Excerpt From a Story I Will Never Write #1

"One day, it's all going to end," he said, looking into the darkness of his coffee. The dim lighting of the cafe around him seemed to go with the browness of his hair and his chocolate eyes. "All the happiness, all the joy, the feeling of belonging-"

He trailed off, looking up to make eye contact with me. "It'll disappear."

I swallowed and looked down at my own drink, a caramel latte, something to go with the season. I didn't want to admit he was right but I knew he was. "What makes you say that?"

He chuckled lightly and took a sip of his drink. "Because I've seen it happened. To me, to other people, and eventually to you."

I chewed on my lip, thinking.

He set his cup down and leaned across the table, getting closer. He lowered his voice and continued. "Don't think that just because you're on top of the world right now means you'll stay there. 'Cause it doesn't."

He took one last gulp of his drink, slammed the empty mug down, and stood up. He grabbed his dark coat off the bench next to us and slid it on.

"See you later," he smiled, his eyes lighting up. "Thanks for the coffee."