At the base of the wall, a bronze colored radiator sputtered and kicked itself into a gentle hum. In this facility, everything felt dense and slow. The hum of the radiator sunk into its surroundings, muffled by densely packed carpet and the surrounding old wooden shelves. A young woman pushed through the glass door and took her place in the back office, switching on a panel of light switches and lighting up row after row of shelves. She took her place at her desk and signed her name, Elva, into the employee log of the Green Bank Public Library.
She carried a sturdiness and elegance in her small frame. Her fuzzy mousy brown hair was loosely tied at the back of her neck. The loose curls at the front framed her paper white cheeks, parted by her thick glasses that outlined her large doe-like brown eyes. She wore a thin black shirt that clung to her plump skin and a long knit skirt that just gave hints at her wide curves. Everything about her was soft, every inch of her skin supple and covered in a light layer of peach fuzz.
She was friendly and sweet, but very clearly shy. She had a soft spot for children, occasionally holding small library workshops for them. But when it came to the everyday social requirement that it took to run the library, she backed up into her shell a bit. The library was her pride, the result of her hard work, and she took her job very seriously. She was dutiful, level-headed, and proactive, making sure even the smallest problems in the library and her real life were resolved.
The sun passed through the sky over the library until its rays shined a harsh hot orange through its windows. Guests had trickled in and trickled out, adding an array of new entries to Elva's to do list. As it approached the end of the day, she sat in her office organizing her plans for the following day.
A tall figure emerged from deep within the heavy forest of books and approached the reception desk. Elva noticed her and rolled her chair over to meet her. This woman came alone to read often enough that Elva could recognize her. In passing, she always took note of her wide back and shoulders. She had smooth olive brown skin and choppy black hair that framed her face and neck in a messy but elegant way. Her features were strong and symmetrical, a large nose with sharp but calm eyes. She also was also a head taller than Elva's 5'4".
This woman's muscular figure often captured the attention of the shy librarian. For fear of being caught staring at the larger woman, she only ever stole glances at her. She was acutely aware of the butterflies in her stomach that arose whenever she entered the library. Even now as she stood in front of her, Elva had trouble meeting her eyes. She was sure that her cheeks were red despite being able to maintain her composure.
"I'm returning this," the woman spoke in a husky voice. Elva scanned the barcode of her book and her profile appeared on the screen of her computer, revealing the name Valerie Mostafa.
"Sure thing," Elva replied in a smooth, quiet voice. She rolled her chair toward the back and placed the book on the cart behind her.
Valerie towered over Elva in her office chair. It didn't seem like she was intentionally imposing on her, it was more a consequence of her size and stature. She slid on her dark jacket and took out an umbrella from her backpack.
As Elva handed her library card across the desk, she was able to look into her eyes. The sun was setting into a hazy red. She noticed the woman's dark brows and eyelashes.
"Thank you," Valerie said with a gentle smile.
Elva quickly glanced away like she had looked directly into the sun. She watched as she opened her umbrella and pushed open the heavy glass door out onto the sidewalk. After she was outside, she was able to catch her breath and close the doors for the night. She took some time to finish a task she had abandoned and organize for the next day before heading outside.
Elva's shoes squelched through wet fallen leaves as she walked down the night street. She was intimately familiar with this walk; it being the last step in a long calculated routine that she repeated every day. Once she left the library parking lot, her path became a dim empty expanse of sidewalk that she navigated well. The path would continue this way all the way to her apartment, only punctuated by a white glowing gas station about a third of the way there. She started on her walk into the dusk.
She started up a hill and eventually saw the glow of the gas station over the horizon. As she made her way up, an even brighter glow shone at her back, casting a long glistening shadow down the road. She didn't break her pace until the car slowed to creep along next to her. Her breath hitched as the passenger's window rolled down and two men were revealed to be inside. The passenger smiled at her as the driver kept pace with her. "Hey, could you help me with directions? Me and my friend are lost," the passenger asked in an innocent tone.
Elva froze in place, looking between the two men in alert silence. "Where are you headed?" she asked cautiously.
The passenger waved for her to approach the car with an intense look in his eye. Elva instinctively took a step forward until the passenger door began to open. The man leaped out at her, grabbing her arm and digging his nails into her flesh. He attempted to pull her with one strong backwards movement, but Elva let out a scream and stumbled back. Her momentum knocked her down onto the sidewalk, scraping her hands and elbows as she landed and soaking the back of her skirt in a puddle. She managed to scramble to her feet and darted up the hill, escaping into the safe bubble that the gas station provided.
She burst through the door with her heart pounding and tears in her eyes. Tangled words poured out of her mouth as her tears erupted and her body started to tremble as adrenaline ran through her blood. Inside, standing at the register, was Valerie.
"Whoa, are you okay?" Valerie dropped her items on the counter and helped the pale smaller woman into a chair. "What happened?"
Elva's breath hitched and she looked outside to see the offending car's headlights passing back and forth, up and down the street in front of the gas station. Valerie noticed as well.
"They grabbed me, I-I think they were trying to pull me into the car," Elva managed to squeak out.
Valerie sighed in frustration and took the seat beside her. Elva sniffled and rubbed her eyes, revealing to Valerie the scrapes on her hands and elbows.
"Hey, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Valerie took her hands and looked into her eyes.
Elva sniffled and shook her head shyly. "I'm okay." She looked down at her hands and saw pinpricks of red poking through the dirty scrapes from her fall. Valerie noticed at the same time. She blushed and averted her gaze.
"Do you live far from here?" Valerie spoke up.
