Things You Never Knew

Epilogue

5 YEARS LATER.

TYLER'S P.O.V.

I get off the train and find myself standing in the middle of the Gare du Nord. There are countless people rushing by and I feel so releived to know that the times in where I walked through a sea of people and felt worn down by the world are gone. Years ago, I was in a state in where I would not wish even for my worst enemy to be in.

I stop walking and take a glance around the area. These places used to make me feel mentally exhausted. Places filled with people. I was fatigued by life, the noise and the silence, the thoughts and the words. It was a kind of restlessness that not even sleep could fix.

I take a deep breath and let the rest come easy. I am here. This is the present. This is me and this is my life. Oxygen sweeps into my lungs and expands throughout my whole body. I open my eyes and smile. Throughout these years, I've learned that just because you're breathing, it doesn't mean you're alive. Surviving and living are two different things.

I'll make the best out of today.

I just arrived all the way from Cannes and in some days I'll be going to Saint Tropez. I've been here in Paris some years ago for business, but I never had time to visit. I take my bags with me and try to look for a local taxi. When I find one, I ask the driver to take me to a hotel that has the view of the whole city.

"Est-il votre première fois à paris? [Is it your first time in Paris?]" He asks me once we're in the car.

"En tant que touriste, oui. [As a tourist, yes.]" I answer and offer him a sympathetic smile.

He starts a conversation and when I least expect it, he stops in the front of a pleasant looking hotel. He makes a short explanation on how the hotel is not so big and elegant, but it has one of the best views of the city. I thank him and tell him it's just the perfect one. I take out my bags from the trunk of the car and walk in the lobby.

The attendant greets me with a bonjour and asks me if I'll be wanting a room. I answer that I'll be spending some days more than a week and just as soon as I conclude the payment and give her my informations, she gives me the key to my room. I thank her and head towards the room. As soon as I get there, I turn on the lights and take a glance around.

It's big, but not too big. Just enough. I place my bags in the floor and lay down in the bed to rediscuss my plans for today. I want to visit the Notre Dame, the Champs-Élysées, The Louvre and maybe the Eiffel Tower. All I know is that I want to end the day sitting in a typical French café, watching the sun go down and order some famous crepes with the vin rouge.

I take a fast bath and put on some clean clothes on.  I put my cellphone, keys and wallet in my pocket before putting on my coat and exiting the room.

***

I look at my clock and smile. It's 5:30 pm. Somehow I got used to the time zone here. This is the city of light and this is the best place in the world. There is just something about the streets, the renowned cuisine, the chilly weather and the smell of recently made pastries and croissants makes this place feel like home.

I find a small café in the 10th Arrondissement and enter it. The name attracts me. It's Le Petit Cambodge. It's not big, but it's cozy and warm. My eyes travel to the café's back wall. It is home now to a small mosaic. I ask one of the staff members what's it about and he says it's to honor those who were killed in the November 13 attack.

I smile and thank him. I sit down in a table that has the whole street as a view. My order comes some minutes and as I taste some of the vin rouge. It's soft and it has a low amount of acidity and the ability of making me relax.

I take a bite out of my crepe with chocolate sauce and look at the sky. The sun is setting and it's painted with an array of pink, purple, orange and yellow  and the sun slowly drowns in the horizon. I take a nice deep breath and run my hands through my hair.

I sip a bit of the wine when I feel someone's gaze on me. I'm not facing the direction of the café entry, so I don't know who is facing me. I feel somewhat strange, so I twist my head back to see who it is.

And suddenly, I turn aghast. My pulse goes fast and my breathing turns shallow. The color completely drains from my face and my I freeze up to a point in where I am hardly breathing. My mind is buzzing as I try to gulp down my petrification.

Her blue eyes stare right back at my hazel ones with the same apparent shock.

She is standing there, in disbelief. Not one inch of her body is moving and somewhere along the milliseconds, I try to convince myself that this is a dream, but when she blinks a couple of times, I am sure that it's not.

Holy shit.

Her mouth is slightly agape, but some seconds later she tucks a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear and offers me a smile. The despair only grows inside of me by ecah passing second, but I am able to hide it. Every ounce of feeling I have inside of me is bursting and I'm afraid it might explode. So I just offer her another smile in return.

If I said that she only looks fucking dazzling, that would be the smallest understatement I would ever be able to use. This woman has a different kind of beauty. She is insanely beautiful not only because of how she looks, but because of who she is. She is original. She has the kind of beauty that is so fucking interminable as poetry and she has a thousand galaxies exploding in every inch of her being.

As she walks towards me, I can't help but to feel like every inch of my skin is bursting into flames.

"Hey," she tells me with a smile and a serenity that I could never have in a moment like this one.

"Hey," I greet her back and get up from my chair.

"Do you like the French crepes?" She asks me and giggles a little.

"Yes, they are even better than I thought they would be." I answer her and scratch the back of my neck.

"I... I don't think we've met properly," She bites her lower lip and smiles.

"I don't think we have," I can't hide my happiness.

"My name is Stephanie. But my friends call me S," She beams and stretches her hand in my direction.

"I'm Tyler," I can't help but beam. "It's nice to meet you." I tell her and she lets out a small laugh. My eyes never leave hers.

Maybe some things are really too strong to be coincidences.

Maybe second chances really do exist.

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OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE ARE DONE!!!!

AUTHOR'S NOTE WILL BE OUT IN SOME MINUTES!!!!