11:58
Breathe in. Breathe out.
11:59
Restless, I sit up and slid out of bed. Silently, I make my way to the balcony door and twist the handle; I open the door and am greeted with a cool breeze. I walk onto the cool marble balcony and shut the door behind me. At the same moment, the grand clock rings twelve times.
“Happy birthday, Annalise Brudens…”
A sigh of despair escapes me as I think about today’s celebration. Ever since I learned the news my parents told me a couple days ago I’ve been thinking of how the morning will be where all the servants will come and prepare me for this day, the meeting of my fiancée and the engagement announcement.
I stand outside in silence for several minutes before I decide to try and sleep. I turn around when I hear an almost inaudible noise behind me; the hairs on the back of my neck begin to rise. Cautiously, I turn around. My eyes come upon a person dressed in black from head to toe. Their face is concealed with a bandana, only the eyes are visible.
“Who are you,” I ask?
Before I realize it, this mysterious person stands before me, only inches apart. His warm brown eyes shine as they look down at me. For a moment, I feel that I’ve seen these captivating eyes before, but I’m unable to ask.
The person hasn’t stated who they were so I ask again, only for my words to come out in a high-pitched squeak. Their shoulders begin to shake slightly.
“What’s so funny?” I ask feeling flustered.
Ignoring my question, he pats my head before he turns around and walks to the railing of the balcony. Climbing the railing, he bows to me and then walks off the balcony, as if it was a walkway, dropping down out of view.  I sprint towards the edge of the balcony and lean over, but there’s no trace of the mysterious person.
I let out a loud sigh and then leave the balcony.
“When I wake up tomorrow”, I mumble to myself, “I’m going to forget about everything that happened tonight.” When I close the door behind me, I jump into bed and try to fall fast asleep, but sleep refuses to come. All I can do is think about is the mysterious man, replaying the events that happened between us. Because of that, sleep doesn’t come until late into the night.