I met her for the first time in Lorrey's cafe. It was a warm summer evening. I was quietly waiting for her trying to calm my excited heart. When suddenly a voice called me from behind. I was excited and said,"Lucy!"but it was not her.
And my mood dropped when I saw it was the waitress asking for the order. I explained, I was waiting for someone and will place my order later. She went back to serve the other customers.
I waited for quite a while then I started feeling isolated by my suffocating thoughts that if she did not come or will she hate me after seeing me.
Then another voice came. I thought it was the waitress again so I turned back and said,"Please wait for a while she will be coming soon."
But I was amazed by the sight in front of my eyes. In the warm glow of the sunshine I saw a goddess in white, her whole self was radiating joy. Her long black hair swayed like golden curtains in the gentle breeze. Her sharp features softened by the sunshine and those smiling eyes and the warmth in them captivated my heart. The time stopped and I was mesmerized by her natural charm.
She broke the silence between us and sweetly said,"It's so nice to finally meet you! Sofia."I was brought back to reality by her voice. In a hurry to reply I said,"Yes."I knew, it was not a good response and I was sure when I saw that the corners of her mouth were drawn down.
She drifted over and settled into the chair in front. I was mad at myself and my stupid response. She said in a rather serious tone,"I was hoping to meet you but I don't think...… you like to meet me."
I panicked at her remark and blurted out my thoughts,"No! You are just too beautiful so I lost my mind."After speaking I again realized what I have said and how great the offense could be. But this time I didn't regret it because I saw she burst out laughing.
"Oh! then you are more pleased than I thought."she said. A wave of heat washed over me and I desperately wanted to hide in a hole. I think she stopped after seeing my flushed face and I was glad for that.
At that movement, I realized that the habit of speaking outrageous remarks without a second thought is not always bad. From that moment our interaction brought me endless joy and the feeling of having a friend was not bad.
She in a cheerful voice started telling me about her journey to Thailand from New York. When she noticed that I was not paying attention, she asked,"What's on your mind Sofia? By any chance you are not feeling well."
I was drifted back to reality and clarified," I was just thinking about the first time when we met and now after years we are sitting together."she smiled and said,"Indeed I found it amusing that I would be meeting a person from a different country whom I met through a website."
Yes, we are the examples of successful online friendships. Even now I found it peculiar. We chatted for an hour and ate to our fullest.
I found a lot about her. She was fond of small animals, liked to read novels and hated sweets.
After knowing some of her preferences I took a mental note of them and decided to bring her favourites as a welcoming gift.
Lucy liked adventures but because of her poor health she could not travel much. As the night approached, Lucy's mother Amanda called her. I suggested that I would drop her to the bus stop and she agreed.
As I came out from the cafe an idea struck my mind. I asked Lucy if she wanted to enjoy some thrill and she readily accepted without even asking about my plan.
I doubted that either she trusted me too much or she was a mischevious girl who liked to break rules. But neither was my concern I only wanted us to enjoy our lives.
I told her to sit on the bike but she hesitated I was going to explain my plan to her but she said,"Sophia, ... I am a law abiding citizen. I know adventures are fun but stealing someone's possessions for fun is against my rules."
I was confused at first but then I realised she misunderstood for me stealing my own bike. I thought what a creative mind she had. I decided to take advantage of the situation and told her,"Hmm, Lucy but the owner would not mind." she replied hurriedly," At least you have to inform them first."
I said,"I have already asked for permission and it would not be a problem." She sighed in relief and then comfortably sat on the backseat of the bike. I started paddeling. In the midway of our journey she curiously asked,"Who is the owner of this bike? I wanted to buy one too."
I answered," Me." she said," No I asked for the owner." I replied,"I am the owner of this bike." and moved my head to see her reaction.
Her cheeks were bright red and she shouted,"Why have not you corrected me before???". I did not reply and now I laughed out loud. She pouted her cheeks and now I tried to control my laughter but seeing her face I stared laughing like a madmen.
She laughed out loud too and the bike violently shaked . We almost fell from it. Then our journey continued with occasional jokes and laughs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Extra--
Lucy after seeing Sofia -- ( 〃▽〃)