(there’s a note at the end, it’s quite long. it’s annoying and unimportant and you don’t have to read it lol)
It’s the third time this week you can’t sleep because of the loud music your neighbour was playing.
Sure, you don’t sleep in the night anyway (because what kind of sorcery is “getting-out-of-phone” and how come you can’t do it?), but your exams are getting nearer, and the music is distracting your study. You tried to use earplugs, put your headphones loud, or bury your head in pillows, but none ever worked. The more you tried to ignore it, the more it catches your attention.
You wanted to knock on her door and ask her to lower the volume a little, but whenever you thought of it, you immediately back out.
It was just three months ago when Aphrodite moved to your apartment building, just beside yours. You didn’t have the time to welcome her properly because of your overloaded schoolworks, but it seemed like the Fates wanted you to meet each other.
You were studying at the balcony one day when you realized the change of the ambience. The air seemed fresher and a lot nicer, calming you as you bury your face at your textbook. You looked around, hoping to find the reason of the strange change of air, and you found it to the balcony beside yours.
A fair-skinned, petite lady lowered her watering can and smiled at you. You felt like your heart jumped from the balcony fifty feet below. She’s got to be the prettiest person you have ever seen.
“Sorry, have I disturbed you?”
Her curly blonde hair was swept to her side as the winds blew past it, a pink rose tucked behind her ear. Thin lines formed at the edge of her perfect pinkish lips as she smiled at you. Her delicate fingers put down the watering can and ran her touch across her flowers, inspectioning it. The plants around her bloomed, her flowers swayed on her direction as if they’re trying to get her attention. A dove flew down to her shoulder and pecked her ear affectionately.
You only realized you were gaping when she raised her eyebrow, waiting for your reply.
You dropped your pen. “I, uh, It’s—It’s alright,” you stammered.
She laughed, filling your ears with the beautiful sound of it. “I’m Aphrodite,” she introduced.
“I’m Y/N,” you said, nodding.
Two more doves landed on her, pecking her, begging for her attention. She giggled and stroked the doves. She turned to you. “I’m your new neighbour. I decided not to knock on your door to maybe introduce myself because the landlady said you’re busy from university. I hope you’re doing well.”
You blushed. “Yeah—I—I’m good.”
Aphrodite walked towards a table on the corner of her balcony, taking out what looked like bird feed, and fed the doves on her palm.
“Are those your pets?” you asked.
She smiled. “No, they are not my pets. Birds should be able to fly freely, not trapped in cages for people to admire. They should be able to express their beauty on their own different ways, not to be viewed like an ornament.”
You stared at her, and you were thinking how lucky those doves were that they got to be close to her. She’s someone who will express her beauty in her most natural way, unaware of how she captivates people around her. People would admire her no matter what, but she is more than just her pretty face. It is not her face that drawn you into her. It was the fact that she’s beautiful but unaware of it.
“They seem to like you,” you said.
She chuckled. “Yeah they do.”
You gazed over her mini-garden in her balcony. “Did you plant all of these?”
