Rare

SEPH

"Good morning Councilor!" a group greets me as soon as I arrived at the port. "Good morning!" I answered back. Today we are waiting for the arrival of new tables and chairs for the local elementary school. The city council has approved of additional school budget and everyone here is in high spirits.

I look around and noticed a passenger ferry has arrived in time with the cargo ship we were waiting for. Locals and tourists slowly disembark and headed our way for Customs' inspection. Yeah, this sure looks like another busy day at the port.

Tourists usually come around this time because the weather is hot during the day and cool at night. This island, which is still part of the city - is a great getaway from the busy hustle of the metropolitan that I serve. A woman dressed in skinny jeans and white tee-shirt stood out among the crowd. She is wearing a white converse shoes and a pair of aviator shades. She caught the attention of many as she came in strolling her overly large baggage -  obviously too heavy for her to carry.

"Can I help you?" I offered. I didn't realize I walked over to where she is. Her dark brown eyes look up at me as she answered "No thanks, I got this."

Huh! My signature smile didn't work on her but I nodded, tongue-tied, as my feet became rooted to the ground. That was very odd - I wasn't used to dismissal. To say that I was shocked is an understatement. Not to brag, but I'm a very likeable person and women in general have always flocked to me like birds. 

Yet, this woman immediately said no to me. And I was about to ask for her name but she already left, in haste as if she's afraid to be near me. Huh...that's weird. Admittedly, there are some people who don't like strangers, but most people would graciously walk out of polite conversations - not run away like there's a madman after them. I slowly turned and walked back to my group. But in my thoughts, there's something haunting about those eyes.