Strangers in the Night

He saw her from across the room, seated at the bar, slowly sipping her drink. Her angelic appearance made her seem out of place in this bar that was slowly filling with office-goers, men and women worn-out from their daily routines, who had come to unwind, and a few to drown their sorrows. She seemed unperturbed by the crowd around her and kept to herself and her drink.

She saw him from her seat at the bar, ruggedly handsome, not all primp and manicured as most of the guys in the room. She felt an awkwardness when she caught his gaze looking her way. She was surprised that he didn’t try to look away on being caught. Her heart almost fluttered, if it could flutter, when he got up from his seat and walked towards the bar, in her direction.

“Is this seat taken?” He asked. She opened her mouth to say something but words seemed to have deserted her. Instead she could only muster a polite nod. He placed his drink on the bar and took the seat right next to hers, making her feel even more nervous.

“It’s surely a crime that a beauty like you should be seated all by herself,” he said nonchalantly. Although she felt it corny, she took no offence to it. He radiated a smouldering masculinity that she had seldom seen in other men. Once again she opened her mouth to say something but couldn’t muster herself to speak. Once again words seemed to have deserted her. “Why am I so tongue-tied?” she asked herself, “Why can’t I just answer him?” Ignoring her awkwardness, he continued, “But then you are a lady who wouldn’t care whether or not others gave her attention.” He said with a smug smile.

These words caught her unaware, causing something inside her melt. She took a deep, silent breath, to compose herself and get a grip of her thoughts. She finally spoke, “People see what they want to see,” she said in a low voice, almost a whisper, “and I don’t think I am what they would like to see. So let them see what they want to see, and I will see what I need to see”.

He smiled, once again causing her to melt a bit more, but by now she was more composed. “Touché!” he said, “Well said! So let’s drink to that.” Saying this he lifted his glass, clinked it against her, and took a sip of his drink.

“You don’t seem from around here?” She said, gaining the confidence to have a conversation with him, “What brings you to this side of town?” He once again took a sip of his drink and smiled at her. “Well, I am what you call an out-of-towner”, he said swirling his drink, “in town to meet someone who needs my help.”

“Wow! That must be one lucky lady to have someone like you to come to her rescue,” she said with a sly smile. He shifted his haze from his drink to her face, once again causing that same giddy feeling that she felt ever since he came to sit next to her at the bar. “How do you know that the person I am to meet, needs rescuing?” he said arching his eyebrows, “and what makes you think that this person is a woman?”

“Well, you could call it a woman’s intuition,” she said, trying to sound as cool and calm as possible, trying not to show the effect that he had on her. He laughed at her response, “Well then, I will drink to that, to a woman’s intuition”, he said taking a sip from his drink, “who I will meet, only the night will tell.”

And so began a conversation, a source of companionship for those brief hours. People who looked upon them would have assumed that they were good friends, never releasing that they were strangers to each other, brought together by coincidence and some harmless flirting. As the night wore on, the crowd at the bar began to lessen as the patrons slowly made their way home to crash into their beds, in deep slumber, to retire for the rest of the night.

He leaned towards her and whispered in her ears, “let’s get out of this place before we become the only two souls left in this bar.” Saying this he took her by the hand and lead her on. She couldn’t protest or even ask where they were going, she was so enamoured and captivated by him, he had put her spell on her she was compelled to follow. She didn’t want to protest, didn’t want to know where they were going, she just followed his lead.

They walked down cobbled streets that were mostly deserted, except for a few passed out drunks fallen on the streets. They passed a group who were all lost in singing some bawdy song, often way off key, and some few other souls who were hurrying home for the night.

They came to the fountain that formed the centre of the city, which was lined with cafes, most of whom were deserted, closed for the night. They sat on the bench that overlooked the fountain. Somewhere out of a tavern a melody softly drifted out.

He stood up and gently took her by the hand, pulling her close to him. She could almost smell him, an intoxicating, divine smell. She could feel herself falling for him, falling into a deep abyss she felt she couldn’t find her way out. But was she capable of falling in love, she wondered.

He pulled her closer to him, now she should almost feel his breath on her face. At any moment their lips would meet and sparks would fly setting free the passion that was so long held back. But before their lips could meet, he smiled and instinctively, she put her head against his chest. Putting his hands across her waist. Holding her, he slowly moved her to the tune that wafted out.

They were two strangers in the night, two lonely people, wondering what were the chances, they’d be falling in love before the night was through, whether love was just a glance a way, a warm embracing dance away. Anyone who happened to looked upon them would have assumed that they were lovers out on a clandestine meeting, two lonely souls who found each other in the night. Little did they know that they were just two strangers in the night. They continued to slow dance until the music slowly faded away, as it had started.

Now it was her turn to whisper into his ear. She stood on the tips of her toes so that she could reach his ears. “Let’s move from here,” she whispered. But instead of following her lead, he said with a mischievous grin, “Where are you taking me?” “Don’t worry it’s a beautiful place and you’ll be safe, I won’t harm you”, she said teasingly, playing along with his mischievous way. “Isn’t that my lines?” He said with a mischievous smile. But he didn’t protest, he just followed her.

Again, they made their way through deserted streets, pass drunken people and down a street that led them out of the city. They walked for a while till they came to a small park (if you could call it a park) that overlooked the sea below.

She sat down on the grass that was damp from the night’s dew, and pulled him down with her. He sat down hesitatingly, at first worried about spoiling his clothes but in the end he sat beside her. She put her head on his shoulder and together they stared at the point where the sky met the sea, admiring the view that was in front of them.

“This is indeed a very beautiful place,” he finally said, breaking the momentary silence that had come between them. “I had told you so, and see there’s nothing for you to be afraid of,” she said, continuing to tease him. “I have been coming to this place as far as I can remember. It is a place I am most at peace. I have always felt that this is the place that gave me birth, and this is the place I would love to rest for all eternity.”

Once again there was silence between them. But it was not an awkward silence, just a silence in which two souls were enjoying each other’s company, grateful for each other’s presence. She continued to keep her head on his shoulder, grateful for his presence. He in turn put his hand around her waist.

“Where do you think souls go after they leave their earthly dwelling?” She said, half expecting him to give her a, “are you mad or what” look. But he continued to stare at the sky and thoughtfully responded to her. “There are many things that happens to a soul once it completes it dwelling on earth. It all depends on what you believe in”, he explained. “Some believe that once you complete your journey here on earth, you become a star in the sky, shining down on your loved ones you have left behind.”

“I remember that”, she said melancholically. “I remember my mother telling me this. I believed her as a child but as I grew older I felt this thought to be plain silly. But I am a lost star trying to find my way home.”

He gave her a quizzical look, but then smiled gently. “Do you remember, I told you that I felt that this place gave birth to me,” she said softy, as if revealing a deep secret, “and this is the place where I want to spend the rest of my life?” Then taking a deep breath, she continued, “This is the place where I met my end.”

She expected he would think of her as a crazy fool and just leave her and go. But he continued to sit next to her, showing no signs of making a run for the roads.

She took courage from his continued presence. “I met my end at this very place and ever since I am trying to find my way home, a lost soul in the dark”, she said softly, hoping he would understand what she was trying to tell him.

He turned to her and pulled her closer to him. She could feel his breath on her face almost causing her heart to beat faster, that’s if she still had a beating heart. This was not the reaction she had expected, but would take it any day. He whispered to her, “I know who you are my dear,” he said with a smile, “I’ve known who you are all along. I am death and I am here to take you home.” Saying this he pulled her closer to him and their lips met and kissed her passionately. There was a burst of light and in the night sky a new star was born.