January and snow

Sparks flew

"Smarties on ice cream is the worst combination ever," Christopher said with a disgusted look.

"For someone without a tongue," I replied. We currently sat at my table, with a new order of hot cocoa and pancakes at night. "But we have to agree m and m's is a wonderful topping given to us by God Himself."

"That I agree on," he ate a slice of pancake and smiled happily. "This diner is really underrated." I nodded in agreement and ate a slice of my own pancake. Eating breakfast for dinner should really become a tradition because, why not?

"So Mr Christopher," I began in an old English accent. "Where are you from? You're surely not from the states."

"Ding ding ding," he said in a sing-song manner. "I'm from the Wales, a small country in Europe."

"Cool and what are you looking for that you came all the way to America?"

"I was looking for true love," he said. I stopped mid chewing to stare at him to see if he was kidding. Who travels over a whole ocean for true love? I noticed as his lips slowly curved into a smile. "I'm kidding. I came here to study at first."

"At first?" I asked. He looked at his plate and I suddenly felt like I was crossing a boundary. "I'm sorry, you don't need to answer."

"No, I'll answer. It's not some emotional thing anyways. I came here to study, which I did and now I'm working." He answered freely. I nodded, knowing there was more to the story but I also didn't want to pry.

"Are you from here January?" He asked and I nodded.

"Yeah. West Elmira. Not so far from here. I was actually going to see my fa—" I don't know why I hesitated but I did. He didn't seem to notice or he did but didn't ask why. "How did you find this place, Christopher?" I asked, trying to move this conversation to another direction without making it awkward or uncomfortable.

He sucked in a deep breath, placed his fork on the plate and gave me his full attention which threw me off track but nonetheless. "One day, after a long shift at work, I wanted to cool off and just relax without any phone calls or noise. I somehow stumbled across this diner and decided to go in and since that day, every time I just want to steam off some air, I come here. Today wasn't any different aside from the blizzard outside."

"That's a really touching story," he chuckled. "How long have you been coming here?"

"For like six months," he answered. My eyes widened in shock and he pulled his mug closer to his lips.

"Six months?" I asked again to be sure it wasn't just my astounded ear that heard it. He nodded and sipped his hot cocoa. "Wow."

"And the hot cocoa is always on point each time."

"Since you've been here for a long while, do you have some recommendations?"

"Of course I do!" He beamed. "I thought you'd never ask. The hot cocoa is always the best so get that. Um, the eggs Benedict," he blew a kiss, "but one time I came here and it was too salty."

"Bacon cheeseburger, the absolute best. The milkshake is great. I can't say much about that because it's only once I tasted it—" he continued talking but I zoned out at the eggs Benedict part. He seemed soo passionate about this place and it made me realize that he probably loved this place. Maybe it was a second home for him.

"—I'm boring you, right?" He asked and I shook my head, no.

"No, you're not. I just zoned out."

"Because I'm boring you. I'm just too—what's the word?"

"Passionate?" I offered.

"Nope, something else."

I thought about it for awhile and answered, "Fiery?"

"Well... I'll take that. I'm fiery for this place." It became quiet after that but not an awkward one, a more comfortable one. "There's a time my friends asked me a question but when I answered, they fumed up."

"I'm intrigued. What did they ask?" I said with a small smile.

"What concert—real or imaginary—would you hate to miss? It was simple, a Taylor Swift concert." I rolled my eyes and crossed my hands.

"You're playing with me," I said.

"I'm not. I promise you. That's why they all got angry, they didn't believe of all the concerts, it'll be a Taylor's one."

"Okay, let's just assume I believe you, would you actually go to Taylor's concert?"

"Yep, in a heart beat," he confessed. I stared at him for a second longer before sighing.

"Okay, I believe you." My hot cocoa and pancake had been completely devoured so I had nothing to do. I looked back at that wall and at the neon signs. "Why is it only that wall that's decorated soo intensely?"

"I think it's the only wall that remains from the first time this building was built." I nodded and continued looking at the adorned wall. A particular sign—much like the figurine—stood out from the rest of the decorations on the wall. The name of the diner but a miniature version. The other signs only had one color but this had different colors. It wasn't like moving colors, just each letter had a different color.

"That one," I pointed at the sign, "is it special?"

"I—I actually don't know," he stood up, "let's go check it out." We walked towards the sign and stared at it. It was more beautiful up close and I didn't even know this type of design existed.

"It's actually beautiful, Christopher." I admitted. The sign switched off but didn't switch back on. I looked at the cord connected to an outlet and it was switched on. I fixed my gaze back at the sign but it hadn't turn out.

"Is something wrong with the sign?" Christopher asked. I turned to him and gave a confused shrug. I also didn't know what was happening to the sign. I turned back to look at the sign and it turned on. I sighed, relieved that we weren't the one that spoilt it.

"For a second there, I thought we had—" before I could finish my sentence, Christopher wrapped me in his arms. I was confused until I heard a spark and then a boom sound. The sound of static and muffled voices was all I could hear afterwards. Christopher pulled me away from his embrace, worry present on his face.

"Are you okay?" His voice was still muffled in my ear and the static was even louder.

"Wh—what? Fine, I'm f—fine." He scanned me one last time and nodded. The woman who came before started asking Christopher if he was okay while the barista was using a fire extinguisher to take out the fire from an outlet. Apparently, it was from the same outlet the sign was plugged into. I looked back at Christopher who had been watching the barista.

"Are you alright?" I asked and he nodded. He fixed his gaze back on me and smiled wearily.

"You're lucky I blocked you from the sparks that flew because if I hadn't, I can't imagine what would've happened to you."

"It was just sparks," I said with an indifferent shrug.

"Yeah, but your coat is soaked and water and electricity doesn't mix well together." Until he said it, I hadn't realized I was wet. With the new realization, I shivered and he shook his head.

"You'll have to get that off," he gestured at the coat.