Ophelia
Ophelia Frank lived in a small apartment in downtown Manhattan, New York. She lived a quiet life with her books, house plants, extensive tea collection, and a wide variety of vintage t-shirts. She loved her life. It was simple and unbothered. She had lived in this quiet and quaint apartment for the last two years without any issue. It had also been two years sense the Avengers brought everyone back with a quick snap. And when the rest of the world came back. So did Ophelia. When half the world's population turned to ash Ophelia was trapped. Her freedoms taken from her and her power used against her. And oddly enough losing her life for the past five years with trillions of others saved her. Because when the second snap happened and everyone came back; Ophelia came back to an abandoned HYDRA facility with just as much confusion as everyone else who disappeared from there that came back as well.
So she ran. She ran as far as her feet could carry her. And after a few grueling months living on the streets of New York and struggling to find work she finally found life again. Working in a tiny thrift shop in the East Village and taking advantage of their grand selection of vintage clothing; Ophelia fell back in love with living life again. And for the first time since she was a small child she felt safe.
And just like all days since the blip, today she felt just as safe. The five year blip was a tragic event for all life in the galaxy. But for Ophelia, it was a chance to escape her captures and live her life as a free woman. It was a crisp fall October morning in New York and Ophelia walked the streets of the East Village allowing the cool breeze to ruffle through her wavy dark hair. She walked the few blocks toward Unique Vintage, the thrift store she adored and worked at. She was paid well because she would promote them on their social media. She had a knack for that sort of thing. Something she never thought she would find to come easy to her. Considering she was locked up as a science experiment for most of her life. She had never even seen what a smart phone was. Let alone something like Facebook or Instagram. But in this new world of hers, she was powerful in more ways than one. She had a job she loved, an apartment she felt herself in, and a best friend who could always take all her worries away.
Ophelia arrived at Unique Vintage and walked through the door. It was around 9 in the morning and she was helping her manager Tracy open the shop for the day. She walked past the racks of colorful vintage clothes and ran her fingers along the fabrics. She stepped into the break room and placed her bag and jacket in her cubby. She smiled at the smell of fresh coffee and turned to see Tracy standing in the break room doorway holding two piping hot coffees.
"Goodmorning!" Tracy said happily and walked over to Ophelia handing her the coffee. She was a tall woman with shoulder length red hair. She wore an all white suit with a dark grey t-shirt tucked into her pants. A pair of black oxfords adorned her feet. Freckles laced her entire face and her sparkling green eyes could captivate any person.
"A good morning it is indeed. Thank you." Ophelia said then took a small sip of her drink. Peppermint latte, her favorite. She smiled at the sweet taste. The two coworkers leaned against the counter nearest the door and chatted about their Saturday nights the evening before. It was a Sunday which meant the morning would be slow so they had time to waste until they had to open the shop. Time had passed quickly and soon enough it was time to open the shop and start the day at Unique Vintage.
Ophelia stood in the front display window arranging a vintage sixties mauve dress with short sleeves and a lace collar. A dress Ophelia herself admired. She had considered purchasing the dress but thought it was best served as a display to encourage people to shop at the store. She smiled as she adjusted the dress. It worked perfectly with the other display pieces. Once everything was in order she walked out of the display and through the front door of the shop. She stood outside the window and placed her hands on her hips. She tilted her head and looked at the display. Happy with what she had created she smiled and gave herself a pat on the back.
"Good job Ophelia." She said to herself.
"Did you put that display together?" A young man's voice said behind her. Ophelia turned her head and found a slightly shorter man with brown hair and a winning smile looking at her. He wore dark jeans and a blue flannel shirt. Something about him seemed familiar. The young man raised an eyebrow and gestured to the window. "So... did you put that together? Because if you did it looks great." The man continued.
"Oh! Yes I did! Sorry I just uh... you look familiar to me. Okay that was weird. Sorry... again. And uh thank you! Yes I did that." Ophelia said stuttering on her words. She normally wasn't so flustered but she rarely found any familiarity in people. She knew no-one other than her mother and her captures from before the blip.
"Your welcome. Interesting accent by the way. Is this your shop?" The young man asked avoiding her awkwardness. He stood next to her and placed his hands in each of his pockets.
"Um thanks. And no. It's my boss's. Tracy. I just work here. But I love it." Ophelia replied turning her attention back to the display. She shivered slightly. It wasn't very cold this time of year in New York but cold enjoy to elicit a shiver when not wearing a jacket. The young man noticed this.
"Are you cold? Maybe you should go back inside. I'll go with you. I think I'll take a look around." He said then walked to the door and opened it for Ophelia. Ophelia nodded then walked back into the shop.
"Take a look around. Let me know if you need anything. I'm Ophelia." She said waving to him as she walked over to the register counter.
"Thanks!" He said back.
For the next ten minutes the young man walked the racks and shelves of Unique Vintage. He seemed to be searching for something in particular. Picking up several pieces of jewelry and then shaking his head and putting it back down. Ophelia walked over to the jewelry counter toward the young man.
"Looking for something specific?" Ophelia asked him.
"Um. Yeah. My girlfriend loves vintage jewelry. And she's been stressed out lately so I thought a little gift would lift her spirits. I wanted to get her something unique." He said.
"Then you came to the right place." Ophelia replied then opened the glass case counter below her fingers. She looked down as she grazed her fingers over multiple different pendants. Until she placed her hand on a silver ring with a dark onyx stone in the center. "This one!" She said with a smile and plucked it from the small pillow it lay upon. She held it up to the man. The stone an emerald cut. The onyx dark but shining as if it were a bright light. "It's a dark color but this is one of my favorites here. What do you think?" Ophelia asked placing the stone in the man's outstretched hand. He looked at it for a moment and ran his fingers along the edges of the stone. A small smile crept on his face.
"It's perfect. I got her a necklace with a similar color a while ago. She will love it!" He said happily.
"Perfect! I'll wrap it up for you." Ophelia replied then reached for the ring in his hand. Her fingers grazed his palm as she took the ring. And like each and every time Ophelia touched another her mind races. Short bursts of the young man's mind flash in hers. Visions of a war. Alien creatures attacking Earth. And Thanos. The young man stepped back with fright in his eyes.
"What the hell was that!?" The man said.
"I'm sorry. I... sometimes that just happens." Ophelia said with guilt in her voice. She normally had control over her powers. But not when she wasn't on guard. When she feels comfortable around someone she isn't trying to fight the urge to reach into someones mind. Sometimes it just happens. "You were there." She said softly.
"I was." The young man replied.
"I'm sorry, again. I... let me wrap this up for you. I promise no more mind tricks. And I'll take ten percent off. Okay? I'm sorry." Ophelia said and the man eyed her curiously but nodded. Suspicions swirling in his mind.
Ophelia tried to ignore the puzzled look on the young man's face as she wrapped the ring up in a nice box and bow. She typed in the necessary code into the register and took the promised ten percent off. The man handed her the money careful not to touch her skin.
"Thank you for coming in. And sorry again. Really, I am." Ophelia said then slid the bag with the ring inside to the young man.
"It's okay. To be honest I have seen weirder stuff than that." The man said awkwardly. Ophelia smiled thankfully. The man started walking away toward the door.
"Have a good day sir!" Ophelia shouted after him.
"You too!" The man said then skipped out of the store. How could he be so okay with someone accidentally slipping into his thoughts? And how could he have been involved with the war? Who was he? And with that Tracy ran out from her office and looked out the front window.
"Oh my god." Tracy said.
"What?" Ophelia asked walking up to her and peering out the window trying to see what she was so captivated by.
"Do you have any idea who you just helped in here!?" Tracy asked turning her head to try to catch a glimpse of the young man walking down the street but he seemed to have vanished.
"No. Do you know him?" Ophelia asked her.
"Everybody knows him!" Tracy said a little too loud. Ophelia rolled her eyes.
"Well come on. Who is he?" Ophelia asked turning Tracy toward her.
"Thats fucking Spider Man!" Tracy shouted.