On his landing in the continent of North America3, Edan was scarily amazed to really discover how high some of the buildings were. For him, it was a visual reminder of pictures of very tall hotels and properties his father had stayed in while on business trips to places like Dubai and Qater, both in the Middle East.
Skyscrapers that looked like their builders probably were competing on which project would go any farther.
On a foggy day, the uppermost chambers of the tallest buildings were likely to look as though they were submerged into the clouds.
There were flashing lights on bill boards on pavements.
He had never seen so much aggressive advertising compete for attention within a small walking space.
Wherever he looked, he saw commitment and the uplifting spirit of enterprise.
He saw spirited determination in people's faces as though they drank it as part of their early morning coffee routine.
He could breathe and feel the buzz that was all around him. It was like fresh energy being pumped into his veins.
Here, life too was on a much faster pace. People were impatient but got on with it.
He felt adventurous and alive which gave him a real boost of optimism.
With his new surrounding making him feel like superman without the cape, he had no doubt he would find his dream girl.
After all, he was in New York. Also known as the Big Apple. Last night he overheard someone, a tourist probably describe it as the city that never sleeps. Some believe it's also where dreams are made.
If therefore the sayings were true, then he was definitely at the right place.
On the sidewalk of Manhattan Bridge, Edan noticed a girl dressed in white linen.
She scurried around in pink roller-skates as though there was never any crisis in her world.
Her hair was loose and hung freely to the gust of wind blowing south.
As she approached him, her face lit-up with a smile. There was twinkling in her eyes like flashbulb.
It was infectious, cheerfully exciting and a bit flirty, Edan thought.
Her eye contact was firm and warm. Edan felt so at ease.
There was no cause for him to be shy or feel threatened whatsoever.
Nothing shifty or close, it seemed.
As a matter fact, she radiated confidence for two, which was more than enough to keel over a weak Ostrich's feather.
That is, if she barked 'woof' loud enough.
Her confident skates walk was a short swagger that encouraged anyone nearby to turn and take notice.
She walked with such skating grace. The kind which says without words: 'Hey look at me and tell me what you see.'
There was something else oddly familiar about her too, Edan observed.
She had similar lively glitter in her eyes like the girl in his dream.
This is great! He thought.
Fantabulous! It's all going very well.
But, is she really the one? He wondered.
She must be.
Edan turned on his own character charm.
As it happens, it comes naturally to him without effort. And better still, with huge responsibility to be polite at all times.
He cleared his throat in readiness to speak, but the girl jumped in first.
"Hey Joey? Welcome to Broadway," she said excitedly in that smooth fluency of American accent with its Deep South twang.
Her smile made her face look wider and eyes bigger.
Something else stood out that couldn't have been missed. Her green eyebrows.
They were a reminder of a picture of an early Egyptian face painting he'd seen at the museum of antiquities.
And then, he noticed her unusually glossy white teeth.
"Edan, not Joey," he quickly corrected, expecting an apology.
"Same thing," she replied.
"Not the same," Edan emphasized.
She ran a ring about him twice in her roller skates, grinding to a halt right beside him.
Then she blew air into the gum she must have been chewing for hours on end.
It gradually grew bigger and bigger into a large gummy bubble and then – popped.
"They're boys' names – same thing, right?" she said carelessly after managing to claw back the burst pieces into her mouth.
"Not the same. It's Edan," he insisted.
"Whatever!" She replied impatiently.
The flirty smile faded away.
In its place was pure aggressive rudeness.
"Anyway," she said dismissively, "tickets are extremely cheap and available. They would not be for too long soon. So, my offer is for this minute. It's one night only.
How many do you want, I dare ask?"
Edan sighed gravely.
With such foolhardy and arrogant attitude, there was no way he would ever consider buying anything from this moron. Not even if she were the last female occupant on a burning planet earth selling the last bag of oxygen.
He was disappointed.
How could anyone be so terribly lacking in what he believed was basic manners of niceties and politeness?
Yes, she was attractively looking. But all the charm of her face was worth little to him without any good manners.
It made him wonder rather sadly why some parents hazard not to teach their children the wonderful benefits of being graciously polite to others. It's priceless!
Still, in declining whatever she was offering and despite how cheap they may seem Edan remained gracious and polite.
He had to continue on his mission that has brought him so far.
He could have sworn he had seen her somewhere before, but obviously not.
Her bleached white teeth effect, could it be what dazzled him most?
Maybe. But not anymore! How weird!
Edan was initially upset with himself for having been played for a mug.
How could he have been so immature?
On a second thought, he decided it wasn't actually his fault.
He would cut himself a little bit of slack and not be so uptight about it.
After all, there's no undoing what's done.
He must have been mesmerized by how white her teeth shone.
He couldn't have known she was also a cleaver pick pocket until after the event.
He appreciates that things do sometimes go wrong when least unexpected. This time it actually did.
But in the midst of all the craziness of what had happened, he'd come to realize one special something. The beauty of growing up was probably the ability to contain mistakes already made.
To learn from experiences of oneself and others while striving not to repeat them.
At the same time, to get things done even when no one is ever so confident.
He obviously believed that she was the girl of his dream.
How wrong he was.
Everyone all over the world does have a carbon copy of themselves. Like a twin brother or sister in different countries and time zones who would never meet.
It is absolutely a remarkable thing.
The possibility that every human being has a clone relative somewhere on the planet is mind-blowing. It is similar to witnessing some of the various organisms that inhabit the very deep of great ocean beds.