A Meeting of Hearts

Talia liked that about it.

The Lake,

It was always calm, like a lullaby.

It didn’t ask for much. Just let her sit, let her think. Or not think. Sometimes she brought her sketchpad. Sometimes she didn’t. Either way, the lake didn’t care.

A breeze moved across the water, lifting the surface into quiet ripples. The sky overhead was the pale sort of blue that only ever seemed to happen on Wednesdays—like the week had paused for breath.

She sat on the same bench every time. The wood was old and beginning to splinter in places, but she liked that it creaked beneath her, like it remembered things.

There were ducks. Sometimes a family of them. Once, a boy chasing them. He laughed like he’d never been told not to.

And lately, there was someone else.

She didn’t know his name. Just that he always wore the same coat—faded green, too long in the sleeves. He carried a book but never read it and had a small dog. He sat under the tree nearest the water and watched the waves like they might spell something out if he looked long enough.

She’d only glanced at him at first. A flick of the eyes. The kind of notice you give a regular on your commute. But now, she found herself wondering if he noticed her too.

Today, he was there again.

He arrived just after she did, like always. Settled into his spot, knees drawn up, elbows balanced. He looked like someone who’d been broken once. Or maybe more than once. But in a quiet way. The kind of broken that still functioned. Still showed up.

They locked eyes at the same time, stared at each other's soul before Talia turned away.

Talia pulled her coat tighter. Drew her knees up on the bench. Pretended to sketch but didn't draw a line.

Across the lake, a bird skimmed the surface and disappeared into the trees.

When she looked up again, he was looking at her.

Just briefly. Just enough.

Not a smile. Not a frown. Something in between. A recognition.

And for a strange second, it didn’t feel like the first time.

It felt like a memory she hadn’t made yet.