As I walked off the
front door, I was so distracted I almost bumped into the man who was passing by. He
looked at me for less than one second, as if he was either cursing me or intending
to kill me, but said nothing. I did not say anything other than murmur an
embarrassed “I’m sorry” and went back
on my way away from there.
There was something
familiar about that man. His pale face and the blond-almost-ginger beard called
my attention for some reason. He was a tall young man, maybe around his
mid-thirties, his blond hair getting thin on top of his head, nice average
looking body, without being athletic, but very far from being overweight.
He was busy with his
phone, so he did not pay me more attention than I deserved: a mere few
milliseconds.
There was a bus stop
right in front of the building and that was where he stood.
If I was not nearly on
time for an important appointment, I would find an excuse to come back and look
at him just once more and a little longer than I did. But I was almost late…
***
- I feel
like crying.
- Why?
- I’m not
sure…
- Then who
could be?
He looked at me, as
if I was saying the worst nonsense of all.
I tried to hold my tears but could not. My heart was, for some reason, so
heavy. He said nothing else. He knew me too well.
- Take me
home, please.
- “Home is
where your heart is”…
- You
always say that.
- I do…
because I know you like it.
- I do.
But today I just want to feel protected. Let me be quietly embraced by you.
He just hugged me. And
I cried.
***
- Will you
tell me what’s going on?
- I don’t
know if I can.
He turned around to
face me. How could I explain that what I was feeling was really unexplainable? Would
he ever understand that I sometimes was haunted by my own past?
- Do you
want to be left alone? For a while?
- No. Not
really.
- Then,
come with me.
- Where
to?
- To the
beach. I know how the sea makes you feel good. You need that now.
I smiled and followed
the man, who did not even wait for my answer. He was so sure I would follow
him, he just assumed that was the right thing to do… And so we drove to the
beachside, almost completely away from most of the people, in order to recharge
our batteries… or better saying: to try and recharge my batteries.
We walked some
distance all along the beach, with our feet in the cool waters. The air was
fresh and as the time passed, the temperature slowly went down. It was late in
the afternoon.
We leaned on the pier
rail for a while, in silence, just watching the sun go down, enjoying the
scenery and absorbed by our own private thoughts. My mind wandered away in
time.
I saw myself a long
time before, sitting on the white beach sand and watching the waves coming up
and down for a long while to finally die by the shoreline in an explosion of
sound and foam. My mind was elsewhere.
***
Time passed by so
quickly. There were some people still walking by and a few fishermen around,
each busy with their own businesses and acting as if I was just part of the
whole scenery, which I was, in fact… for them. I looked around and decided I
should go home, before it got dark.
There were some
seagulls still flying above, probably trying to catch some fish, either from
the sea directly or from some careless fishermen. One of the big birds suddenly
dove into the air, almost hitting my head while I walked past, playing with my
feet in the fresh waters. I ducked as quickly as I could but I lost my balance.
I closed my eyes while I was falling down, sure that I was going to get all wet.
For some reason, the unexpected happened and I neither went down in the water
nor did I get wet. I was held in the mid-air.
- What
happened?
- I saw it
was going to happen and came to your aid.
- Huh?
The man, a tall and
handsome blond was holding me tight with both hands. I felt his strong legs
between mine and his muscled arms around my body. I recovered my balance and he released his grip.
- I’m
sorry.
- Oh,
don’t be. I was seeing myself going home all soaking wet. Thank you.
He smiled. I looked
into his eyes. They were so blue.
- Oh,
sweet Lord!
- What?
- Nothing.
I’m sorry.
- Are you
OK now?
- I am,
thanks. Sorry I disturbed your fishing.
- No
problem. I was just having some moments to myself after a day in the office.
- Do you
have the time?
- I do…
some… maybe… what for?
I laughed.
- I meant:
what time is it now?
- Almost
eight in the evening.
- Oh. So
late. I did not realize it was that late. I gotta go.
He held my hand. I
was speechless. For some reason I felt a chill going up my spine.
- Don’t
go… yet… Would you have a cup of coffee with me? One day? Today? Now?
- Erm...
I... don’t… know…
- Well,
then just say yes!
***
I felt his arms
around my waist. He pulled me closer to him and kissed my face, in a very
natural way. For some reason I thought he was remembering the same occasion I
was. Our minds can be funny sometimes. I smiled and kissed his cheek.
***
We decided to have
dinner together, at a fancy restaurant downtown. It was located almost at the
top of the street, in an old house, remodelled and modernized to fit the needs
of a clientele used to the vegan and vegetarian new fashion in food serving.
The white and light-blue plaster vine decorations climbed up the walls to the
ceiling of the back room. The wooden floor seemed to be still the original one.
Double-leaf doors give view to a patio illuminated by carefully chosen
old-fashioned lamp posts. A large colourful fuchsia bougainvillea grew on the
right side of the orchard, close to a line of white painted heavy cast iron furniture,
probably used on sunny days or early summer evenings.
The special mushroom
risotto was exquisitely prepared and served with flamboyant mastery. I detected
a hint of balsamic in the rich and creamy dish. It tasted like nothing I had
savoured before. A chilled fruity white wine was chosen to accompany the dish
and we shared a delicate dessert called “Chocolate Decadence”, followed by
black coffee.
We paid the bill and went
down the steps of a staircase at the entrance and gained the street. The wind
was blowing fresher and we thought the night was pleasant for a side by side
walk. We were enjoying being with each other, without talking much. Life can be
so simple and good at the same time.
I thought of cats
living their simple lives with simple pleasures and desired not much more than
that. But we are just humans living like humans the best way we can. What else
for a nice plate, a warm bed and a cuddling?
We heard the thunder
very close by. I quivered a little.
- Are you
afraid?
- No. Not
really.
- Good.
Then we need to go faster. It seems we’ll have rain very soon.
Before we reached the
parking lot, however, the rain fell heavy and cold over our warm bodies. When
we got to the car, we were soaking wet and feeling very cold. I turned the heat
on and got rid of the wet shirt and shoes.
Then we saw him,
standing by the gate and backgrounded by the heavy rain falling down…
***
