waiting patiently

Patience

It was starting to get late.

He was waiting for it...

He woke up with a feeling that today it would come. He went to work with a slight anticipation of the evening. It was like that time when he was waiting for his wife to come back from a long trip.

He left work. 5pm. Drove home. Ate. The anticipation was there. He felt it strongly now.

"While I'm here, might as well just read a book."

For a while it helped. Then he couldn't focus anymore.

"A walk wouldn't hurt."

He knew that it was supposed to come to his neighbourhood at around 8 in the evening. He knew every spot it could come from and was sure that it could only come by the main road. Not many knew other ways too get to his home.

7pm. He was walking towards a park not far away.

It was early spring. Air was getting a bit warmer, but real warmth came from sudden bursts of warm gusts of wind. He walked a lot and noticed that they only came a couple of times a day.

Head was empty, thoughts flying over him. He didn't notice how he reached the park.

Sun in the mountains goes down quickly. Unlike other places, where sun comes down slowly, shining warmer and warmer, quieter and quieter... Sun in the mountains sets rapidly. It doesn't let you enjoy the sunset for long. It sent him straight into the night...

A cup of tea from the place he visits every once in a while on his walks would warm him up as the air gets colder. Soon, in a month or so, it will be hot and he would ask for juice or coffee with ice instead.

Carefully holding the paper cup with hot jasmine tea he went towards his home. He didn't think about walking, about the weather or what he did at work today. He didn't remember.

There was a bench close to the main road.

"It probably will happen here."

He sat down. It was exactly 8pm. Hot tea was slowly warming him back up. The hope to see it today was overwhelming him. He was dreaming of it for 6 months... or maybe more?

He couldn't put to rest the thought that he could see it today.

He waited impatiently for the time one cigarette lasted him. Then he opened a book. Maybe reading could once again save him from the pain of waiting.

People were walking by. He was reading.

By 9 he started to look up at every person who walked by. He closed the book.

Just waiting patiently for his dream was a better option. Every person who walked by seemed to take a half-a-second long look at him and lose interest in the man who was waiting.

"I wonder if they know what I am waiting for... Can they see it in the way I look or in the way my eyes glow with tired anticipation? Do they understand how important it is to me..."

By midnight he gave up. People stopped walking by. He didn't see it.

"Tomorrow... Maybe tomorrow it will come."

Salt

It was unusually loud today. While entering the cafe she walked through the cloud of smoke that guests sitting on the patio were exhaling.

Opening the door woke her up for the second time today. All 4 of the baristas were running around looking busy.

They stopped, looked at her, gave a slight nod and went back to being busy. They almost always had time to talk, looked half-relaxed and joyful, even when tired. She loved them for it. Every single one made her boring days just a bit better.

She looked at the seating area and realised the reason for the slight nods instead of heartwarming hugs. It was fuller than full. The patio too.

George came running to her after a minute.

"What will you have today, miss May?" asked the barista.

"Just the usual, my dear friend."

"Maryyy, a latte and an almond croissant!" exclaimed the old Turkish man and took the 3 euro from her. "I will be with you soon." he said with his unusual, almost royal sounding accent.

She went outside to find the only free seat.

Life was good here. She enjoyed the smell of salt that filled the air by the seaside. She enjoyed the always present faint sound of kids playing in the streets. She loved the sunsets and the evenings she spent with this one man she met here. He worked with American companies, so he spent late nights on the phone. Mornings were quiet. He slept and she went out to explore the town.

It was so tranquil, even cats made friends with dogs here and were catching fish in the salty water together... They still didn't understand why dogs like water so much.

George came out to the patio and sat down with her. She took a sip of her coffee and smelled the warm croissant. Old man started smoking.

"I don't know what happened. Why are all these people here? It's Wednesday, miss May. I know that it's not a problem for you, but why are they here" he wondered. She didn't have an answer and just enjoyed her snack...

After a while she looked at the clock hanging by the entrance.

"George, I will go home now" she said. He put out his cigarette and bid her goodbyes. She left the patio.

Soon her dreamy evening friend will wake up.