Nomads

Chapter 1

They met in the square.

She was dancing with these missionaries in the middle of July, whose vision was about bringing about a sense of joy and childlike fun; something that created a safe, comfortable, attractive atmosphere that drew people in for them to share their love for Jesus with people. He was simply minding his own business, trying to get across the square as he explored the city.

He saw her first. He was walking through the square with purpose from the moment he noticed the loud, joyful crowd; listening to music blasting through his headphones and feeling like the most miserable person in the world when he saw her. Dancing, laughing, glowing like there was no sorrow to be found in her or around her. He felt drawn to her joy, as it seemed to radiate from her like warmth from a fire.

But half of him wanted to be far away from the merriment, terrified that he would ruin it with his overwhelming grief.

She saw him second. She was dancing; playing the Hokey Pokey and sweating and acting like a lunatic and smiling like the happiest person in the world when she saw him. Or rather, nearly knocked him to the ground. With his piercing blue eyes cold and bitter, music blasting from his headphones, and the scowl on his face scaring everyone out of his path, he looked like the most miserable person in the world. She felt compelled to reach out to him and wash away the sorrow.

But half of her was terrified of the idea of interacting with such an angry, somber boy.

She crashed into him as they were dancing backwards. At first, she had thought she'd crashed into a brick wall. Then she spun around and looked up, face scrunched in confusion, ready to investigate the strange occurrence.

He would have bit the cement if he hadn't caught himself in time. This tiny girl had quite some power. Such roughhousing only added to his ill temper as he glared down at the perpetrator, ready to explode on whoever had nearly knocked him down.

Their eyes met. Her blood ran cold in horror at the violent glint in his eyes.

"I am so sorry! I didn't see you there!" She spoke first, with a soft accent that wasn't distinctly Greek or American but he couldn't place it. "Are you ok?! I'm so sorry!"

He only glared at her with more ferocity, saying nothing.

"Um. Do you speak English? Are you ok? I really didn't mean to bump into you. Did I hurt you? No?  Do you... maybe, wanna join our dance?" Suddenly she broke out into a wide beaming smile. "We would love to make room for you and have you join us."

"...What are you even doing? You're being stupid and annoying and getting in the way." He seethed, hoping the acidic tone in his voice would be enough to scare her away. She was too bright; he didn't want to have anything to do with her.

"We are dancing!" She replied, seeming to be completely unfazed by his blatant distaste. "We are throwing a street party. It's what our organization does in order to create an atmosphere of joy and to have fun! We are located in Kypseli if you ever want to join us, or if you just want to learn more about what we do." She held out her had to him. "I'm Naomi, by the way."

His glare simply sharpened. "Tch. Whatever."

She took his response as her cue to get back to the dance. "Well, it was a really nice chat, but I have to get back to my hokey pokey." She waved, and as she turned around to get back into the dance, she chirped, "I hope to see you around again!" and gracefully joined back in the dance.

Severely agitated, he silently cursed her as he skulked away in the direction he had been headed, more careful this time of his surroundings.

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