It was a hot and muggy midsummer night. A light rain was falling, but it did little to cool things off. If anything, it caused a fog to envelop the city. Walking through the streets was like walking in a sauna. Neon cut through the haze and the windows of the buildings created bright halos in the darkness. It was half an hour until midnight and at a small diner the late crowd was filing and out. It wasn't packed, but buzzed with small talk as half the tables were filled.
Sam sat by himself, sipping on a mug of tea. He had come in for something to eat, but found he wasn't all that hungry for some reason and nibbled on a basket of fries for a while. He only got half-way through before he lost his appetite all together. He was in a bad rut, arguably the worst in his life. And he really had no idea what to do anymore.
He glanced up at the counter for the who-knows-how-many time that night. She was still sitting there. A beautiful young woman dressed stylishly. Expensively. She looked like she had stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine save for one thing: she looked like she had a severe case of the blues. Sam had been glancing at her ever since she came in almost an hour ago. She just sat by herself at the counter and to his knowledge didn't make eye contact with anyone. She looked as lonely as he felt.
He noticed other patrons were also looking at her. Among the crowd of students, punks, bohemians, and goths, she stood out like a single flower in an open field. Yet no one dared to approach her. It was almost like they were afraid to disrupt this curious little scene. This gorgeous but sad young woman sitting all by herself in a greasy diner in the middle of a rainy night.
Sam wasn't really sure how he came to the decision. It seemed to be almost automatic. He left the change from his tab as a tip and walked over to the counter. His legs felt like lead as he walked up, but he finally sat in the stool next to the woman. There were a lot of other stools at the counter. She would know immediately that it was no coincidence that he picked the one next to her. She looked at him and he offered a small smile and said softly, "Hi."
Sam sat by himself, sipping on a mug of tea. He had come in for something to eat, but found he wasn't all that hungry for some reason and nibbled on a basket of fries for a while. He only got half-way through before he lost his appetite all together. He was in a bad rut, arguably the worst in his life. And he really had no idea what to do anymore.
He glanced up at the counter for the who-knows-how-many time that night. She was still sitting there. A beautiful young woman dressed stylishly. Expensively. She looked like she had stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine save for one thing: she looked like she had a severe case of the blues. Sam had been glancing at her ever since she came in almost an hour ago. She just sat by herself at the counter and to his knowledge didn't make eye contact with anyone. She looked as lonely as he felt.
He noticed other patrons were also looking at her. Among the crowd of students, punks, bohemians, and goths, she stood out like a single flower in an open field. Yet no one dared to approach her. It was almost like they were afraid to disrupt this curious little scene. This gorgeous but sad young woman sitting all by herself in a greasy diner in the middle of a rainy night.
Sam wasn't really sure how he came to the decision. It seemed to be almost automatic. He left the change from his tab as a tip and walked over to the counter. His legs felt like lead as he walked up, but he finally sat in the stool next to the woman. There were a lot of other stools at the counter. She would know immediately that it was no coincidence that he picked the one next to her. She looked at him and he offered a small smile and said softly, "Hi."