The rain drummed against the window, and I stared out into the gray sky, hoping that what I felt would soon
go away. It was a futile desire, but then, most desires are. I just couldn't come to grips with reality
then, and I don't think that I ever will.
I met her in a bookstore. She was standing in the fiction section, idly leafing through a collection of
short stories. I've always been rather shy, and I never even looked for very long at the people who passed
me daily. Yet, my eyes kept drifting toward her, and I found myself repeatedly staring at her. She wasn't
pretty, not in any conventional way, but there was something about her, something that I couldn't quite pin
down. I was never able to put words to it. She had a... presence, that filled the room, and announced that
she was there. I didn't really even need to see her. There was just a feeling that I would get whenever
she was around.
I had been trying to examine the book I held for about five minutes, when I noticed that she was looking in
my direction. I became extremely nervous, and my throat tightened. When she started to walk toward me, I
was seized by a sudden desire to run, to be anywhere but here. Here, I was going to have to talk to her,
and I was sure that she had noticed me staring at her. I knew I wouldn't be able to talk to her, and I
shrank in upon myself.
When she was a few steps from me, she stopped and introduced herself. "Hi, my name's Theresa." I swallowed,
and stammered out "Hi. M..M..My name's Jim. Pleased to m...meet you." I was surprised. I had managed not
to stutter too badly, and I felt a little better about the whole situation, although I still wanted to hide.
We began to talk, and I discovered that I felt more and more relaxed around her. After a few minutes, we
sat down in the small coffee bar in the bookstore, and before I knew it, three hours had passed. We
exchanged phone numbers, and I went home in a daze. I couldn't believe that I had just talked to someone
for three hours. I couldn't believe that I had talked to a GIRL for three hours, and that she had wanted
my phone number! By the time I unlocked the front door and walked into my apartment, I was about three
feet off of the ground.
I went to bed that night, and dreamed for the first time in two years. I didn't remember any of the dreams,
but I did remember dreaming when I woke up the next morning. At first, I believed that I had imagined the
whole thing, but when I walked into the kitchen to make myself breakfast, I saw the napkin with her number
lying on the table, and I knew it had been real.