The Silence

At sunrise, there is an indescribable sense of calm. It is a rebirth. a sentiment of unrestricted possibility. he'd want to say that he pulls himself out of bed every morning to take in the beauty of the sunrise, but they wouldn't believe him and would think that he is lying but it's true that both he and she were present that day.

Sun risers share a deep connection just by the virtue of rising with the sun. It's a mutual respect for calm and lovely things that goes unnoticed. That would explain it, but he thinks that it wasn't only the early hour of the morning that made him gravitate towards her. He believes that, regardless of the time of the day, he would have been drawn to Neha.

He was sitting there, in his favorite, hidden location, staring out over Lake Quinault, when he first saw her. Before that day, if he had his way, no one else would ever sit and appreciate its beauty other than him. It is a hidden place in Washington State that is held by the Quinault Indian Nation.

It was early summer when that particular journey took place. He can still clearly recall it since he had to get there shortly after 5:30 a.m. to saw and enjoy the sun rise over the mountain. The ideal time to see the dawn is during the summer because no one in their right mind would get up that early or be courageous enough to get to his hidden location. No one except Neha and him, “Is this seat taken?”

Few people can recall the first words said by or to their true love, but he can without a doubt. he turned that morning to see where the startling voice was coming from, and the first rays of dawn showed the most stunning female he had ever seen. Perhaps not all males held that opinion. Neha was dressed in a faded brown hoodie, a pair of tattered pants, and no makeup. Her flawlessly blonde hair appeared to have not been touched since the morning when she first got out of bed. Although she had made no effort to look gorgeous, she still had an undeniable inner spark. When he first saw her, something changed, including him. After protecting my secret location for years, he knew immediately that sharing the sunrise with her was his one and only desire. He was startled and the best reply he could come up with was: “It’s a free country.” With that she sat next to him followed by a long and awkward silence. That awkward silence felt like a

long conversation had been held between them without speaking a single word. Just sitting with her was enough to fill his heart with joy and happiness. Even though his outer-self looked calm and composed, he was dancing like a child from the inside. The two of them were immersed in

the sun's comforting glow as it rose over the sky while they sat in silence and observed. Although it is impossible to achieve perfection in this mortal world, that morning was as close as it could possibly be for him. As the light fully emerged, a lot of ideas raced through his head. Norah then stood up, dusted some lingering dirt from her torn trousers, and walked away from him as quickly and silently as she had arrived.

Only eight words were spoken, an infinite number of possible outcomes had been considered. Only thirty minutes had passed by but it felt like a lifetime to him. His heart sank when he realized that he would never get to see her again.

A year had gone by, he still went to the lake like every other day, somewhere in his heart hoping that he would get to meet her once again. Hoping they will share this feeling of watching the sun rise again.

In that year, he had been on many dates, but none of these dates could make his heart feel like Neha did in that half an hour. He always felt like something was missing on these dates. And a year later it happened, the moment he had been secretly praying and hoping for to happen. “Is this seat taken?”

“It’s a free country.”

The same eight words.

When he saw her again, he was sure that he would not let the chance pass him by a second time. When the sun had finished playing its part in their drama, Norah got to her feet and did the same thing she had done a year earlier: she wiped the dirt off her jeans. But this time, he also got to his feet.

“My name is Nick. And I would like to take you out for a coffee right now.” Neha being her true self rejects his proposition and continues to walk away. Naill starts to walk with her and tries to persuade her to go out with him. Neha accepts his proposition just to get rid of him.

“Fine, I will go with you.” She responded.

Without any true intention of actually going out with him, Neha said yes.

It took him every ounce of courage he had in him. She was hesitant and not really interested in going out with him, but she still went with him for a cup of coffee.

That cup of coffee together made her realize that they both had a lot in common. This coffee together was the beginning of a lot more coffee’s and dinners together. And these dinners together were the first few steps they took together in this new chapter of their lives. After dating for five long years, Naill finally gathered the courage to pop up the question and She said, “Yes.”

It’s been 6 years since they got married and they have been blessed with two really beautiful children, Tom and Delilah. They are twins and are now 5. They both started going to the same school and are really happy go lucky children.

They still visit the lake whenever they get the chance and just like the first time they met, they sit there without saying a single word. They just want to reminisce the moment that introduced them to each other and made Naill to fall completely heads over heels for the girl without any make up.

After almost 12 years, since that first sun rise that they shared, they just want to spend the rest of their lives together and make many wonderful memories and just enjoy each other’s company as much as possible.

It’s just unimaginable how even the simplest and shortest moments could build a deep connection between two complete strangers. This small moment in which they shared the sunrise was probably the last possible time they thought that they would meet their life partner.