Love Letter Written in Winter

Part 2 - The fateful meeting

They waited for the waiter. The waiter approached and, with an extremely polite tone, asked,
-'Madam, will you please switch seats?'
Madam was probably waiting for this. She turned toward the waiter and replied with a gentle smile.
-'Yes, yes, sure! I was looking for a single table itself, but today it's very busy, I guess.'
The sweet reply from the gentle lady made the waiter's eyes sparkle, and he said,
-'Sure, ma'am! I am making arrangements for you. Give me five minutes.' The lady didn't say anything, and she didn't show any annoying expression, yet the group became a bit calmer, maybe out of respect for Madam. It's amazing how some people have a way of making others automatically behave more gently when they're around. It's as if God took extra effort to make these people!
The waiter was searching for tables with single customers. There was one other person sitting at a small table. But God knows whether it was for good or bad, the waiter noticed Drake's table. To this day, Drake doesn't know if it was one of the best or worst incidents to ever happen to him. The waiter came forward and asked,
-'Sir, would you mind sharing the table with another customer?'
Drake looked up upon hearing the waiter's voice. The 'other customer' had followed the waiter and stood just behind him. When Drake looked, the first and only thing he could see was the 'other' customer, and he was left speechless. He seemed to be lost in another world. The waiter asked again. This time the lady said, -'Otherwise, leave it, John. I will come next time.'
Drake somehow got his consciousness back and replied,
-'No, no! Please sit! Why would I have any problem with sharing tables?'
The lady didn't argue anymore, just sat on the opposite chair to Drake.
The waiter wasn't really waiting for an order. As if he knew already. He smilingly asked,
-'The same special cold coffee right? Anything else, madam?'
The lady politely replied, 'Yes, yes, that one only, nothing else.'
The waiter was about to go. The lady in the meantime was about to start reading the poetry book she had in her hand. The waiter stopped and asked again, as if he wanted to talk more with the lady,
-'Madam, you usually come early? Today you were late, any problem?'
The lady interrupted her reading and replied,
-'Yes, yes! Today my train was late.'
-'Oh! I see. Just wait for five minutes. I am bringing your special cold coffee.' The lady gave a bright smile and again started reading the book.
Drake was listening to everything quietly. He couldn’t focus on his phone anymore. Again and again, his gaze was just crossing her face. Oh! What a graceful lady. She was clad in a black dress, which complemented her golden skin tone. Her big eyes were neatly drawn with liners, and heart-shaped lips were more prominent with the deep maroon lipstick. Her hair was tied in a ponytail. Those waves of her hair were still playing on her back every time she moved her head for any reason. She kept her blue iris straight and firm. It could be clearly seen in the sparkle of her eyes that she was roaming in another world that moment. Beautiful people are common in the world. But this lady has something else. She was beautiful, no doubt, but there was a very brave statement lying on the stroke of her maroon lip shade, though it was supposed to give a plain beauty statement. Maybe it was about the way, she carried it. Whatever it was, she was captivating and contrasting, beautiful but pale, alluring but strong. Drake couldn’t help talking. He knew he would be disturbing her, still he couldn’t stop,
-'What is this book about?' The lady lifted her head a bit from the book and stared at the middle-aged man sitting in front of her. With a calming smile, she said,
-'The Angel of Death.'
-'By M. Rushveld?' Drake replied. This time it seemed Drake was able to attract her attention. She joyfully said with glitter in her eyes,
-'You know? You also read love poems?'
This was the first time the lady asked something by herself.