The serene zephyr blew as the moon light shone on the accelerating car's glimmering surface. The silence was as deafening, with a light piano music ringing through all of their minds, compelling them to reminisce. Kendall, in the back seat resting her head on Xavier initiated the conversation: "Do you remember the last time we met?"
"Hmm, she nodded and continued, "Of course! How can I forget where I was coming from?" She nudged her elbow to get Asher back to his sense from his nostalgia; he increased the car's speed
"She was sitting in a cafe doing some work and to my surprise, two male strangers were sitting across," he narrated, "The air was exuded with calmness after turbulence. I went to her straight-" he added.
" Your conscience was signalling things accurately. What do you expect from me in exasperation when I booked the table in advance? Of course, I did make things go upside down when the manager was trying to swindle me with another table," she grunted.
" What really happened? We never got the chance to ask that," enquired Xavier.
"When I reached the Cafe, another customer and I encountered each other while finding our seats. We both halted at the same spot, not just because of any misunderstanding but because we had same seat number assigned, with the same date and time. The manger revealed the cause that: it was system's malfunction. Now, none of us wanted to give up on that seat and it created a storm in a teacup." She took a deep breathe and drank some water, with everyone's eyes on her filling the silence with ambiguity.
"What's next?" Kendall asked curiously.
"We were arguing, the situation was escalating.
"'Miss, Sir calm down', the manager interrupted,' Listen to me, how about you both share the same table?' He proposed looking at us with his eyes filled with hope and proceeded: "And we will return you your half of your advance back. In addition, we'll be compensating you with an exclusive 60 percent discount on whatever you order. My mind changed and suddenly I wanted to do so-who doesn't want to save some money after all. The other party also agreed."
"When I approached and asked, she told the story in a nutshell, he added, "And at the same time the phone rang."
"Before he came, the two man who seemed to be of Chinese origin said something," she paused with her eyes locked with his.
"Then.., Xavier exclaimed. Seeing her pause at him, he directed his question towards him," You tell us, Asher"
He glanced at her; she curved her right cheek upwards and raised her eyebrows.
" In Chinese what he meant was ' look! She's so cute', said one man. The other replied, ' And quite glamorous with her nonchalant look' By then I had arrived. Her phone rang and you won't believe their expressions when she spoke Chinese with her client."
" They were gobsmacked. Their jaws dropped but I remained phlegmatic," she said with her eyes flickering and both passed a furtive smile.
"So, this is so memorable - a quibble with the Chinese," teased Kendall with suspicion.
"Or what?," Cindery claimed.
The car took manoeuvres to reach an alley and the underground parking opened as Asher controlled it with his phone. Xavier carried Kendall in her gown. As Cindery stepped down, he pulled her back and pinned her to the wall.
"You only remember this," Asher bantered.
"Take a guess?"
"You do, right?"
He whispered in her ear the poem he had said on that day.
"Your fragrance is addictive. Every inch of yours is hypnotic. No wonder, why God took so long to make our fates linked. No wonder, why God was so busy before you were born. And I can't hide my eyes' sparkle when they met yours."
She pushed him a little and went away to gasp, the same way she had stood up with her long dark brown coat and turned.
"It's not that I'm the only one beautiful. It's your eyes, who sees me this way? After all, beauty is destined in the eye of the beholder." She took a break.
"Have you ever seen the wolf longing for the moon? And have you ever seen an eagle infatuated for the heights? That's what is between us."
His smile faded and then glowed. This time, he replied.
"Have you ever seen the compassion between the sun and moon? Regardless of their time-lapse, they still complement each other. That is what really between us, as long as you acknowledge it."
She took a deep breath. Before she could utter a word, Kendall came to drag her in to help her get changed.