**Author's note at end


The day was just like any other day. The same blue sky dotted with white clouds, everything lit by the light of the sun. The only difference was the neighborhood and now she was lost. Glancing around at her surroundings she hesitantly came to another stop to better assess her surroundings. She frowned as she looked down at her watch, apprehension and frustration clear in her dark brown eyes as she looked around once more. She, Emina Chernenko, was lost in her new neighborhood. She wanted to get to the local grocery store for some ingredients for dinner. The sun was high in the sky and there was a good amount of time until dinner, a small stroll around had seemed like such an innocent idea at the time.

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she took a few deep breaths. This was a small setback, she would be back on her proper track in no time. Letting the negativity get to her would only make the situation more difficult. Squaring her shoulders, she adjusted the strap of her crossbody bag and looked straight ahead. Building up her determination to push through with positivity she started her walk once more.

Now, there has to be something I remember...a landmark or sign that stood out to me when I was looking around. She racked her brain for some recollection of anything sighing in frustration when it seemed like nothing was coming to her. Fussing with her olive brown hair, she pulled it all over one shoulder and loosely braided it as she stopped and properly look around at her surroundings. It was there she had noticed something or rather someone.

Her fingers stilled as her eyes widened in awe of the handsome man who was seated on a bench not too far away from her. She knew it was rude to stare, but she could not look away.

What a beautiful person…. He was in his own world, a cigarette held poised between two slender fingers with his eyes on the sky. His white hair glowed in the light of the sun, making him seem ethereal. The light wisps of smoke rose from the lit end, disappearing into the air. She was not not one for smoking, but watching him almost made the activity graceful and picturesque. As if all the hideous side effects and diseases it could cause were miniscule. Almost was the operative term, her logical brain kicking into high gear just as the handsome stranger turned to look at her. As if his looks were not stunning enough, his ruby eyes were icing on the 'blessed with all the good looks cake'. Her breath hitched in her throat as he looked directly at her, her cheeks burning a little for being caught.

"Can I help you?" His smooth voice was just as entrancing as his appearance. Emina could not help but think that some people were just born with all the luck in the world while she was another one of the average that populated this planet.

"Sorry, I was just spacing out for a moment!" She quickly shook her head, surprised that her voice and body were fully operational at the moment.

"Haha," he chuckled and ran his free hand through his bangs. "Were you mesmerized by my beauty?" He gave a smug smirk and suddenly all the beauty he held dimmed a little. "A lot of people tend to, don't feel bad. You can stare all you like, take a picture if you like. I mean it's cruel to keep all this beauty all to myself after all."

He's a total narcissist! Though he isn't wrong about what I was doing...was it that obvious? But way, he said a lot of people do it...hey! Don't go making excuses! Staring was wrong! She quickly reprimanded herself and gave a polite smile to the stranger. "No, no, I couldn't possibly take a picture." She nervously laughed off the offer. "I'm just a little loss is all." She clarified, wanting to redeem her status from the mass of crazy people he seemed to lump her with.

"Lost? Are you looking for someplace?" He turned a little in his seat to look at her more properly, cigarette forgotten in his hand.

"Uh, yeah...I'm looking for the grocery store." She quickly answered after some thought. She had no idea who he was and his sudden streak of narcissism only reminded her of her age old belief to never judge someone by their looks. She was not comfortable with letting him know where she lived.

"Oh, that's easy!" He smiled brightly and pointed in the direction she was walking. "Follow this street for two blocks, turn right, cross the street, and walk right. It should be on your left, roughly… three stores if my memory is right. It's not the biggest, but it definitely has a great variety."

"Oh, well, thank you!" She glanced down the road before looking back to him. "You're a lifesaver, my phone died and I didn't even realize it needed to be charged before heading out."

"Oh yeah, I do that a lot myself." He chuckled as he gave a slight sheepish grin. Everything he did was far too beautiful to fathom as real. Clearly her positive attitude paid off and she was now given directions by such a handsome young man.

"It's the worst right? Well, thank you again. Have a lovely day." She walked on after giving him a small wave she he happily gave back before resuming what was left of his smoke as she passed by. As she followed the simple directions she began to recognize a few things she had seen when she drove in. As the images matched with real world, she was able to quickly map out where she was and how to get to her apartment from here. Her chest swelled with happiness and relief as she stepped into the store and grabbed a hand basket. She now could grab what she needed and actually have some dinner at a reasonable time. While browsing the aisles her mind turned back to the angel of directions that saved her. It was all because of that guy though. He was really handsome, what luck to meet someone like him on my first day here! Though...he was a narcissist he was very kind. I guess he isn't all that bad… his hair was something though! And his eyes. I wonder if he was wearing contacts and did he dye his hair that color? Not that they looked bad, but to naturally have such colors? That's really absurd. She quickly shook her head at the thought of that bing his natural color. "Not possible!" She lightly laughed at her notions and concentrated on her shopping.

Soon she was out of the store with bags in hand and on her way to her new place. Yes, there was nothing except for boxes to greet her but that was nothing that bothered her. She wanted a fresh start and this was it. A new volume in the series that was her life with blank pages to fill with all sorts of things dictated by her and herself alone. The sight of the homely door brought a huge smile to her face as she slipped the key into the knob.


**Hello,

I know have quite a few works on here but I really wanted to put out a Mystic Messenger story as well since the characters are just so great and I'm always playing with all sorts of ideas with them. I hope you enjoy this story as well as anything else I've written.

Thank you.