her head but the image, clear as ever, remains. The anxiety strengthens and multiplies and questions appear in her mind from nowhere: each begging to be asked. Her stomach twists and she knows that something is terribly, terribly wrong.
The door chimes and Mr Gold peers in. "Belle, is that you?"
She stumbles to her feet, back pressed to a bookshelf. "What are you doing here? What do you want?"
He raises his free hand. "I thought I saw you fall. I must have been mistaken. I'm sorry,"
She watches him and feels a strange, stifling feeling rising once again. Her eyes flicker across the ground searchingly.
"What is that you've got?" she averts her gaze. "Um, it's… It's old. Are you taking it to be cleaned somewhere?"
He smiles at it. "No. It's a bit too old for that. The fabric isn't right,"
A smile finds itself flourishing on Belle's face. The unusually tender touch to his eyes warms her heart. She recognises the expression and the subtle meanings where words pause for breath.
He pauses. "Are you looking for a dry cleaner? I can take you to one if you want,"
She shakes her head. "No, it's okay. I don't really need to go,"
He nods and a tinge of disappoint takes to him. "Well, I shan't take up any more of your time,"
The door closes. His figure strides past the window. His disappointment stands starkly within him. In the silence and the emptiness more questions arise.
Author's Note: This really is from Spirited Away and Xú Chǎngqīng and Zǐ Xuān. Their feelings were more powerful than their emotions. Xú Chǎngqīng forgot about Zǐ Xuān as his memories had been erased, but he regained them because his love for her was always there and his love for her triggered his memories. I really, really wish that this was more like that though. I'll probably write about that some other time.
Thank you for reading my story. Thank you for choosing to read my story. I hope that you like my story even though my story is very simple and short. I apologise if you have not enjoyed reading my story.