Picasso's Favorite Star

Cherry Wine

10:30 pm

You were strolling around the streets of Boston. You decided to go on a walk at this late hour because you thought that the air would be nice and cold enough for you to enjoy. While walking, you spotted a figure not too far from where you're standing, so you decided to approach that person or whatever that was.

As you walked closer and closer, you confirmed that it was indeed a person. A woman, to be precise. Who comes here at this hour?

Maybe you aren't the only one who enjoys the cold atmosphere of a late night after all.

"Hey, miss," you said, getting her attention in an instant. The young lady's sight went from her phone to you. "Why are you alone here? Gabi na oh,"

"I just.. I just wanted to inhale some fresh air." she politely replied, smiling at you, now standing in front of her.

"I see," you nodded. "Do you mind if I sit down here?"

You were pointing at the spot a few inches away from her. The latter gave an immediate response, "Not at all."

"I'm Y/N, by the way." you introduced yourself to her, thinking you'd be a little less of a stranger to her.

She nodded back and waved cutely at you. "Hi, Y/N."

You smiled and observed the woman beside you. A thought then crossed your head. Am I making her uncomfortable?

Given the short and plain responses you receive in return, you can't help but think you might really make her uncomfortable. It wasn't your intention to make her feel that way, so you wished you weren't.

But the latter seemed to hear your thoughts. You felt like a prayer of yours was answered. "I'm sorry, you might be thinking that I feel uncomfy around you. Medyo nahihiya lang ako, don't worry."

Ah, nahihiya lang, you thought and felt relieved to know. You were also a little shocked to hear her speak tagalog. A Filipina.

"'Wag kang mahiya sa 'kin. Ako lang 'to." you tried to ease the awkwardness that lingered between the two of you.

"Ikaw, anong ginagawa mo rito?" she asked. It was the first question that came out of her mouth since you saw her.

"Nagpapahangin lang after a load of works I had to finish. Then nakita kita, so I thought of approaching you."

An ohh escaped the woman's mouth, nodding in return. You eyed her from head to toe, fascinated by her pretty face. You found her attractive and charming. Her eyes twinkling, you liked her eyes a lot. She's so pretty.

Then, you noticed her shoe. Of all things you could notice, your eyes went to her shoe. And of all things you could be curious about, you were curious if she dances.

You don't know when you'll be seeing her again, so you decided to ask anyway.

"Do you dance?" you ask her—you feel a bit shy and perhaps a little embarrassed.

She smiled and shook her head. "Hindi ako marunong sumayaw eh. Ikaw? Do you dance?"

You chuckled. You know you're not the greatest dancer in the world, but not the worst either. You find yourself somewhere in between. "Konti, but I'm not the best dancer, ha. Don't expect too much."

"Really?"

"Oo nga. Do you want to see me dance?" you dared to ask.

"Sure. I'd love to see you dance."

You weren't sure if you'd like to dance in front of her. But at the same time, you wouldn't want to think of a what-if-i-showed-her-how-i-dance thought later when you get home, so you stood up and faced her again.

"Come with me. Doon tayo sa may malaking space." you told her, reaching your hand out to her. She gladly took it, and you pulled her up.

The two of you ran to the open space and stood there for a minute. You hesitated for a bit, but you tell yourself that there's no backing out.

"Now what?" she asks you.

"Dance?"

"Pero walang music,"

"Edi I'll improvise." you confidently tell her in return. You started humming a random tune as you snapped your fingers to create a beat. You did your little dance and earned soft laughs from the young lady who watched you sway your body to your improvised music. "Ikaw ha, tinatawanan mo 'ko."

"I'm not laughing naman, ah. Cute mo kayang sumayaw," replied she, chuckling.

"Join me then."

"What? Ayoko, 'di naman ako marunong sumayaw." she tells you, shaking her head and crossing both of her arms.

"That's okay. Hindi naman required maging the best dancer dito. Come on," you tried encourage her, hoping she'd try to dance along.

"Alright. But don't judge, ha."

You chuckled at her. "I won't, don't worry."

You began to hum the same tune you were humming earlier, snapped your fingers, and danced. You saw her hold back, but you gave her a smile of encouragement and assurance. She then gave in. Your smile grew wider as she did her little dancey dance while you did yours.

On a cold Friday night, two people danced in an open space. They swayed together, mindless of the fact that they were both in public and people may see them. But it was late at night anyway, there were a few people around, and they were sure those people wouldn't care too much about what they're doing.

Laughing, they ended their dance with a huge smile on their faces.

You clapped at the young lady, who seemed to enjoy the thing you both did there not long ago. "It was fun, right?"

"It is! I enjoyed it."

"Pagod ka na?"

"A bit."

"Do you want to go home na? Late na rin oh,"

"Yeah, in a bit. How about you?"

You nodded as you fixed your jacket. "I'll be heading home na rin. Thank you for tonight..."

"Tricia. I'm Tricia."

"Tricia. Thank you for tonight, Tricia. This was unexpected, but I enjoyed it. Let's get to know more about each other, yeah?"

"Sure. I'd love to know more about you."

illustration by saintjackson, do not repost!

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quickly wrote this one while listening to cherry wine by grentperez.