Love Letter Written in Winter

The Poem

Drake wanted to know more about her. How does she think? What is in her heart? The lines of the poem that etched deepest in her heart… But he didn’t get any of those answers from the book she gave. It was a very clean book, without a single stroke of ink; it was like a whole new book. Still, at least he could understand the genre she likes. Unlike the name of the book, it was a deep-love poem book. So she likes this; she must be a very passionate lover, Drake thought. He completed the whole book in the next two days. He was continuously reading that one only. He didn’t bother about the lipstick shade his wife had to show him before going to her kitty party; he just nodded, saying it was good. He didn’t mind the chaos made by the kids in the drawing room. He just sat in one corner and kept reading. Even he missed the office lunch plan with colleagues. And he didn’t really regret that too. After two days, upon finishing the last line, it seemed he finally took a breath.
Indeed, it was a good read. Now he was eagerly waiting for Saturday to arrive. According to their unwritten rule, he had to return it to her on the next Saturday. Friday night, when everyone else was asleep, he went upstairs again and brought that old diary. He wrote those verses on the white space on the inner side of the cover of her book—those verses written unconsciously by him about her years ago.

‘Those eyes of yours
deeper than sea, …..
……
…… and I surrender myself to the
Owner of these blue eyes.’

He completed.
It was almost 3 a.m. when he finally went to sleep.
Next day, it was a jolly morning. He left for the café, saying he had some commitment to meet. Just like the other time, he didn’t take his car; he went by metro. Every time he went to visit her, he came out of his shell, he was a different person for her. Not the very boring office worker in his early forties, but still a passionate lover in his early twenties, as if. On his way, he bought a bunch of orchids and reached the café ten minutes before, just like usual.
She came on her time. Today again she was in a black dress, full sleeve, knee-length dress, white socks, black shoes. That very ideal look with a pinch of liner and lipstick. And the black hat totally gave her the look of a princess. She came elegantly and took her chair opposite to Drake. Drake had kept her book on the table. She placed his book beside that. The owners of the books took their own books. Sylvia randomly flipped through all the pages of the book in one go to check whether it was okay or not.
-‘So no torn pages or stains... Was I able to keep your trust?’ Drake asked with a gentle smile.
She didn’t give any answer, just smiled shyly. By the time she reached the last page, she saw that handwritten poem. Drake got a bit anxious, what if she didn’t like it. But before he could think anymore, she said,
-‘Looks like I have gotten one free poem as an extra commission for lending the book!’ She smiled again. Drake looked down towards the table and smiled back.
That day, Sylvia had come with another book, ‘The Song You Wrote For Me’ by Emmy J. She had been reading the book during her whole train journey. But after reaching the café, she couldn’t find the time to open the book. She was busy talking with that stranger. Unknowingly, someone was changing her very old habit. Drake asked about the book with Sylvia. He asked if she could lend him the book. He promised to return it next Saturday.
-‘Then you have to come again to return the book to me…’ she said.
-‘Anyway, I have some other work on that day. So I will be coming here. That time I will return the book to you.’ Drake replied.
Sylvia just gave a shy smile. She was done with her routine coffee drinking. It was time for her to leave. She had even left the seat. Before she could leave, he called her from behind. As soon as she turned back, there were a bunch of orchids in front of her. Behind the orchids stayed an anxious, nervous lover boy's smile. She had noticed the flowers the moment she came. Maybe those were for someone else, she assumed. She wasn't bothered about it.
Drake offered the flowers towards Sylvia. For a moment, she was very surprised and shy, but the next moment, she got her confident face back and accepted the flowers with a bright smile.
No more words, she left the cafe. But Drake could sense her presence in his mind even after hours since she left.