Chapter 3
They met
Sunday morning was very annoying. Just a day away from work, and nothing to do. Adam made it a point only to work during office hours, which seemed an extremely good policy to adopt. However, with few friends, and few hobbies, it left him nothing to do.
Adam forgot the reason why he went there. It seemed ridiculous that he would go to a bookstore, considering that fact that the number of books he owned was less than the number of fingers and toes he had. But it seemed perfectly normal considering the fact that it was located within close proximity of his apartment and that he was too lazy to go anywhere else.
It was a ten minute stroll to the bookstore. Adam shuffled his feet along the way and kept his head bent, looking and the rain and mud and dirt on the pavement. The rain was pounding heavily against his umbrella and he was already regretting his decision to leave home.
My feet are getting wet, he thought grumpily. Then suddenly, without warning, the rain stopped. Adam looked up at the sky in disbelief and exasperation. The sunlight shone down on him like a shower and his hand dropped the umbrella that he was holding.
'Here, your umbrella,' a voice behind him said, as a hand tapped him on the shoulder and passed him the umbrella. Caught off guard, Adam jumped. He turned around and was greeted by a warm smiling stranger. Her outstretched hand held the umbrella firmly and her other hand was placed shyly behind her back.
'Thanks,' Adam said, in a cold tone. He didn’t like talking to strangers, or women he didn’t know, for that matter. He especially disliked women who made the first move. Of course this had absolutely nothing to do with it, but something told him that this woman would be the kind to make the first move.
As he glanced at the stranger properly, he realized that she was probably only a girl, not even a woman. The girlish features of her face made her look very youthful. How old is this girl? Adam wondered to himself. Twenty? Nineteen?
'That's an awful nice umbrella you got there,' the stranger broke his train of thoughts when she spoke again. She eyed the umbrella enviously, and then smiled sheepishly. Adam' eyes widened in surprise then shifted their attention from the stranger to his umbrella.
His long, tan fingers ran along the edges of the umbrella's smooth, clear and transparent fabric, gently brushing away rain drops from its surface. Cleary women are a species of creatures that I simply cannot relate with. He eyed the umbrella, looking curiously at it, wondering which part of the object appealed so much to this stranger. Not being able to come up with a satisfactory conclusion, Adam gave up and took his eyes off the umbrella.
'Well, erm thanks for picking up my umbrella.' He cleared his throat before thanking her in a formal tone.
'Haha, yeah, you’re welcome. Bye bye.' The stranger smiled politely and bowed slightly and took one last look at the umbrella before she walked off.
Adam looked up at the sky. It was fine weather to walk a dog. He thought of Buddy, alone at home, with his head on the floor, on top of his furry paws, lying underneath the sofa. Truly man’s best friend, Adam smirked as he turned and walked back towards his apartment.
They met
Sunday morning was very annoying. Just a day away from work, and nothing to do. Adam made it a point only to work during office hours, which seemed an extremely good policy to adopt. However, with few friends, and few hobbies, it left him nothing to do.
Adam forgot the reason why he went there. It seemed ridiculous that he would go to a bookstore, considering that fact that the number of books he owned was less than the number of fingers and toes he had. But it seemed perfectly normal considering the fact that it was located within close proximity of his apartment and that he was too lazy to go anywhere else.
It was a ten minute stroll to the bookstore. Adam shuffled his feet along the way and kept his head bent, looking and the rain and mud and dirt on the pavement. The rain was pounding heavily against his umbrella and he was already regretting his decision to leave home.
My feet are getting wet, he thought grumpily. Then suddenly, without warning, the rain stopped. Adam looked up at the sky in disbelief and exasperation. The sunlight shone down on him like a shower and his hand dropped the umbrella that he was holding.
'Here, your umbrella,' a voice behind him said, as a hand tapped him on the shoulder and passed him the umbrella. Caught off guard, Adam jumped. He turned around and was greeted by a warm smiling stranger. Her outstretched hand held the umbrella firmly and her other hand was placed shyly behind her back.
'Thanks,' Adam said, in a cold tone. He didn’t like talking to strangers, or women he didn’t know, for that matter. He especially disliked women who made the first move. Of course this had absolutely nothing to do with it, but something told him that this woman would be the kind to make the first move.
As he glanced at the stranger properly, he realized that she was probably only a girl, not even a woman. The girlish features of her face made her look very youthful. How old is this girl? Adam wondered to himself. Twenty? Nineteen?
'That's an awful nice umbrella you got there,' the stranger broke his train of thoughts when she spoke again. She eyed the umbrella enviously, and then smiled sheepishly. Adam' eyes widened in surprise then shifted their attention from the stranger to his umbrella.
His long, tan fingers ran along the edges of the umbrella's smooth, clear and transparent fabric, gently brushing away rain drops from its surface. Cleary women are a species of creatures that I simply cannot relate with. He eyed the umbrella, looking curiously at it, wondering which part of the object appealed so much to this stranger. Not being able to come up with a satisfactory conclusion, Adam gave up and took his eyes off the umbrella.
'Well, erm thanks for picking up my umbrella.' He cleared his throat before thanking her in a formal tone.
'Haha, yeah, you’re welcome. Bye bye.' The stranger smiled politely and bowed slightly and took one last look at the umbrella before she walked off.
Adam looked up at the sky. It was fine weather to walk a dog. He thought of Buddy, alone at home, with his head on the floor, on top of his furry paws, lying underneath the sofa. Truly man’s best friend, Adam smirked as he turned and walked back towards his apartment.
[to be continued...=D]
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