Happenstance

two

 

     "Kristal, please! I beg of you. I'll give you my liver!" I implore holding Kristal's hands but she only laughs.

Kristal is one of our juniors and she's graduating this year. I know she's busy with uni and all the projects, I really know because I was like her two years ago. But I really need her help for this one, especially because she's not only majoring in theatre but musical theatre and for the first stop in Maca's day I need her and her friends.

"Stop offering your liver. It's no good," Archie advises which only makes Kristal giggle some more.

"Fine, no liver!" I agree but I don't let go of her hands. I won't give up on this, I'll convince her somehow.

The girl shakes her head, the curls of that amazing afro bouncing from one side to the other, captivating me for a moment. I have curly hair, but hers is just a whole other level of wicked. For three seconds I get so captivated by her hair that I forget what I’m here for, talking to Kristal who’s sitting across me in a booth in As You Like It, a Shakespeare thematic café we always stop by because it has the best breakfast in town, sweet or salty. The pie is my favourite and the coffee is just sublime. I want Maca to come here, that’s why I’m trying to convince Kristal to help me, because I want this special girl to see one of my favourite places in all town, but I want it to be even more special. I know Maca is studying literature and books are one of her favourite things, henceforth, this place should be special for her. As You Like It is not only a café, it’s a library, you can borrow books and read as you drink your favourite cappuccino and it has a whole section dedicated to Shakespearean plays and poems. We know of this place because one of our professors, Mr McDean recommended it when we took his Shakespeare class in Uni and since then we come almost every morning to have breakfast. We are practically family.

This place is very special to me and I want to share it with Maca, I want her to see every spot that makes me love this town even if almost everyone would try to live for better and larger cities. There are many places I want to show her, but I’ve picked those that are my favourites and that she could like, based on all the things she’s told me in her post-its.

It was a week after she first replied my post-it when I felt the need to mange to find out about her, without asking her directly. I had to be subtle but inviting. I couldn’t just ask her ‘hey, what are your favourite things?’ but I found a way and it worked. By saying what I liked to do, she also opened up. When I found her reply with one of those things that made her smile when things were difficult, I felt victorious for days.

      Thank you. You always have the right words to say. I though of books because books make me happy. What are your favourite things?

That was her reply when I told her what I did every time I felt down.

Back then I knew almost nothing about her, but I imagined a girl on that same bench, wrapped up in warm and cosy clothes, with her face hidden behind a book, reading completely immersed in the story, oblivious to silly old me delighting myself with the view. In my imagination, she sometimes gasped or giggled and that made me smile as well, curious to know what she was exactly reading.

When I went home after finding that post-it and leaving a new one for her to find, I pinned it on my wall that had already a few ones. Looking at it I thought of As You Like It and smiled because somehow I knew she would like it there, she would enjoy the environment with all those people reading as they drank coffee or tea, all those people discussing about a new book or a new play in town because as Mr McDean recommended us the coffee, he’d done that with all his students so most of the costumers are theatre majors.