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Love Between Time

Until We Meet Again

By clara khalsaPublished 3 years ago 9 min read
1
Love Between Time
Photo by Alexander Krivitskiy on Unsplash

It is 2008, a cold wintery morning in Milan, the fog is down and the cold is crippling in whenever someone opens the door to enter the café. I have my warm coffee and a pastry in front of me on the small white table. The buzz of the morning fills the space full of people shouting their orders in their normal hurry to go to work. I look around the small crowded space, the smell of baking pastries in the air, so familiar to me and brings my attention to my breakfast once again. While I give a bite of my croissant and a sip of coffee, I close my eyes and the thought of that night comes back to me. I start to remember those sweet moments the last time I saw Noah; I squeeze the black notebook into my hands and try to feel his memories a little closer. The sweetness of his mouth, the warmth of his body, his embrace over me, then suddenly the thought comes to my mind “has it been three years since we last saw each other without knowing that it would be the last time?”. The memories are still so present.

We both know that our rendezvous are unpredictable, that is, time is always a mystery. “Ugh!” I blink hard trying to get this thought out of my mind and look desperately for the good feelings of the two of us, my eye lids are heavy as I squint trying to catch them back.

The memory of the last time we saw each other comes back to me. We were in the same café on a midafternoon Autumn day. It was already getting cold and the leaves started to change colors and some of them had started to fall. The air was trepid with heaviness as winter was a short walk from now and the day was getting dark earlier. The café on my way home was a pleasant stop on my route. The place was always buzzing with people, no matter the time, and I stopped to grab some tea before heading home and enjoying the last of the sunlight for the day. Without me seeing who I was passing by, bumping into people, we hit into each other, his back to me and my arm pushing him away and somehow, we felt each other, we suddenly knew.

The time around us seemed to stop, all the rush became our background while we desperately searched for each other's eyes. Slowly we reached one another looking surprised and excited, and a thought of wonder pops into my head:” How is it possible that we meet each other here again.” The frigid air surrounds us while we stop and stare at each other's eyes not believing this is happening again. We did not know when it might end, or start for this matter, we just know we found each other again and enjoyed all the time we had. No words are needed, we knew we did not need any explanation, we have each other now. We run by the little street that leads to the Duomo Piazza and we keep running until we crossed all the way to the Castle park. The soft touch of Noah’s hands trickling his fingers on mine while holding my hand tight with the feeling that if he lets me go everything would soon disappear and we would lose each other again. We stopped by the park that leads to the Sforzesco Castle, the night was settling in and the air became colder.

No light from the horizon, only darkness and the shining moon above us. We slowly moved towards each other, touching our lips together gently, we felt our warmth and gradually moved our bodies closer, pressing our lips with desire for one another while our bodies held each other in a tight embrace. We unhurriedly sat on the wet grass from the cold while still cuddling each other.

“Bianca” … Noah said “it has been so long, I thought we could never meet again.”

“Noah, how much time do we have this time?”

Before I could finish the conversation in my head, I hear someone calling me in a distance: “Bianca, Bianca… Are you Bianca Sorgeb?”

Back at the café a tall, scrawny man is standing beside me, his bulky frame and deep eyes with concern looking at me gives me the impression he was there calling my name for a while and I have been unresponsive, lost in my thoughts. It took me a couple of seconds to come back and fully understand someone was calling me. I look at the man, observed his face, his wrinkles show he has lived and seen more than he would have liked during his life. He repeats the question: “Are you Bianca Sorgeb? Noah told me I could find you here at this time of the day.” Suddenly I snap out of my divagating thoughts and jump out of my seat. Promptly I respond:” Yes, that is me. Who sent you again?” My heart is racing with anxiety and trying to process how would he know Noah. The man, without responding to my question, takes a package out of his inside pocket of his grey coat. The package was a thick brown envelope carefully closed. The man makes his delivery into my hands and immediately starts to walk away. I desperately get my belongings and try to run after him. I scan the room for the man and follow his back leaving while he puts his green checkered hat on. I move faster trying to reach him while so many questions are running through my head that I need to ask him. I see the door closing behind his back before I can hold out to him. I frantically open the door looking for the grey coat and green hat, takes me a while to see a shadow looking back at me far in the distance.

I try to run towards the shadow that by now has turned away and started to walk away from me. I hasten my pace in the direction of the silhouette, trying to reach him when my heart seems like it would burst out of me. I stop in disbelief. For a split second it seems like the profile was from Noah. His beautiful tall frame, curly locks falling into his face down to his eyebrows, his hands in his pockets while the wind breezing through his black coat. With his usual calmness he is just standing there observing me. I press my eyes harder to make sure what I am seeing is not coming from my imagination. When I open my eyes again, he is gone, simply GONE! My heart is pounding, the apprehension takes over, I feel like I have a pit into my stomach. I keep staring at the spot where he was, what just happened? How is it possible that he is gone? I try to put myself together and turn away when I feel a heaviness into my hands. The package. The package is still unopened and I have been holding it the whole time aware of its presence.

I observe the brown envelope, how carefully closed it is. I slowly start to walk towards home and open the package at the same time. My pace is fast, I do not pay attention to the people around me or my surroundings. I try to open as carefully as I can. Once is open, I see a letter and a small sleeve full of money. I quickly push the sleeve back into the package and put the whole thing into my bag. I rush home.

I climb the round stairs leading to my apartment making sure nobody saw me, I slam the door behind me, throw my red coat into my sofa and push my shoes away from me feet. I open the letter and pace myself towards the window opening to read its content. Is a letter from Noah. My eyes scan through the whole letter trying to find clues, notes, something that can relief my disquiet. Then I sit on my chair next to the window and starts to read the letter.

“My Dear Bianca,

My love for you is deeper than I could have ever imagine, and today I realized I no longer could live without you. When I saw you at the café this morning sitting across the room, holding the black notebook I gave you last time, I knew I had to do something. I do not have much time now.

Trust me, I found a way.

Meet me outside the Café Pomeriggio one week from today at 4 pm. Bring these twenty thousand dollars enclosed into the sleeve. Tell no one.

From forever yours,

Noah.”

I notice a drop of water dripping down the paper, then I noticed I have been crying while reading the letter and did not realize it. My thoughts are passing fast through my head. Now I am sure that was Noah the shadow I saw and ran towards. It was my love, my adventure, and my heart. So many questions unanswered. I sink back at the chair thinking of everything that just happened today, the tall man, the package, the letter, Noah. I re read the letter over and over, then gather my thoughts around and put some tea into the kettle and prepares myself to warm cup of tulsi tea. I sip my tea while looking over my window, glancing over the Duomo, the empty piazza now cleared from the morning rush, I start to think what does Noah meant on his letter, how can I wait for another week?

I mark into my calendar the one week from now, and start to gather a couple of things to prepare my journey, whatever that may be. I leave my window open and prepare myself to get some sleep, or at least try. The chilly night brings the heaviness of the day and now my eye lids, are heavily closing, allowing me to get some deep sleep.

Noah sees the open window, he wonders if Bianca read the letter and if in one week from now, she will be at the place and time he wrote. He stares at the window imagining the breeze of the night touching Bianca’s face, deep inside he wishes it were him embracing her on this frigid night. After a long stare he turns away, walking slowly towards the Sforzesco Castle. And he disappears into the night, as mysteriously as he came in.

fiction
1

About the Creator

clara khalsa

writer, blogger. Seeking a new adventure

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