I'm not an assuming girl. Though I dream of fairytale lands and whimsical times, I find visiting them in my head easier than recreating my world to match my imaginations. Throwing on a big t-shirt and reading a smutty fantasy novel is easier than wearing flirty dresses and knee high stockings. I can pretend to be someone beautiful instead of trying in vain to make myself beautiful. I console myself by wearing lacy things beneath the t-shirt--an obnoxious metaphor, I tell myself.
Sometimes, though, I think I'd like to be that kind of girl. One of my neighbors--she's that kind of girl. I wonder often what it would be like to be her. Tall and goddess-like, perfectly curled onyx hair glinting in the sunlight, brown skin warm and soft to the touch. She has these terrifyingly dark eyes and a bit of a smirk on her mouth that either betray her entire aesthetic, or highlight it. I'm not sure which yet. Regardless, her expressions are often at odds with the yards of white gauze, sage tulle, and dandelion silk she normally wears.
I see the men and women staring at her as she walks by them, but no one ever dares approach. I've never seen anyone go in or out of her apartment, and I admit I watch it often enough. Sometimes, I think she watches me too, though I can't fathom why. When she comes home from work, I'm often sitting out on my porch, drinking a far too complicated latte and reading. Sometimes my snake joins me and she asks about him, but more often than not, she smiles sweetly and disappears into her apartment.
I glance down at the reptile in question and give him a pat on his tiny black head. I'm not sure if my fixation on this girl is obsession, interest, or simple curiosity, but I do know that I want to know everything about her. And it seems as though the more I bring Jeff (the snake) outside, the more I learn.
"Hello sweet boy."
I look up to see my object of interest, Aviva, leaning over my small fence, her slender fingers reaching for Jeff. I smile and offer her the snake. "Jeff says hello."
Aviva beams and lets him wrap around her wrist. Even snakes like her. "The only boy I want to see after a long day of work."
I laugh. "I tell him that all the time."
"I really need to look into adopting one of his friends," she says, attempting half-heartedly to disentangle herself. "Or a family member."
"Or him. He seems to really like you."
"I know." She laughs. "I might have to take him home tonight, he doesn't seem to want to let go."
Jeff seems as magnetized to Aviva as I do. Despite multiple attempts from both of us, he refuses to unwrap from her arm. I stand, suddenly and awkwardly aware that I'm not wearing pants, and the only thing covering my legs was a blanket. Aviva's eyes dart down and back up. It's quick enough that I think I'm imagining things, and I grab the blanket back, blood rising to my cheeks. "You can come inside," I say uncomfortably. "I know what will get him to let go."
I run into the apartment and yank some athletic shorts on, cursing under my breath before practically flinging the door open and inviting Aviva into my home.
"It smells amazing in here," she remarks as we head toward Jeff's habitat. "Like wisteria and old books."
"Candles," I answer. "And old books."
Jeff takes only a little coaxing once his sun lamp is nearby, and within a few seconds, Aviva is peering down at him as he slithers under a rock. The azure chiffon of her dress tightens over her back, her spine delicately bent. "You're really cool, you know," she says without taking her eyes off Jeff. "Owning a snake, always reading. Sometimes I see you roller skate. All I do is work and then fall asleep on my couch."
"You're welcome to borrow my books any time you want."
"I don't really have time to read."
"Sometimes carrying one is comforting."
Aviva stands at that, brows nudging down.
"I mean," I stammer, "sometimes it's like having old friends with you. Or not. That's weird. Sorry, sometimes I just--"
"It's not weird," she interrupts. "Show me your library, I might actually borrow one."
I lead her on wobbly legs to the second bedroom, which I've built up to serve as both a library and an office. Floor to ceiling walnut bookshelves line two walls of the room, each shelf stuffed with books. Six or seven piles of books are scattered on the floor, waiting for me to buy them a home. I've been too lazy thus far, to bother setting up more shelves, but now I'm a little embarrassed. I pull one of my books off the nearest shelf and thumb through it. "This one is really good. The culture is a little unfamiliar, but the author makes it really easy to--"
"This one is far more interesting."
I look up to find her nose buried in a book called The Governor's Daughter and nearly drop the one I'm holding. "Oh my god. Those are just--I get those as gifts from my friends, as pranks, and I--"
"Don't be sorry at all. These are exactly like the kinds of books I read."
"...Really?"
"Oh yeah," she says with a tinge of eagerness to her voice. "I've actually read this one. I like to pretend I'm the councilman's son, ravishing Jeanette beneath the courthouse every afternoon."