“Is this seat taken?”
She looked up to see a handsome man smiling at her. Then around at the nearly empty cafe.
“Why?” she asked.
“I was hoping to speak with you and get to know you,” he answered.
She was more annoyed than flattered, as Saturday mornings are sacred times for her to be alone with her thoughts while spending it out in view of the world.
A part but apart.
People confuse her. Especially people who are comfortable speaking to random strangers. She generally don’t want most people in her space – she tends to fit people into neat little puzzles in her head and the only ones she allows into her life and time are those who fit comfortably.
This man. This handsome, friendly man, is one of those she tends to avoid.
That’s why you spend Saturdays alone. You need to get out there and talk to people, said the voice in her head that sounds annoyingly like her mother.
She looked up at the man, considering.
He still stood there, smiling brightly at her.
It’s nine in the morning on a Saturday, and this handsome, friendly man just arrived at the cafe. Now, he’s standing there in his well-pressed clothes and neatly coiffed hair, wanting to share her table to talk to her. And he’s smiling, all before coffee.
Like a psychopath.
She smiled, picked up her book. “No, thank you.”
Alab ng Puso 