Sam

CHAPTER 1.

It was raining. Not the soaking kind of rain, the kind of rain that you don't really feel. The drops were visible on her glasses but it did not seem to bother her. She had her hands in the pockets of her coat. Her face was mostly buried in her scarf, you know, the kind of scarf that seems more like a blanket than a scarf. The part of her face that wasn't covered by her hair or her scarf was covered by her glasses. It was dark and there were few people on the street. I did not know where from, but somehow I recognized her. We passed, she looked up at me and smiled, I did not see her smile, it was covered by her enormous scarf, I saw it in her eyes. I smiled back and immediately regretted not saying anything to her. I buried my hands in my pockets and found a box of cigarettes with still two cigarettes inside. I had lost my lighter just a few days ago to a stranger, there was no point in trying to find a new one. Then she popped into my head. I turned around and ran after the girl.

"Hi... Do you have a lighter? You're the only person in miles and I lost my lighter..." I said.

"You should stop smoking, it's bad for you." She smirked and handed me a lighter.

"Cigarette?" I offered her after I lit my cigarette and gave her back her lighter.

She took the cigarette, moved away her scarf and went to sit on the edge of the boulevard. I sat next to her. With her face completely visible now I knew it, I had met her before, but where? I didn't know.

"Thanks for the fire." I said

"You're welcome." We were quite for a few second, then she said "What are you doing out this late?"

"I could ask you the same thing." I chug.

She chuckles. "Great come back. Well, my friends were like 'Sam, Sam you should do something with your life.'... "

"Wait... You're Sam too? Are you joking?" I intrude

Sam, the girl, whoever she was, smiled.

"What do you mean I'm Sam too?"

"I'm Sam,... too"

"No way. Wow, okay... That's new." She looked a bit confused, but in a good way.

It was quiet again. We could only hear the sound of the water from the river, hitting the stones of the boulevard. Our legs were just a few inches above the water and if a boat was to pass by our feet would definitely get wet.

"So Sam... Tell me something about yourself." I said.

"I'm really not that interesting... What do you want to know?"

"Describe the best day you've ever lived."

"Oooh, interesting... Let me think..." She smokes the last bit of her cigarette and throws it in the river. I follow her example.

"I got it." She said. " Just a few months ago... I think it was somewhere in August... I'm not entirely sure though. Anyways, I woke up very early, like... extremeley early, I think at 4:30 in the morning. I put on a nice dress, brushed my teeth and left the apartment we hired during the vacation." She moved to find a better way to sit.

"We were staying in Nantes, in France. It's a very nice city. If you ever have the chance you should definitely go there." She stops talking for a few seconds.

"Soo... Where was I... Oh yeah, so I went out and cycled to this very cute place. I forgot the name but I remember it was very close to the big river. There I bought breakfast that I ate at the side of the river. The rest of the day I just cycled a lot and when the sun went down I walked back home."

"So you didn't really do anything except cycling and eating?"

"I went on an adventure."

I chuckle. "You sure did. But wouldn't you like to do more than just cycling on an adventure?"

"I visited a few museums and shops on the way." She answered, "But those weren't the things that made my day perfect."

We were silent again. We heard a car pass by.

"What about you?"

"What about me?" I had already forgotten the question.

"What is the best day you've had?"

"Pffff.... I don't know. Today has been a pretty good day." I thought about it and decided that that day had been the best day of my life. "I woke up at around 10, I did everything slowly. I had pancakes for breakfast, I burned most of them but the idea is what counts... Then I went to a coffee company, bought a coffee to go and took the subway to my favourite cafe. There I ordered more coffee. I worked on a film idea I've had my head for a few days now and when the cafe closed I paid and walked a little bit alongside the river. The rest is history." She chuckled.

"What's the film about?" She asked.

"I can't tell you..."

"Awh why not?"

"Cause I don't know you. How can I trust that you don't steal my idea?"
"True... Okay... Uhhh... Then can you tell me about something you've already made? That I can't steal...?"

"Uhhh... I don't think I can... I'm sorry..."

"Why not."

"Cause I've just started my career as a film writer." I said in a semi-professional way.

Silence again.

"Let's walk a little bit, my butt is sour." I laughed at her joke, got up and offered her my hand. She took it and pulled herself up.

"What way?" She asked.

"I've never really gone that way." I point at a boring looking street.

"Interesting choice. Seems boring... Let's do it."

We came to a crossroad.

"Where do we go now?" She asked.

"I've got an idea. Every time we come to a crossroad... One of us turns around in circles while the other has his eyes closed and says when to stop."

She started turning around and I closed my eyes.

"Stop!" I opened my eyes.

We did this a few times until we came to a tube station.

"I think I should go now..." She said.

"Yeah, me too."

"Okay. Bye." She smiled, stood on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek.

"It was nice meeting you, Sam." She smiled again, then she turned around and walked away.

"Sam! Wait, can I get your number?" I shouted. She turned her head.

"You know... It's really weird calling someone else the same name" I said

She laughed. 

"We'll meet again. If it's meant to be."