Always Tomorrow - Presented by Edward W
Part 1
Zoe sighed. Another day going through the motions, another day feeling alone in a city of thousands. Whilst all her colleagues around her quickly packed up, laughing and talking with one another as they prepared to head off for the evening, to go home to families, partners, or out with friends, Zoe slowly gathered her own things, pulling on her coat and followed the crowd out of the office building where she worked. She had no plans to look forward to, nowhere she needed to be.
Zoe didn’t consider anyone she worked with as friends, a few acquaintances maybe that asked a polite ‘Hello,’ or ‘How are you?’ But how would they react if she really answered that question? No it was safer to just reply with the standard, ‘Fine, and how are you?’
Perhaps it didn’t help that her job kept her isolated at her desk, proofing the manuscripts that were submitted to the publishing house where she worked. Most of her assignments given to her via email, and passed on with the same level of human interaction.
Zoe stood in the shadows, feeling invisible as she waited for the bus to take her home. Would anyone even notice if she didn’t turn up at work one day?
As she sat down on the bus she stared out of the window, watching the flow of the city, all the varied lives that existed around her. They were there, so close and yet just beyond her reach. How could she feel so isolated in such a mass of humanity?
She took stock of her herself, of her life so far.
Zoe Smith, aged 24 years old, light blue eyes and long auburn hair. A steady, if not especially exciting job, and her own apartment in a decent part of town.
Okay, she admitted to herself that she was never going to get confused for a super model in looks, she wished her boobs were a little bigger, her legs a little longer, and like a lot of women she wished she was maybe a little slimmer, but she didn’t consider herself unattractive. She dressed smart, with a touch of makeup. No, there were worse looking people out there. And yet, here she was heading home to an empty apartment. Again.
She looked inside, what the outside world couldn’t see. She knew she was shy; she’d always had problems speaking up in a group, talking to new people, making friends. So no one knew the passion she contained, the love bottled up just waiting to be released, to be rescued. Thoughts and dreams she longed to share.
There must be someone she could be with, someone to love? At the least she wished she had someone to share her innermost thoughts and desires with, a real friend who would actually care when they asked, ‘How are you?’
She closed her eyes; this wasn’t the first time she’d asked these questions. She didn’t expect any answers.
Reaching home she unlocked her door and stepped inside. She took a quick look at her answerphone, no new messages. Of course not. Who would call her?
She powered on her laptop whilst she took a microwave dinner from the refrigerator. She tried to cook a meal as often as possible, but sometimes she just didn’t feel like it; today was one of those days.
Taking a sip from a bottle of water she checked her emails. Three new messages. An advert for a nearby pizza joint, a promise of an unbelievable insurance quote and an email asking her to help transferring thirty million dollars to her bank account. She was tempted to reply to the South African offering to help make her rich, just to have someone to talk to. She guessed she could string them on for a few days, but it would only confirm she read such emails and she’d soon be bombarded by claims to make her rich. She shut the laptop off.
She ate her dinner whilst watching a comedy on TV. Some new show about a group of young professionals, always hanging out, having fun times. If only it was as easy as it looked onscreen.
She turned off the TV when the news came on; it was always bad news, the economy in trouble, wars in foreign countries. She had enough sadness in her life, no need to top it up.
She went to bed early and settled down with a romance novel. She knew the books she read would never win any prizes, but they deserved to. They usually restored her faith in people, and that’s what really mattered, giving her hope.
But tonight everything just crashed over her and the words began to blur, her loneliness, her sadness. What hope did she have? Every day was the same. At least during the week she had the distraction of work. Weekends stretched before her, emphasising how alone she was. Sure, she still had her Mom and Dad back home, but she wanted, needed, more.
She stared at the ceiling.
Would it be so bad if she never woke up? The world would go on oblivious, without a pause.
Who would miss me?
She felt tears welling up inside, turning to the pillow she wept until at last, exhausted and drained, she fell asleep.
Part 2
When Zoe woke up the sunlight was streaming through the window, she looked over at her clock, 7.58, she leapt up in horror, she would be late for work.
That’s when it hit her, instantly she knew something was wrong, the feeling prickling at her back of her mind. She looked around her room; everything was just as she’d left it the night before, neat and tidy as usual. Then she realised what it was.
Everything was silent.
Apart from the ticking of her clock there was no noise at all. Zoe’s apartment was in a nice, but busy part of the city, it was always filled with the sounds of the city outside.
She felt a shiver go down her back as she slowly pulled the curtains apart to look out into the street.
Everything was still and quite.
No cars driving by, no people hurrying past.
She could hear some birds singing somewhere in the distance, but apart from that the city was silent.
What had happened? Her first thought was that there had been some kind of terrorist attack, or warning, and everyone had been evacuated. She’d been missed; no one had thought to get her. Frantically she turned on the TV.
Nothing.
Just static. She flipped through the channels, they were all the same. She flicked on the radio, it was the same. She turned the tuner hoping to find something, some signal, anything.
There was nothing.
She picked up her phone. Silence, no dial tone. Her cell-phone the same; ‘No service’ announced the screen.
She sat down the bed, taking a few deep breaths. What the hell had happened?
I must still be dreaming, that’s what this is, a bad dream. She pinched herself hard.
“OW!”
It wasn’t a dream.
Her mind full of questions and fears, she quickly got dressed and grabbed her keys. As she reached her door she paused. Should she stay where she was? Would anyone come for her?
She felt a lump come to her throat. No one ever came, and that was when the city was full, alive. Despite her loneliness she had always had the city as a companion, always there, promising life. She had to find out what had a happened, no one would be coming.
She unlocked the door and stepped out into the hallway. It was empty. She approached the door opposite her, Mrs Marshal’s apartment. Zoe sometimes helped her up with her shopping, a few small moments of contact with another person.
She knocked timidly on the door.
“Mrs Marshal?” she spoke to the door. More silence. She knocked harder. “MRS MARSHAL!” she cried out before looking around, afraid she’d make a scene, but no one appeared, and there was no answer.
She tried a few more doors before heading downstairs to the main entrance.
She stood in the hallway of her building, looking out to the still street ahead.
She hugged herself as she felt a chill run through her despite the heat of another summer day building.
What was going on? Should she be outside, was it safe?
As the looked out she caught the reflection of someone running by in the glass window of the store opposite. Her mouth dropped open as the image flashed before her. A young man, with brown hair, wearing dark trousers and a white shirt. It was only a glimpse, yet she could bring his face to mind easily.
She stepped forward.
“Wait!” she said softly. Then with more urgency, panic building up she ran forward and through the doors to the street outside.
“HEY!” she shouted loudly, looking around. There was no one there, the city still quite, the silent closing in on her like something physical.
She ran forward a few steps then halted, unsure where to go. She looked around then back down the street where she thought the man had gone.
There! Another reflection. The man was looking at her, smiling, then he walked away, disappearing from view.
Something about the look, his smile touched Zoe deep inside.
She ran forward frantically. “Wait! PLEASE!” she cried. But there was no sign of the man.
She ran on, hoping to find him, anyone. She ran down familiar streets that now felt so different, almost alien without life.
She stopped, leaning down against her knees as she caught her breath.
“Quiet isn’t it?”
Zoe nearly jumped out of her skin; she swung around, her heart racing to find a man just ahead of her. Funny, she hadn’t seen him a moment ago.
She studied the man carefully. He was not the one she’d seen in the reflections. He was older, slightly balding with his remaining hair shaved close to his head. He was wearing a dark grey suit, polished black shoes and a purple shirt and tie. He stood cleaning some glasses, not actually looking at her.
Apparently satisfied, the man put on the glasses and stood looking at Zoe, a faint smile on his face as if everything was normal and happy.
Zoe said nothing for a moment, just watching, catching her breath. Despite the circumstances she didn’t feel frightened at all.
“Who are you?” she managed at last, the first of many questions coming to mind.
The man smiled. “A friend, someone you can share your innermost thoughts and desires with.
Zoe gasped, the words echoing her thoughts from the night before.
The man pointed to a small park, a short distance down the street.
“Care to join me?”
Zoe nodded. For whatever reason he seemed to be the only other person here, perhaps the only other person in the world for all she knew, well apart from the mysterious reflection.
“What happened?” asked Zoe, catching up the man as she strode purposefully along. “Where did everyone go?”
The man held out his arm, letting Zoe through the gate to the park.
“Let’s sit down shall we?” The man gestured to a bench just within the park, overlooking a small garden, an oasis within the once thriving metropolis.
“Okay, Zoe, what do you want to know?” The man asked, reaching into a pocket and pulling out a bag before removing some seeds and throwing some to the ground, attracting some small birds that began pecking hungrily at the scattered seeds.
He knew her name.
“Who are you?” asked Zoe again, more forcefully this time. “How do you know me?”
The man looked over. “Hmmm, you can call me... Edward, yes, Edward will do fine. He tipped his head. “Nice to meet you, Zoe.”
“But that’s not your real name?” replied Zoe.
‘Edward’ seemed amused. “Well no, but you have a need to call me something, so Edward will suffice.”
Zoe decided to ignore that for now. “How do you know me, where did everyone go?”
Edward looked around. “Hasn’t it always been like this? You’ve never connected to anyone here, how is this any different from yesterday?”
Zoe frowned. “The people, there’re gone!” she protested. “It wasn’t like this yesterday!”
“Are you sure? Perhaps you just thought there were people. How many do you really know?”
Zoe ignored that. “People can’t just disappear, please tell me what happened?”
Edward flicked some more seeds to the ground, as he watched the birds skip around on the ground he answered.
“You thought about it, just disappearing, ending it. I believe your exact thought was, ‘Who would miss me?’”
Zoe gasped and moved back slightly on the bench. “How do you know that? Who ARE you?”
Edward turned and looked at her. “I told you, a friend, a friend who cares.” He took a deep breath. “I know you feel alone, to you this is how the city has always been.” He swung his arm around to encompass the silent buildings surrounding them.
“I don’t have all the answers, I can’t tell you everything, but I want to tell you this. Every soul on this planet is important. Everyone has a light inside them.” He titled his head. “Some shine brighter than others, their light falling on many, some shine only on a few, but everyone has a light. First you have to see that light for yourself, be the light you are.”
Zoe thought that over. What the hell did he mean? She thought back to the self-help books she’d read, the websites she visited.
“You’re not telling me I have to love myself are you?” She almost rolled her eyes. The world had ended and she was getting the same hackneyed advice she’d always been given.
Edward laughed. “Well, yes, I suppose I am.” He looked at Zoe, his expression serious for the first time. “But you need to accept you have worth, you have a light.”
Zoe threw up her hands, suddenly angry. “And what, everything will get better? I should suck it up, go out, join a gym, or some clubs and meet people. I’ve tried, it’s not that easy!”
She put her face in her hands and let the tears flow.
At first she didn’t feel his arm over her shoulders, his touch was so light.
“I know. But if you disappear you’ll never know what happens next.”
Edward passed her a tissue.
Zoe took the tissue, slowly leaning into Edward, letting her body rest against his as she cried. It had been so long since someone had been so close, it felt so comforting.
“You can make a difference, Zoe, things can change.”
“Is that what all this is about? “
Edward laughed quietly. “Well, I can’t do the whole, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ thing, something about copyright infringement. But it is up to you Zoe, I’m afraid you have to do some of the work, take some risks, share your light.”
“I can’t.” Sobbed Zoe. “It’s too hard. Sometimes I just... I...”
Edward sighed again, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “I know, but you have to hang on in there, as long as you do there’s always tomorrow, always hope.”
Edward paused a moment before continuing. “I told you I don’t have all the answers. Life is a journey, Zoe, don’t be so caught up in the destination that you miss the sights on the way. Promise me you’ll stay, find your light, share it.”
Zoe wiped her eyes and looked up “I'll try.”
Edward smiled broadly. “Good.” He looked at his watch. “I’m sorry, I’m afraid our time is up.”
“Time? What do you mean?” asked Zoe.
Edward’s eyes twinkled as he smiled at her. “Time to wake up, Zoe...”
Part 3
Zoe shot upright in bed; sunlight filled her room, as did the sound of the city.
She jumped out of bed and rushed to the window, down below the streets were busy as usual, cars driving by, people crowding the sidewalk, sirens and other sounds of civilisation filling the air.
Zoe just stared for a moment. It had seemed so real, but it had all been a dream?
She looked at her clock. 7.06, she wasn’t late.
The dream haunted her as she got ready. She had been sure she had been awake, aware of every sight, the feeling of the ground below her, of Edward as he had held her.
Still slightly dazed she headed for the coffee shop on the corner of her block; she needed a Latte like never before!
She stood in line, only barely aware of the people around her. As she neared the front of the queue, the man in front of her turned suddenly with his coffee, almost running into her.
“Sorry.” He mumbled, then stopped, staring at her.
Zoe looked up, it was the young man from her dream, the one she’d only seen in reflections.
The man ran his hand through his hair nervously.
His forehead crinkled as if trying to remember something. “Hey, erm, do I know you?” he asked.
Zoe could only stare for a moment. “Mm, no, I don’t think so.”
“I swear I...” he stopped. “I don’t usually do this, but could I, that is, would you let me buy you a coffee?”
Zoe thought back to Edward’s words, ‘take some risks, share your light.’
She smiled. “I’d like that.”
The young man smiled back and held out his hand. “I’m Sam.”
Zoe took his hand; she felt a tingle like static electricity run through her at his touch. “Zoe,” she replied.
Across the coffee shop sat a man wearing a dark grey suit, a purple shirt and tie, he studied the pair near the front of the queue though a pair of black framed glasses and smiled. This is the part he enjoyed most about this job.
Yes, that pair were going to be just fine.
Opening a notebook on the table before him, he crossed out two names. His smile faded as he flicked through the pages. So many names.
He looked up and the smile returned, whilst he was here...
Rebecca enjoyed working at the coffee shop, she got to meet so many interesting people, it was always a joy chatting to them. It helped numb the pain of not having someone special in her life, someone she could really talk to, open up to.
She approached the man sitting near a window; he was watching her as she approached a friendly smile on his face.
“More coffee?” she asked, smiling back.
“I’m fine, Rebecca, and I really think you should join that Spanish class.” He replied.
She frowned. “How do you know my name?”
The man pointed to the name badge.
She blushed slightly, of course. Wait, what about...?
“But how did you know I was thinking of joining a Spanish class?” She turned to look at the flyer that had been posted on the community noticeboard a few days ago. “I haven’t told anyone about it.”
She turned back, but the man was gone. She looked around, but there was no sign of him, just a half empty cup of coffee on the table, some steam still rising lazily into the air, and a few dollars lying next to it.
Still a little confused, she cleared away the cup and took the money as a young couple approached the table. She felt a pang of jealousy as they sat down, they seemed very happy together.
She looked over to the flyer on the noticeboard. The mysterious stranger’s voice echoed in her head.
What did she have to lose?
She would go, she decided, give it a chance.
The first meeting was to be held tomorrow.
Part 1
Zoe sighed. Another day going through the motions, another day feeling alone in a city of thousands. Whilst all her colleagues around her quickly packed up, laughing and talking with one another as they prepared to head off for the evening, to go home to families, partners, or out with friends, Zoe slowly gathered her own things, pulling on her coat and followed the crowd out of the office building where she worked. She had no plans to look forward to, nowhere she needed to be.
Zoe didn’t consider anyone she worked with as friends, a few acquaintances maybe that asked a polite ‘Hello,’ or ‘How are you?’ But how would they react if she really answered that question? No it was safer to just reply with the standard, ‘Fine, and how are you?’
Perhaps it didn’t help that her job kept her isolated at her desk, proofing the manuscripts that were submitted to the publishing house where she worked. Most of her assignments given to her via email, and passed on with the same level of human interaction.
Zoe stood in the shadows, feeling invisible as she waited for the bus to take her home. Would anyone even notice if she didn’t turn up at work one day?
As she sat down on the bus she stared out of the window, watching the flow of the city, all the varied lives that existed around her. They were there, so close and yet just beyond her reach. How could she feel so isolated in such a mass of humanity?
She took stock of her herself, of her life so far.
Zoe Smith, aged 24 years old, light blue eyes and long auburn hair. A steady, if not especially exciting job, and her own apartment in a decent part of town.
Okay, she admitted to herself that she was never going to get confused for a super model in looks, she wished her boobs were a little bigger, her legs a little longer, and like a lot of women she wished she was maybe a little slimmer, but she didn’t consider herself unattractive. She dressed smart, with a touch of makeup. No, there were worse looking people out there. And yet, here she was heading home to an empty apartment. Again.
She looked inside, what the outside world couldn’t see. She knew she was shy; she’d always had problems speaking up in a group, talking to new people, making friends. So no one knew the passion she contained, the love bottled up just waiting to be released, to be rescued. Thoughts and dreams she longed to share.
There must be someone she could be with, someone to love? At the least she wished she had someone to share her innermost thoughts and desires with, a real friend who would actually care when they asked, ‘How are you?’
She closed her eyes; this wasn’t the first time she’d asked these questions. She didn’t expect any answers.
Reaching home she unlocked her door and stepped inside. She took a quick look at her answerphone, no new messages. Of course not. Who would call her?
She powered on her laptop whilst she took a microwave dinner from the refrigerator. She tried to cook a meal as often as possible, but sometimes she just didn’t feel like it; today was one of those days.
Taking a sip from a bottle of water she checked her emails. Three new messages. An advert for a nearby pizza joint, a promise of an unbelievable insurance quote and an email asking her to help transferring thirty million dollars to her bank account. She was tempted to reply to the South African offering to help make her rich, just to have someone to talk to. She guessed she could string them on for a few days, but it would only confirm she read such emails and she’d soon be bombarded by claims to make her rich. She shut the laptop off.
She ate her dinner whilst watching a comedy on TV. Some new show about a group of young professionals, always hanging out, having fun times. If only it was as easy as it looked onscreen.
She turned off the TV when the news came on; it was always bad news, the economy in trouble, wars in foreign countries. She had enough sadness in her life, no need to top it up.
She went to bed early and settled down with a romance novel. She knew the books she read would never win any prizes, but they deserved to. They usually restored her faith in people, and that’s what really mattered, giving her hope.
But tonight everything just crashed over her and the words began to blur, her loneliness, her sadness. What hope did she have? Every day was the same. At least during the week she had the distraction of work. Weekends stretched before her, emphasising how alone she was. Sure, she still had her Mom and Dad back home, but she wanted, needed, more.
She stared at the ceiling.
Would it be so bad if she never woke up? The world would go on oblivious, without a pause.
Who would miss me?
She felt tears welling up inside, turning to the pillow she wept until at last, exhausted and drained, she fell asleep.
Part 2
When Zoe woke up the sunlight was streaming through the window, she looked over at her clock, 7.58, she leapt up in horror, she would be late for work.
That’s when it hit her, instantly she knew something was wrong, the feeling prickling at her back of her mind. She looked around her room; everything was just as she’d left it the night before, neat and tidy as usual. Then she realised what it was.
Everything was silent.
Apart from the ticking of her clock there was no noise at all. Zoe’s apartment was in a nice, but busy part of the city, it was always filled with the sounds of the city outside.
She felt a shiver go down her back as she slowly pulled the curtains apart to look out into the street.
Everything was still and quite.
No cars driving by, no people hurrying past.
She could hear some birds singing somewhere in the distance, but apart from that the city was silent.
What had happened? Her first thought was that there had been some kind of terrorist attack, or warning, and everyone had been evacuated. She’d been missed; no one had thought to get her. Frantically she turned on the TV.
Nothing.
Just static. She flipped through the channels, they were all the same. She flicked on the radio, it was the same. She turned the tuner hoping to find something, some signal, anything.
There was nothing.
She picked up her phone. Silence, no dial tone. Her cell-phone the same; ‘No service’ announced the screen.
She sat down the bed, taking a few deep breaths. What the hell had happened?
I must still be dreaming, that’s what this is, a bad dream. She pinched herself hard.
“OW!”
It wasn’t a dream.
Her mind full of questions and fears, she quickly got dressed and grabbed her keys. As she reached her door she paused. Should she stay where she was? Would anyone come for her?
She felt a lump come to her throat. No one ever came, and that was when the city was full, alive. Despite her loneliness she had always had the city as a companion, always there, promising life. She had to find out what had a happened, no one would be coming.
She unlocked the door and stepped out into the hallway. It was empty. She approached the door opposite her, Mrs Marshal’s apartment. Zoe sometimes helped her up with her shopping, a few small moments of contact with another person.
She knocked timidly on the door.
“Mrs Marshal?” she spoke to the door. More silence. She knocked harder. “MRS MARSHAL!” she cried out before looking around, afraid she’d make a scene, but no one appeared, and there was no answer.
She tried a few more doors before heading downstairs to the main entrance.
She stood in the hallway of her building, looking out to the still street ahead.
She hugged herself as she felt a chill run through her despite the heat of another summer day building.
What was going on? Should she be outside, was it safe?
As the looked out she caught the reflection of someone running by in the glass window of the store opposite. Her mouth dropped open as the image flashed before her. A young man, with brown hair, wearing dark trousers and a white shirt. It was only a glimpse, yet she could bring his face to mind easily.
She stepped forward.
“Wait!” she said softly. Then with more urgency, panic building up she ran forward and through the doors to the street outside.
“HEY!” she shouted loudly, looking around. There was no one there, the city still quite, the silent closing in on her like something physical.
She ran forward a few steps then halted, unsure where to go. She looked around then back down the street where she thought the man had gone.
There! Another reflection. The man was looking at her, smiling, then he walked away, disappearing from view.
Something about the look, his smile touched Zoe deep inside.
She ran forward frantically. “Wait! PLEASE!” she cried. But there was no sign of the man.
She ran on, hoping to find him, anyone. She ran down familiar streets that now felt so different, almost alien without life.
She stopped, leaning down against her knees as she caught her breath.
“Quiet isn’t it?”
Zoe nearly jumped out of her skin; she swung around, her heart racing to find a man just ahead of her. Funny, she hadn’t seen him a moment ago.
She studied the man carefully. He was not the one she’d seen in the reflections. He was older, slightly balding with his remaining hair shaved close to his head. He was wearing a dark grey suit, polished black shoes and a purple shirt and tie. He stood cleaning some glasses, not actually looking at her.
Apparently satisfied, the man put on the glasses and stood looking at Zoe, a faint smile on his face as if everything was normal and happy.
Zoe said nothing for a moment, just watching, catching her breath. Despite the circumstances she didn’t feel frightened at all.
“Who are you?” she managed at last, the first of many questions coming to mind.
The man smiled. “A friend, someone you can share your innermost thoughts and desires with.
Zoe gasped, the words echoing her thoughts from the night before.
The man pointed to a small park, a short distance down the street.
“Care to join me?”
Zoe nodded. For whatever reason he seemed to be the only other person here, perhaps the only other person in the world for all she knew, well apart from the mysterious reflection.
“What happened?” asked Zoe, catching up the man as she strode purposefully along. “Where did everyone go?”
The man held out his arm, letting Zoe through the gate to the park.
“Let’s sit down shall we?” The man gestured to a bench just within the park, overlooking a small garden, an oasis within the once thriving metropolis.
“Okay, Zoe, what do you want to know?” The man asked, reaching into a pocket and pulling out a bag before removing some seeds and throwing some to the ground, attracting some small birds that began pecking hungrily at the scattered seeds.
He knew her name.
“Who are you?” asked Zoe again, more forcefully this time. “How do you know me?”
The man looked over. “Hmmm, you can call me... Edward, yes, Edward will do fine. He tipped his head. “Nice to meet you, Zoe.”
“But that’s not your real name?” replied Zoe.
‘Edward’ seemed amused. “Well no, but you have a need to call me something, so Edward will suffice.”
Zoe decided to ignore that for now. “How do you know me, where did everyone go?”
Edward looked around. “Hasn’t it always been like this? You’ve never connected to anyone here, how is this any different from yesterday?”
Zoe frowned. “The people, there’re gone!” she protested. “It wasn’t like this yesterday!”
“Are you sure? Perhaps you just thought there were people. How many do you really know?”
Zoe ignored that. “People can’t just disappear, please tell me what happened?”
Edward flicked some more seeds to the ground, as he watched the birds skip around on the ground he answered.
“You thought about it, just disappearing, ending it. I believe your exact thought was, ‘Who would miss me?’”
Zoe gasped and moved back slightly on the bench. “How do you know that? Who ARE you?”
Edward turned and looked at her. “I told you, a friend, a friend who cares.” He took a deep breath. “I know you feel alone, to you this is how the city has always been.” He swung his arm around to encompass the silent buildings surrounding them.
“I don’t have all the answers, I can’t tell you everything, but I want to tell you this. Every soul on this planet is important. Everyone has a light inside them.” He titled his head. “Some shine brighter than others, their light falling on many, some shine only on a few, but everyone has a light. First you have to see that light for yourself, be the light you are.”
Zoe thought that over. What the hell did he mean? She thought back to the self-help books she’d read, the websites she visited.
“You’re not telling me I have to love myself are you?” She almost rolled her eyes. The world had ended and she was getting the same hackneyed advice she’d always been given.
Edward laughed. “Well, yes, I suppose I am.” He looked at Zoe, his expression serious for the first time. “But you need to accept you have worth, you have a light.”
Zoe threw up her hands, suddenly angry. “And what, everything will get better? I should suck it up, go out, join a gym, or some clubs and meet people. I’ve tried, it’s not that easy!”
She put her face in her hands and let the tears flow.
At first she didn’t feel his arm over her shoulders, his touch was so light.
“I know. But if you disappear you’ll never know what happens next.”
Edward passed her a tissue.
Zoe took the tissue, slowly leaning into Edward, letting her body rest against his as she cried. It had been so long since someone had been so close, it felt so comforting.
“You can make a difference, Zoe, things can change.”
“Is that what all this is about? “
Edward laughed quietly. “Well, I can’t do the whole, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ thing, something about copyright infringement. But it is up to you Zoe, I’m afraid you have to do some of the work, take some risks, share your light.”
“I can’t.” Sobbed Zoe. “It’s too hard. Sometimes I just... I...”
Edward sighed again, giving her shoulder a squeeze. “I know, but you have to hang on in there, as long as you do there’s always tomorrow, always hope.”
Edward paused a moment before continuing. “I told you I don’t have all the answers. Life is a journey, Zoe, don’t be so caught up in the destination that you miss the sights on the way. Promise me you’ll stay, find your light, share it.”
Zoe wiped her eyes and looked up “I'll try.”
Edward smiled broadly. “Good.” He looked at his watch. “I’m sorry, I’m afraid our time is up.”
“Time? What do you mean?” asked Zoe.
Edward’s eyes twinkled as he smiled at her. “Time to wake up, Zoe...”
Part 3
Zoe shot upright in bed; sunlight filled her room, as did the sound of the city.
She jumped out of bed and rushed to the window, down below the streets were busy as usual, cars driving by, people crowding the sidewalk, sirens and other sounds of civilisation filling the air.
Zoe just stared for a moment. It had seemed so real, but it had all been a dream?
She looked at her clock. 7.06, she wasn’t late.
The dream haunted her as she got ready. She had been sure she had been awake, aware of every sight, the feeling of the ground below her, of Edward as he had held her.
Still slightly dazed she headed for the coffee shop on the corner of her block; she needed a Latte like never before!
She stood in line, only barely aware of the people around her. As she neared the front of the queue, the man in front of her turned suddenly with his coffee, almost running into her.
“Sorry.” He mumbled, then stopped, staring at her.
Zoe looked up, it was the young man from her dream, the one she’d only seen in reflections.
The man ran his hand through his hair nervously.
His forehead crinkled as if trying to remember something. “Hey, erm, do I know you?” he asked.
Zoe could only stare for a moment. “Mm, no, I don’t think so.”
“I swear I...” he stopped. “I don’t usually do this, but could I, that is, would you let me buy you a coffee?”
Zoe thought back to Edward’s words, ‘take some risks, share your light.’
She smiled. “I’d like that.”
The young man smiled back and held out his hand. “I’m Sam.”
Zoe took his hand; she felt a tingle like static electricity run through her at his touch. “Zoe,” she replied.
Across the coffee shop sat a man wearing a dark grey suit, a purple shirt and tie, he studied the pair near the front of the queue though a pair of black framed glasses and smiled. This is the part he enjoyed most about this job.
Yes, that pair were going to be just fine.
Opening a notebook on the table before him, he crossed out two names. His smile faded as he flicked through the pages. So many names.
He looked up and the smile returned, whilst he was here...
Rebecca enjoyed working at the coffee shop, she got to meet so many interesting people, it was always a joy chatting to them. It helped numb the pain of not having someone special in her life, someone she could really talk to, open up to.
She approached the man sitting near a window; he was watching her as she approached a friendly smile on his face.
“More coffee?” she asked, smiling back.
“I’m fine, Rebecca, and I really think you should join that Spanish class.” He replied.
She frowned. “How do you know my name?”
The man pointed to the name badge.
She blushed slightly, of course. Wait, what about...?
“But how did you know I was thinking of joining a Spanish class?” She turned to look at the flyer that had been posted on the community noticeboard a few days ago. “I haven’t told anyone about it.”
She turned back, but the man was gone. She looked around, but there was no sign of him, just a half empty cup of coffee on the table, some steam still rising lazily into the air, and a few dollars lying next to it.
Still a little confused, she cleared away the cup and took the money as a young couple approached the table. She felt a pang of jealousy as they sat down, they seemed very happy together.
She looked over to the flyer on the noticeboard. The mysterious stranger’s voice echoed in her head.
What did she have to lose?
She would go, she decided, give it a chance.
The first meeting was to be held tomorrow.
