The Man In A Fedora

Chapter 1: An Unusual Coincidence

"What a weird dream!"
This was the first thing that I thought of when I opened my eyes.
It felt so real. Every single detail was perfectly designed.
As the sunlight hit my pupils some parts of the dream got blurred. It is mesmerising how creative human mind can be. However we were forgetful.
Suddenly the only detail that I could remember was a man in a fedora hat.

...

03/01/2019

Nothing feels like waking up to a saturday morning.
No allarms, no work, no rush.
What else could I want.
I opened my eyes and stared at the window.
The blue sky and the sunlight filling the room seemed a little tricky at first but I knew that New York would usually be cold around this time of the year.
But my small apartment was always warm.
I decided to go out to have some inspiration.
Being an artist can be really hard when you have no inspiration.
I checked myself from the mirror.
My hair was a mess.
Even though it is a short bob with little bangs, it could get really messy sometimes.
I fixed it really quick and wore one of my vintage clothes on.
I saw a lot of girls on the street wearing vintage things lately.
I was the only one doing that back then.
I ate a classic breakfast and I texted Alison to ask if she could hang out with me.
Alison is like my sister. We've been friends since those crazy highschool days. She helped me through a lot.
She was the only one that supported me when I told that I wanted to own an art gallery. And now I do own one.
She accepted my offer without a hesitation.
I grabbed my bag and keys before I leave home.
I felt the cold all over my body.
Staying at a coffee shop the whole day was the best thing we could do.
I was planning to take the subway.
I spent almost all of my money to own an apartment in NYC and I had to wait until the next exhibit for the car.
Even if I had a car I still would take the subway cause nowhere is as inspiring as a subway for me. That's the place you can see a lot of faces and different lives.
So I did what I always do.
I stared at people and tried to guess their stories.
None of them seemed really interesting today.
I reached my bag and took my sketchbook out. I felt someone sitting next to me. I couldn't control my urges to stare at that person.
It was a strange man sitting next to me.
I didn't even see this men entering.
And with his old fashioned style, he was one of those people you could spot easily anywhere.
He was wearing a super vintage trenchcoat and a fedora hat.
You can't see a lot of men like him on streets nowadays.
He almost seemed like he was from the previous century.
I barely saw his face.
My inner voice was telling me that he was old.
It would be weird if I sketched him and he saw it but he looked so worth to draw.
I was sneakily staring at him.
Thats when I realised the leather suitcase he was carrying.
I wondered what he kept inside that.
So I came up with a story in my mind and I ended up thinking he either is a mafia or a rich businessman.
I was moving the pen around my fingers while staring at him.
He didn't look at me. He didn't even attempt to.
I accidentally dropped the pen while I was trying to turn it around my fingers.
It wasn't the best thing to happen on a subway. I was planning to grab it before someone steps on it or kicks it to the other side. I did expect him to grab it since it fell closer to his side but he did nothing. He sat there like a statue
I took it myself.

"What a gentleman!" I mumbled.

He probably heard it because he finally managed to stare at me.
Such a young face was the last thing that I was expecting to see.
I was ready to roll my eyes but something went wrong and I found myself staring at his face really carefully in a shock.
He stared at my sketchbook.
I was sure he saw the hat I had just drawn.
I glanced away blushing a little bit.
That guy felt like he conquered me with his dominant attitude.
I continued sketching.
And I watched him go after a while.

I met Alison at Starbucks and we bought two grande size chai tea lattes.

"You can't believe what just happened!" I said.