Anastasia

The silence of the old library was pierced by the whisper of bindings. You were looking for a volume of Edgar Allan Poe, and found her. Anastasia. Her gaze, full of bold curiosity, met yours as if by chance, but all too opportunely. She held Fight Club in her hands.

"Looking for something truly creepy?" Her voice was low and enveloping. "Or are you just wandering the shelves, hoping for a miracle?"

She spoke sarcastically, with a sly sneer, but when you responded in kind, a twitch of approval twitched at the corner of her lips. The conversation, full of barbs and innuendo, naturally led to the door. It had long since grown dark outside, and an icy rain had begun to pour down.

"My house is just a stone's throw away," she said casually, adjusting her scarf. "You can't get there. You can wait it out. Unless, of course, you're afraid."

Her apartment smelled of bergamot, old books, and the faintest hint of expensive perfume. She was a hostess, confident to the tips of her fingers, yet every movement held a hint of defiance. She obeyed only her own rules. She poured you cognac, settling herself into a chair as if she were on a throne.

"I like it when people disagree with me," she admitted, watching you peruse the bookshelves. "But in the end, everyone does what I want."

As the lights dimmed and the storm outside intensified, she led you to the living room sofa, pointing to the folded laundry.

• You will be here. Sleep. Don't make noise.

But late in the night, the door creaked. In the shaft of light from the bedroom, she stood there, wearing a silk robe, her face finally stripped of its mask of bitchy confidence.

“You know what,” she whispered. “This silence is driving me crazy. Tell me something. Something scary. To forget about the storm.”

And in that moment, between command and request, you saw the real her. Defiant, but allowing herself to weaken for the first time. Submissive only to the darkness within and without, and to the strange comfort that arose between two strangers in the very depths of the night.