Serendipity | h.s

five

"Of all the hearts I've loved, yours is the only one that makes mine smile."

- Paul Perry

***

Harry

A vibrating sound on the small coffee table in front of me forces me to wake up. After struggling a bit with the mountain of blankets on me, I get up from the couch to reach the phone in front of me.

I looked at the screen for a few seconds without understanding why Cora was calling me. Does she have my number?

Cora's name disappears from the screen, indicating that she had hung up the call. When I look at the wallpaper of the phone I realize that she wasn't trying to call me, she was calling Maia, I was holding Maia's phone.

Last night, we looked at photographs that I had developed that same afternoon; I explained everything I had to do while she asked endless questions about my work. She seemed genuinely delighted, so much so that I had to interrupt her to let me explain.

Her demeanor was cute, like a little girl in a playground trying to decide where to play first. Her mind seemed distracted from whatever it was that had upset her so much and I was willing to do my best to get her mind off whatever that was.

When we left the red room we sat on the sofa where we talked a little more. I spoke to her about the places I visited while showing her all the experiences that were forever frozen in the photographs.

Around midnight, she insisted on going home while I offered to let her stay at my apartment. We were both too tired for driving, I wouldn't let her go out this late alone in an uber and I didn't mind a little company. I needed company. Her company.

Being with her feels good. She feels like a poem that has never been written, like a perfect photograph that no one has dared to take, she feels like walking among fluffy clouds, almost floating. I've met many people, but no one feels like her.

I realized that we were both stubborn, so I accidentally told her that I would tie her to my bed to make her stay, if I had to.

After a brief awkward and tortuous silence, she joked, poking fun at my words and how shy I had suddenly become after saying that. "Listen, I'm down but first take me to dinner first" she kept saying trying to hold back her laughter.

It was probably one of the most embarrassing moments of my life, but at least I managed to make her stay.

Cora's name reappears on the screen and I rush to answer before she can hang up again.

"Hello" I speak through the phone

"Hello? Harry?" I heard her voice talking back to me.

"Yes, this is Harry. I know I'm not the person you were expecting to talk to, but Maia is still asleep." I tell her trying not to speak too loud as I walk to the kitchen.

"It 's okay. I was just worried because she didn't sleep here last night and she-" her voice over the phone cuts off abruptly.

I put the phone away from my ear looking at the screen, the call was still in progress. "Uh... Cora?" I asked to make sure she was still in the line.

"Oh god" she said.

"What? What is it? Are you okay?" I raise my voice a little worried about what is happening to her on the other side of the phone.

"Oh my god" she manages to say, gasping in surprise.

"Cora"

"Do you think they..." I hear her whisper to someone else. My eyes widened in surprise when I understood what was going through her head. "Harry... I'm gonna ask you something and I need you to be completely honest with me"