22

 He was rolling on his little patch of floor. He's never slept on a decent bed in years except when he was out of town; in a hotel somewhere or a friend's house. It took him quite some time to absorb the context of the message he received a few days earlier.

“Damn, I'm seeing her? Am I really? Will she?”

It was all he could think of. Theirs was a meeting that defied serendipity. Maybe the universe was playing a cruel trick. He knew he had not generated enough Good Karma to merit such a reward.

She was the kind of person one never gets to meet in his line of work. Often, a pretty face or a gorgeous body never had the brains to back it up. He's met hundreds of those in his lifetime. To him, it was a fact of life that had to be dealt with.

He lives a crazy life – one with no definite plan or purpose. To him, life is something that cannot be controlled. It has to play itself out regardless of outcome. He has done things that may be deemed despicable. Ghosts of a darker personality still haunt him - “Dragons in Dreamland” as he preferred to call them.

Perhaps one of the last few of his kind, an endangered specie in this techno-driven world; a modern-day, “Cowboy”; lacking in formal education, he prides himself as being a student of the “Old School”. He is a learned pupil of the street; a pedestrian, a commuter and an anonymous soul caught up in a realm that seeks to exterminate those of his kind. Like a virus, he thrives; moving swiftly amongst the hordes of equally faceless and often mindless indigents in the urban jungle he calls, “home”.

It amazes even himself at what he's achieved and what he's become. With the exception of 2-wonderful daughters, there is little proof of his existence. He has made very few footprints. Maybe, only a Kalahari bushman would ever find his spoor. In his line of work, anonymity is a goal second only to the impossible!

It was only fortuitous that they did meet at all. She was literally, someone who simply walked in.

There was a sparkle in her eyes which reminded him of something he used to have but no longer did. She was bubbly, lively, full of positivism – traits he has since misplaced in time. She was Venus personified or so, his initial impression was.

Right off the bat, she showed interest in what he did. He dismissed that as just some polite curiosity; a getting-to-know-you ritual which he's participated in so many times in the past but this time, it was different. This time it felt like he had found the genuine article – a kindred soul!

Days would pass and he would recall their first meeting in the quiet of the night, when he was alone on the couch and wishing that daylight would come soon. Seeing her again was a prospect which lulled him to sleep when the day was just too insane.

They did meet up a few times, mostly for business but she was such a delight to be with that it was hard to distinguish whether he was pleased at the outcome of a meeting or that he was enjoying her presence just a little too much. Either way, it made him smile deep down. His face never showed it but he was happy when she was around.

She was quite a busy person but she would miraculously find the time to indulge him online. He was amazed that someone of her stature would actually make the effort to bang on the keyboards to write messages of encouragement and appreciation. It was as if they were tuned in to the same frequency whenever they talked.

For once, he never had difficulty communicating his thoughts! This somehow made him come alive again. For the first time, he did not have to adjust to someone's intellectual levels just to start a decent conversation!

He always believed that one can never be too busy – she proved him right every chance she had, even going through the trouble of participating in one of his projects. It was more than he could ask for or deserve!

How could he ever repay that kindness?

Suddenly, his alarm clock jars him awake! The day had come! He had trouble staying focused. He made himself a cup of coffee and chewed on a day-old slice of Spam for breakfast. There was little point in eating. He was not hungry at all.

Knowing that she was always punctual, he went to the coffee place about half an hour earlier. She sent an SMS indicating she will be a little late. That didn't bother him. He'd been waiting a few days, what's a few minutes?

Finally, he sees her come up the stairs, lovely as the day he met her. She barely had make-up on but she was perfect! He stubs out his cigarette an invites her to the more comfortable, air-conditioned interior. They would chat for the next couple of hours...

They talked about whatever came to their minds. They talked like they knew each other for years and he would keep forgetting she was practically half his age. He kept mental “post-it's”, reminding him to lighten up the conversation but it was pointless. There was hardly a topic she couldn't handle. He was in fact, learning more from her than from any mature person he's met other than his own mentor. The age gap simply did not apply in this particular case.

Moments turned to minutes turned to hours until she finally had to leave. Those 2-hours they shared felt like a weekend holiday to him. It was a much needed, welcome respite – a sojourn! It took him some doing to get up from the table and walk her out. The midday sun blasted sharply in his face as the doors opened. He was back in the real world again, back to the madness he called, “his life”.