Surprisingly, she shook her head, signaling that the answer was wrong. "Nah, it's not about that. I don't think that I'll go to college even though it's the time for me," she said, her voice low as she looked down, and I suddenly had the urge to find out what was bothering her mind.
But of course, she wasn't ready to open up to a stranger, so I left it at that. However, I was right about her age. She might have just graduated high school.
"What about you?" She smiled, resting her chin on her hands. "Are you in college or something?"
"Just finished my bachelor’s degree," I said, suddenly reminded of all the responsibilities waiting for me.
"What brought you here? You're clearly not an artist." She rolled her eyes.
"I guess I'm here to escape," I told her truthfully, and her gaze showed that she was being attentive. "Bingo. I'm no artist. I suck at painting." I smirked. "But my brother is good at that. He's always here during winter. Painting."
"So, you're here with him," she said.
I shook my head. "No. He passed away a week ago."
My answer caused a horrified look to skate all over her face. "Oh, Luke, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to—"
"It's okay," I cut her off.
Silence fell between us. But strangely, it didn't feel uncomfortable. It felt the other way around. That was odd, because we were no doubt strangers.
But why did my heart tell me that she wasn't?
Another thing that bothered my mind was that I’d just spoken about Victor without feeling the great agony I'd always felt before. That was something.
Cassie looked up at me again, a soft smile on her lips. "You know what? I came here to escape too," she said, and another silence crept between us.
I waited for her to say more.
"And now that you've treated me these super delicious meals, you kinda make me feel guilty." She plastered a cute pout on her face. "Do you want to do something fun? 'Cause I know this fun place that you might be interested to see."
My eyebrows rose, and a small smirk crept on my lips again. "I'm hella curious about that, but not until you finish your dessert."
Now, it was her turn to raise her eyebrows.
"Does cream strudel with vanilla sauce sound good to you?" I smiled.
Cassie let out a burst of laughter, one that sounded like a melody in my ears.
"I would very much like to have that," she said, while I called the waiter to get her the dessert she was craving.
We stepped out of the cafe, and I watched as Cassie took in the fresh air, inhaling a deep breath as she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she looked up at the sky, a big smile on her face as she walked with her arms wide open.
While her eyes were locked on the sky above, mine couldn't leave her. Something about her just drew me in.
She'd said that she came here to escape, just like I did. But right now, she acted like all her problems had vanished into thin air—it gave me hope that there was indeed light at the end of the tunnel.
"Look at the sky," she exclaimed in a cheerful voice. "It's so pretty."
I scoffed, walking behind her. "What's so special about the sky?"
She spun around to face me, a grin on her face. "It's limitless, like freedom, like the ocean too. And it's blue. Blue is my favorite color."
Watching her happiness was like drinking water in the middle of a desert. This girl was really something.
She frowned, as if deep in thought. "Actually, I love blue because of the sky. It's not that I love the sky because it's blue. No. No," she mumbled to herself, stumbling upon her own words, and I found it amusing.
I arrived at her side as we kept walking. "Where are you going to take me?" I asked. "What is this fun place that you're going to show me?"
