the girl

it was a strange coincidence i met her that day.

in fact, it was a strange coincidence anything happened that day. i hadn't even expected to wake up.

whatever it was - a simple, logical chain of unlikely events or divine intervention - to my own great surprise i opened my eyes that morning.

i stared up at the ceiling for several seconds, my mind putting the pieces together for me, slowly. the sounds of the street outside my window, my calm breathing, my dry mouth, and finally, a devastating pain inside my head.

there were a few pieces missing from this puzzle. both my sense of time and my understanding of my own person were viscous and distant, and so i can't quite tell for how long i lay there. but the aching in my brain got stronger and became unbearable and, ironically, this pain forced me to get out of my paralysis.

i stood up and walked a few steps, my limbs stiff and convulsed, then took a moment to massage my neck before i stumbled into the bathroom where i found a package of painkillers, two of which i immediately gulped down, and then i drank water from the sink for a while. and then i couldn't do much else but get dressed and leave the flat.

there is a café on the corner of the street, it's been there ever since i moved in and yet i never had the time to visit it. wandering through the streets, dizzy and moonstruck as i was, i made my way inside it and sat down at one of the tables.

there was a fly on the vase before me, it was confidently sitting there, claiming its position, and so i started staring again. then, i heard her voice.

"what's making you put on such a sad face?", she asked, appearing before me and finally disrupting my focus. "life is beautiful! let me get you some waffles, right? the world is brighter after a good breakfast." her cheerful voice mirrored the smile in her eyes.

"thank you", i said. she was wearing a blue dress and bright red shoes.

"i'll go get them. you stay here!", she said, smiled again and disappeared behind some door.

i don't think she recognised me. but i'd seen her eyes and i would never forget them.

she had told me to stay, so i did. she'd said life was beautiful. and maybe, i thought, she was right.