A Sanguine Winter Evening

While I walked down a busy street with people chatting and laughing, a group of girls giggling and dressed in skirts and sweaters passed by. Cold breeze swept through my face as I walked into a cafe to meet an old friend. Dressed in a white T-shirt and blue jeans with an olive green jacket I felt warm and excited! Most of us tend to notice a lot of things while walking that we wouldn't otherwise. A woman stood across the road and held her baby carelessly in her arms. He looked starved, weak and dirty. A beehive of thoughts swarmed across my head. How do we react in times like these? Some of us either thank God for the comfort he gave us or simply walk past with a sympathetic, sorry look. Some tourists found it amusing and a woman grabbed her husband's arm and exclaimed "Look at that, so cute". Instantly, smiles were exchanged, pictures were clicked. An old man and I stood together overlooking the irony. I wondered if he thought what I did.

The cafe was quiet and just how I would have preferred it to be. If you know me, you would know that sitting in a cafe by myself reading a book and listening to music is exactly what I would love to do on a sanguine winter evening. Brad Arnold and Bob Seger sang 'Landing in London' to me while I read 'Love in the time of Cholera'.

After I'd read for an hour she finally arrived. While I sipped on my Hazelnut Latte she spoke of work, family and old school friends whom we'd lost touch with. We bid our goodbyes and promised to keep in touch.

Usually on such calm evenings, realizations strike. One such realization that struck me that day was that I'd changed. I could now make conversation.