300th Post: A Short Reverie

Her face revealed a whole palette of emotions- far broader than his. One moment, her mouth constricted, as if holding back words that should remain unheard. Another moment later, she was smiling widely and blinking as if she wasn't sure he could see her. He was looking at her, as a matter of fact. When her anxiety- laced voice rang forth, "what are you looking at?"

He said without a beat, "You."
"Oh."
He disappeared from view and returned with a mirror. "See? I have two displays. My camera is here, and your screen is there." He turned the mirror and she saw a large desktop display with a mirror image of herself on it. He put the mirror down and nodded quietly.

She shifted in her seat, staring at the box where his face was. Camera chatting was so... ordinary, yet strange. It was strange in the sense that she could see him, but she could not reach out and touch him. She could fall in love with him without ever smelling him or seeing his purposeful walk. Worst of all, he could see her, with all her paroxysms of emotion and uncertainty. He could see her stumble over the words that were clear and fluent in her mind, and the subsequent nervous smile was, without a doubt, quite visible to him.

He hummed to himself, a song he'd been playing on his iPod. She interrupted the moment with a question, "what song are you humming?"
He paused, playing it for her.
She smiled widely, "Is it bad that I don't know this song?"
He shook his head, "No, not at all."