"Alright! I'll catch you then. Ciao!"
He closed the chat window after reading the same chat for the millionth time. He had always loved the way she'd use that Italian expression at the end of a conversation. She'd never say 'bye', always leaving that hope to see her again. It's been a long time since he had seen her last. 6 years is a long time. What was the date then? Ahhhh!!! Dec 23rd. Yeah...that was the day when they had celebrated her birthday. She had just turned 22 then.
Why did they stop seeing each other, the memory is a bit hazy now. It was not even a fight. He doesn't even remember what had actually happened that had drawn them apart. It just happened and they drifted away from each other. If he'd say that he has forgotten her, he knows he'd be lying. He remembers distinctly each and every thing about her, but why can't he recall the exact reason which caused their disappearance from each other's lives. Anyway it is not important now. What is important is that she had called him earlier this morning to meet him at the same cafe they used to go everyday. And somehow it did not feel weird at all. It only seemed natural that she had called and it only seemed natural that he was getting ready to meet her, as if he did it everyday.
They preferred to sit outside under the shade, as the rain was falling and only they knew how many lifetimes had gone between them, getting drenched in the rain. Both were silent, waiting for each other to speak. He cleaned his glasses to have a better look at the old man who would bring a street dog in the rain, inside the porch of his house and clean it. The dog would again go out in the rain and the man would bring him back. He had lost count of how many times the same thing repeated. He was never good at human psychology anyway.
The pitpatting of the rainfall on the tin-shade was providing some kind of background symphony to their loneliness, togetherness and silence. He turned his face towards her. She was looking at him. He smiled. She smiled back.
She said,"I missed you."
He said, "I missed you too!"
He said, "You said ciao, the last time we talked. It took you six years to come see me."
She said, "But eventually I did, no?"
He said, "I am glad you did."
She said, "You gave up on me, that I would never come back?"
He said, "Never."
She said, "So how do you wanna end this date?"
He said, "With a kiss."
She brought her lips forward and opened them for him to reach out. He kissed on her nose.
They went out, holding hands, into the rain.
