The clouds burgeoned on Monday’s dawn. There were no cordial rays of light to cajole the millions of undead away from their slumbers, and there were certainly no domesticated roosters left in the city to cock their doodle-doos. The wind chimes blared amidst the rustling of the trees, plastic bags, and crushed cans.
“I guess we won’t be seeing the sunrise,” he said and yawned.
“The night was enough. Any more and it’ll make life ethereal. Too fake, too perfect. Let’s stay here for just a few more minutes,” she said.
“Always that sliver glimpse of hope that kills, you know? But fine by me anyway. Let’s grab some McDonald’s after this. How’s my breath?”
“It’s fine. From this distance anyway. Are you going to Instagram your breakfast later on?”
“Funny you asked,” he said. “I’ve been thinking about all those beautiful photos that people take. Oh, look at me, I’m with a lovely group of people today, rocking out with my homies at some indie band concert tomorrow, and look at my brunch! Eggs Benedict! Sausages! Cups of tea! I’m so English! Oftentimes I’ve wondered if their food taste as good as they look. Hashtag throwback time! Well, it’s bloody Instagram is it not? It’s supposed to instantaneous photography—like how people take polaroids at certain special occasions. The print comes out almost immediately after exposing your shot… not a week later!”
“Yeah okay. Hey, you remember Jude from last Thursday? The new girl.”
The winds carried the petrichor of the city soil across their noses.
“Yeap,” he said.
“I was thinking… Hmm… Instead of having met me two years back, you met Jude, and I would have only gotten to know you last week, would Jude have taken my place beside you right now?”
“What’s this about?” He turned to look at her.
“Nothing really. I’m just curious,” she said, her gaze still intent on the dark skies.
“No. We wouldn’t even have hung out in the first place.”
“Why not? She’s nice, and sweet.”
“Say I happened to meet both you and Jude on the same day, I still would’ve stuck with you. I really can’t think of an expression to properly describe the situation. Familiarity? Correspondence? Fate? The moment when you meet people you would already have a sense that you two are meant to be, friends, or otherwise. You just know. You just do. The feeling’s really inexplicable.”
The Monday rain fell through Wednesday.
