The greatest love letter

I almost dropped to my knees as I read the contents of the leader. My aunt was nuts. It was just one bad haircut. Why go out of the way to write a complaint and have me of all people be the one to send it out? I couldn’t help but sigh. This whole anticlimactic revelation made me almost forget I was still hiding behind the convenience store.

“Sir, what are you doing?”

I jolted and straightened my back as if a shockwave had passed through my body. A woman’s voice had perked up behind me, joining me in the shadows behind the building. I turned around in fear to see who it was, but not before her voice perked up again: “Um, sir? You’re blocking the path - hey! You’re the one I bumped into last week!”

By this point, not a single goose bump wasn’t raised on my body. My eyes caught her own but quickly darted away upon recognizing her; a dreaded feeling engulfed me whole. It was the same fashionable woman who I bumped into back at the park. I almost had that embarrassing encounter erased from my memory. Now it was back and kicking my social anxiety into a new level of pain.

“Y-Yes,” I muttered, unable to say much else. I looked down at the concrete ground and began ambling away.

“Hey, wait!”

I couldn’t stop. I wanted to run away and eliminate my presence. Just leave me alone and let me-

“You forgot your letter!”

This time, I froze. My body was already out of the shadows and back out on the sidewalk. A few strangers walking out of the convenience store glanced in our direction, startled by the woman’s rowdiness as much as I was. I gritted my teeth, doing my best to ignore the attention she drew.

“Are you even listening to me? Like I said, you forgot your letter…”

A brief pause followed as her voice drifted off into the void. It took me only a second to realize why: Shit, I dropped my aunt’s embarrassing letter on the ground and now she’s reading it!

I had no choice but to turn around, but it was too late. The lady’s face was completely buried in the paper. She held it up to eye-level like a kid reading their children’s book.

Sweat started dripping down my forehead. Stop! Stop reading it!

I just couldn’t speak my mind; it was nothing but silence as she continued consuming its contents. But then, to my surprise, laughter followed.

“Bwahahaha!” she cried with tears emerging from her eyes. More strangers looked on from the streets. “This, this letter! I can feel the rage just boiling from whoever wrote this!”

I chuckled nervously. I could relate. My aunt had a funny temper, and her emotions were well-written in that letter. Still, wasn’t it quite rude to be reading someone else’s - especially a stranger’s - letter without permission? Even someone who boasted lower social intelligence could at least understand that much.

“Ahem, c-could I please have that letter back?” it took all the mental energy in the world just to mutter that. Gosh I wish I could just crawl back into my blanket and hide myself from humanity.

“Oh, of course, I’m so sorry,” she replied, and handed me the paper. “I’m assuming that’s not you who wrote it? Someone else had their hair messed up at that salon?”

My eyes avoided her curious stare. It took a few more seconds just to get a response out: “Yes.”

Another cold silence filled the air, before the lady finally handed the paper back. A smile emerged from under her nose, showing all her teeth, which sparkled even in the shadows. “Here you go. My name’s Ena, by the way.”

My eyes blinked a gazillion times at her. This woman’s so weird. Her laugh was freaky, and now her stare looked emotionless.

I reached out, swiped the letter from her hand and placed it back into the envelope. It was time to get out of her sight. Without turning back to the woman, I paced over to the entrance of the store, ready to finally finish my errand and call it a day.

Well, that’s what was supposed to happen, anyway.

“Now hold on a minute there, you little dipshit.”

A hand slammed against my shoulder, just before I managed to drop the letter in the postbox. I felt the eyes of a few more strangers - even the clerk - graze against my backside. Ena took no time to stop me; her breath scraped my neck as if warning me to step away.

“You really were going to mail away that complaint, to my hard-earned business?!”

She then grabbed my arm and pulled me away. Usually, my own body would dart away as a first response, but her unusual demeanor and cold aura froze me whole. I was fully numb in fear.

It’s her salon?! What were the chances that I’d bump into the owner of the salon which my aunt had written a complaint about?!

And on top of all of that, she had read the letter. I wanted to drop dead and bury myself away into the abyss. How unlucky could I get?

While no gasps were heard, the curious eyes of several strangers continued gawking at us. We were causing an obvious scene, but Ena didn’t stop pulling me until we were back outside. Once she finally turned around, without letting go, her blazing eyes pierced into my soul.

“Listen here, that letter is complaining about my salon. My. Salon! I didn’t do anything wrong that day. I don’t know who that woman is to you, but that woman was crazy and had lost her mind.”

“S-She’s my aunt, and I’m just trying to mail it for-”

“She’s your aunt, huh?” that same chilling smile returned, but then she sighed. Her hands finally let go of my arm. “Listen, if you refrain from sending this letter and let me rip it to shreds, I promise the next time you or your aunt come to my salon, I’ll issue a formal apology in-person, and your next service will be free.”

I gulped, but managed to keep my eyes open. What the hell? For someone who looked ready to kill me, now she’s acting professional?!

Well, part of me knew it was a stupid complaint from my aunt - empathizing with Ena was quite easy. Easy until she began making physical contact.

“Then don’t touch me like that anymore,” I muttered.

Ena pouted and folded her arms. “Fine. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have grabbed you like that. I also know that letter isn’t your issue. I was just angry in-the-moment. But please…” she gazed down at the ground. Her fists were still clenched and trembling. “Please don’t send that letter. I’ve worked so hard to build my business, and I was just having a bad day when your aunt arrived.”

While running away was tempting given my levels of anxiety had skyrocketed since running into Ena today, I squeezed my eyes shut. It was hard not to just run and hide away in my room. Of course, I regretted leaving the house again, just like last week.

“Um,” I struggled to answer her. She then held her hands together in hopefulness with a pair of puppy eyes. I could barely manage a word; my mouth was as numb as a rock. “I-”

“What’s going on here?”

A male voice popped into the conversation from behind. Both Ena and I gaped at who it was. She then scoffed. “Tai? Why are you here?!”

A tall, handsome-looking man strolled in front of us, catching the heart-filled eyes of numerous onlookers. His hair was wavy and combed back with noticeable wax; his black suit and shiny brown shoes screamed of prestige.

Was this Ena’s boyfriend?