the wall flower

He had seen her everyday for weeks, she always sat at the same table in the coffee shop where he worked. Everyday she asked for a cup of hot water then she would add her own tea to it. He always wondered who she was and why she was always alone.

He had convinced himself that if she came in today he would finally ask her, her name.

So there he stood, waiting at the counter, watching the clock, finally, it was 10am.

The bell above the cafe door tingled.

Her brown hair was pulled back into a neat bun. She was wearing a white blouse with a knee length deep blue skirt.

"One cup of hot water please"

She never made eye contact

"Sure. I've been meaning to ask you," He said as he filled a cup with hot water. "I mean, I see you in here all the time and I was just wondering...um... what's your name?"

She looked up startled.

"Oh, um... I'm Ella." she blushed looking back down.

He had noticed that her eyes were deep brown.

"Oh, well, I'm Sean, Sean Lancaster."

"It's nice to meet you."

"Yeah, you too. so why do you always order just a hot water? I mean, you do know this is a coffee shop right?" he said, handing her the cup.

"I, um, I don't drink coffee."

"Well we have tea too."

"I find it easier to bring my own, and less costly since I'm here quite often."

"Oh, that makes sense. Um, maybe I could make you a different tea after you are done with that one, on the house of course?"

"I guess that would be okay."

"Okay, so how about when I'm on my lunch break?

"Sure, that sounds nice."

At noon, Sean sat alone at empty table with a cup of tea.

The next day, he waited for Ella to arrive, but she never came. For a week, she didn't show, then the Monday after she had stood Sean up, a woman came into the cafe, dressed in an all green suit.

"Excuse me. I am looking for a friend of mine. Her name is Eliana but she sometimes goes by Ella. Small, brown hair, brown eyes? I think she frequents this cafe?"

She held up a picture of Ella for Sean to see.

"Um, no, I'm sorry, I can't say I've seen her."

He didn't know who this woman was but something didn't seem right. Why was she looking for Ella? But another thing didn't sit well either. If this woman was looking for Ella, that meant that Ella must truly be missing.