I was walking down the boulevard next to her college, when I first laid my eyes upon her. It was a mildly rainy day and we were both without a shed. The college was closed; she was a hosteler and she got late so she was just trying to climb up the gate, unable, obviously. I went closer to her and asked her if she wanted my help, and she said, “So nice of you to think girls can’t climb gates on their own”. Then she took a step upward, grappled the wet handles and in seconds, before I could comeback with a reply, she was there on the other side of the gate, looking at me with her curious green eyes which had so much hidden behind them. She was smiling and god, I can say, I’d fallen in love with her smile. I didn’t have words for the first time in my life, it seemed as though words weren’t enough to fill the void between us but glances were so I smiled back at her. She said, “told ya…”. I wanted for her to say something more for I was drained of words but I still I wanted to talk to her; I wanted that there were no gates between us for I knew that I wanted to look at her for the rest of my days. At that moment, I knew I was wrong when I talked about love with my friends. Love can happen in a day you only need the right person to happen it with. And I can say, I’m still awed by her beautiful performance at the gates.

She walked away and I continued on my path, running away from the tragic-comedies of my home. But that’s another story. This story is about how Susan and I fell in love, to each other of course, and here it goes: Not so long after our meeting at the gates, we crossed paths again. And it was another rainy day, although this time it was raining heavily. I was at a coffee shop, sipping in my coffee, having my usual Sunday routine, with Jane Eyre’s Emma in my hand. She entered through the door, whose door bell rang, which made my eyes lift and then get stuck. There was something so aesthetic about the coffee shop that day, maybe it was the wooden tables, maybe it was my book, maybe rain, maybe something extra-terrestrial has landed in my lonely planet and all the radars have gone haywire or maybe it was her and everything else aside. I can’t stop looking at her wet self, her tangled brownish hair, which were tangerine brown towards the bottom and black above, her greenish eyes and of course her pretty smile.

She walked in covering her head with her jacket, she was wearing a floral dress which suited her perfectly. She was wearing long boots which looked so good on her and I knew, the girl got style. She came in with a hurl of apologies for wetting the wooden floor which was indeed wet anyways. She said she was only looking for a shelter when she found the coffee shop. I was happy to see her again, she saw me and waved a cheerful ‘hi’. I ‘hi’-ed her back, and she came forward, making room for her little waist through all the occupied tables and chairs and sat in front of me. She seemed happy to see me too, I wondered whether there was a sad story behind her glistening eyes. She took her jacket and hanged it on the chair next to us. Then she looked at me and said, “Hey Mr. gateman, what are you reading?”.

“Emma.”

“What’s it about?”

“So nice of you to think guys actually read and if they read, they actually know what they’re reading about.” I said and she laughed.
I thought she would continue talking after that, as Sagittarius do, and as I guess she was one but she kept looking out the window. I was reading but I was looking at her too for I loved her more than the book in my hand although she wasn’t an open book. There was so much inside of her that was screaming to get out but she kept looking outside the window, a little more saddened perhaps. I asked her, “Do you think that day I really offered you helped because I think girls can’t climb gates?” She said, “I didn’t think I could climb the gate when I said that to you, but yet, after saying it, I felt a compulsion to actually do it and then I did it. But I know you don’t actually wanna know the answer to that as long as I keep talking. People only want to have a conversation with me and not actually ever get to know me! It isn’t about the gates is it? Anything in life isn’t actually about anything…”

And then she kept on talking and talking for the rest of the hour and I kept on listening to all the pain she had vesseled inside of her, that has now become such a burden on her that she feels fine to empty it in front of a stranger for I knew nothing about her, and even if I did I would’ve never judged her. I was happy to be there for her. I closed my book and kept looking at her and her green eyes. My hands were crossed, I sometimes looked outside the window, while listening to her, this made her more comfortable. I was happy I was there to comfort her and listen to all that she has to say, and I knew at that point that I was ready to be with her for the rest of my life. After hearing her entire story and saying the right words, I told her I’d fallen in love with her the moment I saw her and can’t depend on my good luck anymore to meet her again and asked her for a date.

Since that day on, we went on many dates; we were so in love at that time and we still are- she is my wife now but now I love someone else too and that is my little girl, Christine.