Read my lips – Part one
Carter is sure something is about to happen. It’s just like before. And be damned if this is a coincidence. He tries to think of something he can do before it’s too late. The wooded clearing is like any other that would be in a dense forest. There are weeds and wildflowers and trees all around. The scent of pine is strong but it’s that other, sweeter scent, that has him. And it has him good. He decides to try something, it’s a crazy idea, but he has to try.
Quickly he gathers a few things. He is trying to shield his actions for the moment. When it is time he wants it to happen all at once. That would be the best chance to find out. Find out what? The question seems to float into his mind. Furthermore, it has a snide tone to it. This surprises him, because it’s his own inner voice doing the talking.
As he quickly works on his plan, he can’t help but wonder if he really has lost it. Being eccentric is one thing, but having a screw loose is another. He doesn’t think he’s wrong. In fact, everything finally makes some kind of sense. However, he has no proof. None whatsoever. Just a gut feeling, and that sweet, beautiful scent.
Read My Lips
Hannah turns the page and dog ears the next. There are only five minutes left on her break. It would be just enough for one more page. She wasn’t quite half way through the book, but it was already almost impossible to put down. In fact, she’s never read a story like this one. Not only is it incredibly intuitive, but also it seems to adapt to her thoughts.
She creases the top corner of the page. Not for the first time she hears her mother’s words in her mind. “It’s a disgrace to mar a book so, Hannah Jenson.” So Hannah carefully creases the top corner. Besides, who had time for bookmarks? Furthermore, she needed to know what Carter is up to. So much has happened in the story. Similarly she has taken such a liking to Carter that she can barely turn the page at times.
Coincidence of a Kind
She checks her phone again. Three minutes left. If only her boss were not there today. Then she could push the break time a little more. Back on the page Carter is up to something. She has to know what is happening. Especially after what happened yesterday. That spooked her. A little. Of course it was only a coincidence.
It was a trick from the author. An incredibly talented author, but that was all, just a unique, writer’s trick. Hannah felt impressed, but Carter was a main character. A fictional character to boot. Similarly Hannah has no idea who the author is. On the inside of the cover it reads, anonymous. And it’s right where the author’s name would be. However, the story is beyond compelling. And she knows what happened yesterday is no mere coincidence.
Read Me
Carter is almost done. Furthermore, he feels like there is still time. The closing hasn’t happened yet. He has come to think of it that way, a closing of some kind. Likewise he can feel it more every time it happens. It is usually at that moment when the incredibly alluring scent seems to fade away. Then yesterday when he was in the library, something happened. Furthermore, he felt positive it was not from the library.
Now, as crazy as it seems, he is going to try something. Besides, who’s going to know what he’s doing? He’s out here in the middle of nowhere. And he’s got nothing to lose. Therefore he places the last few pieces in their place, and prepares to move. He feels a sense of trepidation. This is so crazy but it feels so right. He puts the last piece in place and stands up. Then he turns around and gazes skyward while pointing to his message. If he’s right she will see it. And then he will know.
Message
It’s almost more than she can stand. Time is ticking away. Carter finishes and now points to his message. Hannah feels stirring deep in her chest. A sense of intuition, and deep connection, begins to form in her as she reads the last few sentences of the chapter.
It isn’t fear she feels, as her eyes take in the words of the story. She feels a great many things for Carter, but fear isn’t one of them. Therefore, she doesn’t expect what she reads next. As Carter stands up in the clearing, he turns and gazes upward toward her. (Toward Hannah?) And he points to the message he made out of small sticks from the forest.
The message is very clear. It consists of sticks and twigs from the forest floor. She feels startled when she reads the words. So she snaps the book closed. In fact, she is so shook, she begins to shake, as she sees them in her imagination: “READ MY LIPS – HANNAH”
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