Salim, come back early today; as it is winter, the sun is already tired and setting. He feels a shiver and rubs his hands together and the mist runs through them. His gaze is hard but his eyes have a warm expression; when you see him, with his big build, square face, and deep wrinkles, he looks like a big bad mafia movie cliche. But it is not so, Salim is a wonderful man, he is a trustworthy person who is appreciated by his relatives and colleagues. It is Salim who fixes the problems at home and in the office. He's the one we call at 3 a.m. because we had a puncture and who doesn't come looking grumpy to say "What the hell have you done? » but rather with all the necessary, holding a cup of tea and cake and who says rather « did you wait for me a long time? I saw that the neighbors were being robbed, I had to take care of it". Yes yes, it has really happened.
He arrives in front of a clothing store called "Amaterasu"; he enters there with a complacent air. As he is polite, he takes care to rub his boots well on the doormat so as not to get dust inside. He returns and finds no one, he walks slowly as if not to look suspicious even if he does not know that his build already makes him.
He observes the clothes, it seems to be exclusively a shop for women. He walks to the department of long dresses and looks at them as if with embarrassment, not wanting to get too close. He walks a little further to the left and sees the underwear shelves in the distance. You should also know that he is very modest. In truth if you spoke with him, you would sometimes feel like you were talking to a hyper introverted teenager, he easily turns red, and although he is mixed race, when he blushes, it clearly shows.
He retraces his steps and finally decides to make his presence known. He thinks about it but shouts "Good evening! and being heard is too awkward so he waits again. But the heavens are with him and finally we come to welcome him. A lady in her thirties comes down the stairs that lead higher. She goes down quietly, she hasn't noticed the man yet. He sees her and watches her go down, his eyes sparkle. Maybe because of her, or rather what she wears. It has a black cardboard with the logo of the shop engraved on it. Considering the size, it must contain a dress.
When she descends enough, she sees him and is almost amazed.
" Oh ! it's you ?"
" …It's me. his voice is neither too deep nor too high pitched.
She does not accelerate, she is careful. But when she has three steps left, she grabs the box with both hands.
"I was just going down your article, I see that you are on time"
" Yes. I shouldn't be late."
"It's for your daughter, right?"
" Yes. It is her birthday." Salim sounds particularly happy when he says it.
" How old is she?"
" Sixteen years. She will be sixteen. " Salim is really enthusiastic.
"Sixteen…" she looks nostalgic. Her smile indicates that she likes to remember who knows what. "It's a beautiful age of sixteen"
" Yes." Salim is not nostalgic for his sixteenth birthday.
She is already at the counter and pulls out a large bag with "Amaterasu" written on it. She opens the box as if to be sure of what is there and closes it.
"To me it seems so far away, but to you even more I imagine?" She looks at him as if to wait for his answer.
But Salim no longer has sparkling eyes; he looks stern, but that's his usual look. Since he does not answer, she bounces back "what did we get you for your birthday? I think it was an MP3 player, my very first. You see, it was the tube-shaped ones with a long screen. Belle Epoque !" She has stars in her eyes.
She finishes typing on her screen and Salim already hands her his card which she takes. The purchase is validated and the ticket escapes from the machine. Before taking it, she adds some effects, odds and ends in the bag and specifies that it is her gift for her daughter.
"Thank you, it was not necessary!"
Salim takes the bag and his card with a smile and nods politely before turning around.
He blames himself for not having answered her but Salim does not know how to lie and if he had spoken, she would probably not have understood anything of what he would have said. He too when he thinks about it, this period of his life, his thoughts, are very mixed.
To make up for it, he stops and turns to her and remarks, "Short hair suits you very well; did you have this kind of hairstyle at the time?"
She is surprised and doesn't answer right away, but in her fair skin, she blushes; she thinks " Nope. At that time I was rebellious. You would laugh if you saw me!" She laughs at herself.
Salim smiled "I see. Anyway, if you're beautiful now, you probably were then."
At this remark, she feels like she hasn't felt in a long time. That this man tells him so sincerely, makes her like a ball of fresh air in the middle of the desert. No one has flattered her since her ex-husband. She seems pensive but she just doesn't know what to answer. "Thank you" doesn't sit well.
Salim leaves adding only "good evening" not knowing what he had just done. Thanks to him, she will be able to live.
Since Salim told her, she will remain seated, pensive until 10:41:04 p.m. when she will close behind her and will be nearly grazed by a driver who will crash into the tree near her shop.
Otherwise it would have gone out and closed at 10:41:03 p.m. and the second of walking would have been enough for the young woman to be hit. But neither she nor Salim knows that.