Do you know what your children are?

[katerrifically]

There had to be a causation between what Americans and Europeans thought was a long trip and what was considered an old. When buying her train ticket to visit Oxford in London, she had been told that it was a long train ride for just a day trip. The journey had taken a little over an hour and a half (which to Kate was not long at all). After asking and then having been told the answer to how old some of the buildings in Oxford were, she was also told that ten centuries for a building wasn't really that old.

Perhaps it was all subjective?

It was Kate's first international flight with Pan-Am. There was a three day layover which left Kate with a lot of time on her hands. She could not sit idle. Her brain wasn't built for relaxation, even on the train she had read.

In the town of Oxford, Kate had explored. She had bought a few postcards and taken more than enough photographs. The town was charming in appearance. However, while Kate had enjoyed herself, she couldn't help but to feel her time had been spent shallowly. There was no depth to her experience. It might have just been in her head. She shook it off and continued on until she found herself standing outside a quaint cafe.

Deciding that she could do with a coffee, Kate stepped inside. There was a bulletin board of sorts immediately to her right upon entry. There were notices and adverts but one in particular stood out to her.

Do you know who and what your neighbors are?
Is your classmate behaving oddly? Are there things happening around you that you can't explain? Are you worried about the future of humanity as you know it?

Friends of Humanity can help!
The flier was repugnant. Kate lifted her right hand and touched the base of her throat. She couldn't help but feel that the flier was specifically targeting her. She turned her head and casually looked to her left and then to her right. Upon seeing that no one was paying attention to her, Kate reached up and pulled the piece of paper from the wall.

Out of sight, out of mind... Right?

Comments

[lookingforhope]

Whenever Charles had a long wait before meeting Raven and heading home, he would visit the cafe. He always ordered the same thing and sat at the same table in the same chair next to the window which allowed him to prepare to leave when he saw her walking up the sidewalk.

Having only just arrived some fifteen minutes prior, it would be some time yet before Raven showed up. Yet, instead of continuing the article he was reading in the newspaper, Charles' eyes were pulled out the window. Only there was nothing there. Even still, his eyes remained fixed down the sidewalk as far as he could see and within a short minute later, the tiny bell above the door jingled.

Charles lowered his paper to the table and watched her.

No, not entirely out of mind.

[katerrifically]

Kate turned and paused for a moment. She started to fold the paper into smaller and smaller squares and when it was palm sized she moved forward again. The palm sized square was slipped into her bag. It was not going to be thrown away because she didn't want anymore people to see it nor did she want the original posters of the flier to see it in the trash.

She sat herself at a small table that was also near the window. Her bag was placed on the chair next to her. It was opened and she took out a pen. She was approached by a waitress. Kate ordered coffee (with cream and sugar because she did not hate herself). Blank postcards were retrieved from her bag and placed them on the table.

There was no reason to suspect that she was anything other than a tourist, a well-dressed tourist. Not so much as a strand of hair was out of place. She gave the off the appearance and vibes of a prim young woman. There was nothing remarkable about her at all, so unremarkable that most didn't pay attention to her.

Her coffee came and she took a sip before going back to her postcards. A smile lit up her face as she wrote the first one out. As she finished addressing it, Kate felt like she was being watched. She raised a hand to her mouth and pretended to yawn while also glancing around. It was a good trick, right?

Meanwhile, the tiny bell above the door jingled again. Who was entering that time? The original posters of the flier that Kate had ripped down. They were going to notice its absence.