1. First Impressions

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Strange unusual things happen all the time. 

Paris is no exception to this rule. 

We have all kinds of uncommon undertakings here. There is a statue of liberty in Paris, our oldest bridge is named Pont Neuf (new bridge) and each summer, the banks of La Seine turn into a beach : tons of sand, swimming pools, tanning chairs, volleyball nets, ice cream stalls etc. sprout up alongside the Parisian river. 

Now I, Alexis Roberts, on the other hand am definitely an exception because no kind of strange occurrence hardly ever happens to me. So when one does happen to me on the day before my 17th birthday that was fairly unusual.

Before I tell you about the incident though, I would like to establish how ordinary I am.

I go to a local high school, have loving parents, have an amazing best friend, have other fairly amazing friends, have no interest in school politics, have always lived a comfortable, cultured life and have no intention to explore outside of the world I have already built here anymore than I have to because I am sure this is where I will always be happiest.

Even though I live in the city of love I have not been able to find love for myself yet. But that's okay, because to enjoy the city of lights I don't have to have a partner. The mesmerizing structures, the art, the language, the people; all of it can be appreciated even when you are single. 

When asked their favorite thing about Paris I know most people answer that it's the Eiffel tower and of course it's breathtaking, others may say the Louvre museum and I can not agree more, a few others may have different answers but if someone were to ask me my favorite thing I will always say the cafes.

This brings me back to my story and how I just so happened to be in a cafe on the day that incident happened, Friday the 21st of March 2018. It's a cute little café down the road from my house and I was there with my best friend Jenna Stewards. The café's interior is a combination of red and white and for the customers to sit there are small blue and black swing chairs with cushions which make them extremely comfortable. The café has this homey feeling that gives me an odd sense of comfort and this always draws me towards it whenever I am in the mood for coffee.

Sometimes I just take my bicycle and wander into small unknown lanes to find new homey spots. The cute, little, quirky cafes and mainly the people are an absolute delight. I love to just sit around and talk to them. Though they don't make friends easily and like to chat about politics, philosophy, the last book or whatever might allow people to have split opinions. It genuinely makes good and lively conversations.

I especially love the stories. Cafe owners have all kinds of surprising stories about how they came to own a cafe or of things that happened in there. 

I feel like stories are an immortal part of our souls. Even after we die and our souls move on, our stories are what we leave behind, well those and photographs. They are recollected over and over again by our loved ones; sometimes in private, sometimes in front of others, at our funeral, at parties and that's what always keeps us alive a little, even after we are physically gone. I know some people think that in the greater scheme of things their stories don't matter, but that's not entirely true because they do matter, even if only to some people, but they do. So the people I truly pity are the kind that have no loved ones to recount their stories, to keep them fresh in their memories and their hearts.

This particular cafe known as, cafe Deja Brew, is by far my favorite though, not only because it's closest to home but I just love it here. It has a combination of all my favorite colors, they provide me with my favorite seat by the window whenever I come and they serve the best coffee I have ever tasted (deja brew: the feeling that you have had this coffee before).

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