Crafted by angels - Chapter 4

They were both tired, but their eyes shone bright. The chair stiff, the air cold, but it didn’t matter. She had been enchanted by the beautiful night out in the city of Prague. She had had good company at the bridge, and she could feel her face glow. His face was exhausted, but his dark eyes danced as he spoke. In that small kitchen, tucked away from the city, they talked. Laughed. They shared their travel stories, of their lives back home, of mundane nothingness, of past accomplishments and petty failures, if insecurities and empowerment.

 

She intrigued him. She found the most bizarre of things to be humorous, yet humorous things to be thought-worthy. She crinkled her nose too much. She smiled, but he couldn’t hold her gaze. Exquisite. Soft hair that seemed to speak as much as she did. Eyes that bore down on the soul and created shivers whenever gazed into for too long. A voice that could melt a spoon. She constantly poked fun at him, and he felt challenged.

 

Behind them, the laundry was clanking away. The girl tending to them was getting impatient.

 

“I’m going to take it out. I don’t care.” She declares.

 

The two turn at her and nod their heads, still entranced by each other. He tells her of his work, how it consumes him. She comforts him in that he is doing good work, that not many are capable of what he is. And here he was, in this magical city, with a small accident that has brought them together in these cold, hard seats. He looks at her curiously. Never has he met a person who speaks with her whole being. Not just with the voice that could melt titanium spoons, but perhaps even a frozen heart?

 

Her face lights up when she speaks. He could almost see colours spark out as she told him story after story. The night is getting late. They are both tired, but they sit glued to the chair, amusing each other with meaningless chatter. Is it really meaningless?

 

She tells him of the night out she just had, he returns by telling her some of his adventures. As excitable as she is at her stories, she is even more entranced when he tells her of his. But they are just things. Why does she find them so interesting? Even talk of his colleagues invite squeals of laughter from her. And she crinkled up her nose like a mouse that has detected nearby cheese.

 

Cheese! Is she not going to eat the bread and cheese she seems to have made for herself? He looks at it. She follows his gaze and understands

 

"It's dry and disgusting. I'm forcing myself to eat that." And yet she still leaves it untouched.

She then tells him of getting sick when she arrived, which led her to buying the bread and cheese. But she complains that it is tasteless? He thinks to the rice he usually cooks for himself back home.

 

"I like to eat rice"

"Ah, where I am from, it is very flavourful. You should come and try it"

 

She is well aware of how far that would be for him. But it was worth a shot.

 

"But, if the taste is disagreeable, it can be harsh on the stomach, no?"

"Well, that's why you need a guide to help explain to you what things are and what they taste like"

 

"Aha!" He nods at her. Her eyes are sparkling.

 

He tells her that he had dreams of coming to a nearby country to where she lived, and as expected, she took the bait

 

“Oh! You can come visit my country. It’s in the middle of where you want to go, and you could just pass by it. I live in the city center, and I could go and see you.”

 

“Hmm? Well I’ve always wanted to see the neighboring country instead; never thought of yours. Tell me, why should I go to yours?” there was a glint in his eyes as he said that.

 

Insert witty comment.

 

But for the life of her she couldn’t think of anything. Dammit, insert witty comment. Nothing. Instead, she held his gaze and said “Well, I would be there. There are no me-s in the neighbouring country”

 

Corny. Lame. You are bad at this. There is now a Level Zero.

 

There was laughter in his eyes, and he challenged her gaze. He wanted to say something back, but he was too tired. He smiled instead. She looked like a child being handed a cupcake. Is that all it takes? A smile?

 

“Perhaps you would like to visit Switzerland?”

“Oh, it’s not in my plans”

“But you could make it into your plans?”

“No. I don’t think so. But we’ll see”

 

Never had he felt a sharp change from crushed under a ton of bricks and floating on clouds in such a short span of time. He felt a little dizzy. Was it possible that they might see each other again?

 

This city, with its cobbled roads, uphill castle, beautiful surroundings, it is magnificent. Even in the darkness of night, it still captivates and comes to life. The rickety steps that lead up to Number 10, the Traffic Light keys that they display as some sort of accomplishment. They were under a spell; where reality and fantasy were one and the same. Magic was no longer just a childish belief. It became reality, or they became fantasy. And what happened henceforth may as well be a dream.

 

“Are you just not going to sleep at all?” Her laundry put away, she was getting impatient of the two at the table. They glanced up. They had been watching videos of water-boards and adrenalin junkies. Or was it of each other? They couldn’t be sure anymore. It was all a blur of laughter and comfort.

 

“Yes, I should get to bed. I have an early train to catch”

“You are leaving?”

“Yes, you are tired as well. You should rest so you have enough energy for the Doctor Fish tomorrow.”

“Ah yes, the fish.”

“I’ll just wash this mug” She gets up to the sink, and he rises behind her to unplug his charger. She bends down to wash the mug.

 

He was exhausted, but there were words swimming in his head. The spell had great powers. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him.

 

“Goodnight” she says, from down below.

“Goodnight” he says.

 

His foot moves forward, but the other wouldn’t follow. At a loss for words, he places the palm of his hand on her arm. The wool felt soft against his fingers. She turns to him, but she doesn’t look up. He can see that she is smiling. He turns. Ah, the foot will move now. He exits the kitchen and heads back to his room; and she to hers.