details.

It seemed the more she loved, the less loving she acted, for who could guess the extent of her feelings when she kept her distance and looked almost disinterested? Those who watched her actions at a surface level might notice that she did not take every opportunity to speak to him, that she remained always a little away from him, that she never initiated any physical touch, that on the occasions she did converse, she appeared somewhat serious.

They would notice this and compare it to her behaviour towards others. She approached them easily, almost effortlessly, and spoke with a certain quiet confidence. She even often joked and laughed with them. She could stand close to them, she could look at them while they spoke.

But with him – how could anyone guess that he was the one, out of all these people, that she loved the most? Perhaps one might, by paying very close attention to her. Because it was in the barely visible actions that her love became visible. If he began speaking, you would see her eyes flash in his direction, even if she was in the middle of a conversation with somebody else. It was obvious then, that she was always paying attention to him, to all that he did and said. And there was a certain look in her eyes when she listened to him, a look that simply was not there with others: her gaze was more intense, more focused, but more tender too – a look of, quite plainly, adoration. And if anyone observed her for long enough, they would discover that this look came into her eyes at regular intervals, as if she could not completely peel her eyes off of him. She looked at him the most when he did not look at her; and when he did, she would hold his gaze and without saying a word, smile a gentle smile that balanced the intensity of her eyes. Someone might also notice the way her smile would linger on her face (and often got larger) when they both looked away from each other, and how she would take a second to recompose herself, as if this silent eye-contact had shaken her up more than any conversation. In the event of them actually talking to one another, one might pick up on her nervousness: either she went silent, or she spoke excitedly, stumbling over her words or forgetting them altogether. One might also see her cheeks slightly colour, and her general countenance giving off a more animated, lively energy.

If one saw all these little details about her, then they might infer the true state of her feelings that, if completely missed, suggested quite the opposite.