The air was filled with the constant hum of the coffee machine, soothing melody in the quiet cafe. Sunlight streamed in through large windows and gave a warm glow to worn wooden tables.
Lily sat alone in a secluded corner, engrossed in her sketchbook; her charcoal pencil danced across the page. Her starkly dark hair framed her face as she got lost in the world she was creating against this very pale skin.
James strode in to the coffee shop and the silence of it; James was disturbing its silent steps. James was a photographer slinging a camera over his shoulder, along with on his feet a backpack full of baggage: a traveler by aura. His eyes were so very blue as he scanned through the room, zeroing in on Lily before turning towards her table.
"Do you mind if I join you?" he asked in a warm voice that invited.
Lily's glance jerked up, not alarmed but surprised, at the surprise in her features. There was something disturbingly familiar in him, a kindred spirit perhaps.
"Sure, go ahead," she replied, and gave him a small smile.
Then there was the talk, beginning with the subjects of mutual interests: art, travel, and beauty in everyday life. Lily spoke about her painting, pouring heart and soul into every stroke.
"I find solace," she said, "by giving form to emotions tormenting me during most of my day." And so, as James listened to her, he felt raw honesty in her words, so that he responded.
Then he talked about his adventures, the fantastic landscapes and tender portraits he photographed. He spoke of the excitement when discovering new places and putting himself into the midst of foreign cultures and ways of living. The beauty in everything ordinary and the magic which lay hidden in the humdrum somehow miraculously produced a spark of wanderlust within Lily's mind.
As the sun disappeared under the horizon, they appeared to have said everything but without ever really considering what was said. They shared about childhood dreams; about having in the future things one desires, and finally what frightens them most.
Heartbreak, joy, triumph, and failure-it is what they talked about as being with each other had something like a home for each, something like an understanding, and something way past any bond they experienced with each other.
It is the world outside that cafe, and they were sharing their dreams and aspirations. They talk of art inspiring healing, enabling people to exist in the present, all the beauty of human relationship, and all that they believe, value, and hope for.
As the sun was soon to set and would drench all the town with its golden glow, James turned towards Lily and said,
"In a few weeks, I have to leave for my next journey." A glint of excitement in his eyes asked, "Want to come along with me?"
And when she said, "Is this really?", Lily was thinking about the comfort and ease of familiar life in England and the security in regularity. She found room for the excitement of adventure and hope to find new horizons as an adventure and someone who would understand her fully.
Taking a deep breath, she smiled. "I'd like that."
That is a very simple agreement which sowed the seeds of a pretty love story. Leaving that coffee shop hand in hand marked the last pages of the life they had lived so far.