Status - Unsolved

Chapter 2 - someone stole all the air

"the world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes" - arthur conan doyle

*

Hayden sprawled across the tartan sofa pulling her laptop onto her knees. She sipped her coffee while waiting for it to switch on. The dim early morning light of the room was soon replaced by the glow of the blue default desktop wallpaper.

She opened the folder with photos and found the pictures from the skiing holiday. She had uploaded them after the holiday and never looked at them, too afraid to face the memories they would trigger. Jaw set and eyes wide, Hayden started scanning through the photos searching for the ones with Jade and the mysterious woman. There were quite a lot, that view had been particularly stunning and although the two figures were small, their features could still be picked out. They were both side on to the camera and judging by facial expressions they were evidently having a rather strange conversation. The woman was wearing snug fitting blue salopettes and a pastel yellow jacket. She stood on rental skis.

As she flicked through the photos at a moderate speed, she suddenly froze. Her breath caught in her throat and the finger that was hovering above the 'next' key began to tremble slightly.

The lady was gone.

A shiver went through Hayden's spine and she felt the urge to look over her shoulder and check no one was watching her. Other than the possible presence of a spider somewhere in the apartment, she was, of course, alone.

She turned back to the laptop. Judging by Jade's expression and posture she was still talking to the lady. But instead of a lady, there was an empty space, almost as if she had just been edited out of the photo. Hayden clicked to the next photo but it was the same.

She clicked back to the photos she had already seen, but they now also showed no sign of the lady ever having been there other than the white halo around where she stood.

'What the hell?' Hayden thought aloud. This was impossible! The lady had definitely been there no more than a couple of seconds ago. How could she just disappear?

She decided to leave it to the professionals and printed off a couple of the photos to hand to Mr Scott at her appointment later today.

. . . .

Hayden sat tapping at her phone. The image of her frappuccino and blueberry muffin she had just uploaded to instagram immediately earned her a multitude of likes.

She had gone to Starbucks to try and shake off the eerie feeling that had had crept up on her in the apartment. She would go to the police station later for her appointment, but for now she wanted to forget about the whole ordeal. So she sat picking at her food and people-watching. It was also a perfect opportunity to share another photo with the hundreds of devoted people following her instagram account, 'thisheartloves'.

Her attention was so focused on the screen of her phone that she didn't notice the man standing in front of her until he cleared his throat. She jumped slightly and he grinned.

'Do you mind if I sit here? All the other tables are full.' He said confidently.

Looking past him, Hayden could see at least two other empty tables, but she shrugged inwardly and nodded for him to sit down.

Now that he was level with her, she could see his face more clearly. He was rather handsome, with impossibly white teeth. Hayden felt a spark of recognition but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

'I'm Alex. Short for Alexander.' He explained, snaking his hand across the table to shake hers.

Their eyes met and Hayden got lost in the moment before she remembered that it was customary for her to introduce herself next.