The ink well fiction weekly prompt #3: Beauty with a twist - That Reflection in Your Eyes

That morning I left home, leaving behind the weight of your absence in my life. The street with neither its usual bustle, nor the heavy humidity combined with the smoke from the combustion of hundreds of vehicles stuck in endless lines, which made the air of the congested city unbreathable, nor feeling suffocated by the crowd crowded in the crowded subway car, nothing took your presence from my thoughts.

Everything else seemed absent to me, my work I did almost like an automaton, everything that stressed me was now indifferent to me. Only your absence in my life occupied me, that am why I always resorted to the only place where you were still there, my thoughts, my memories all full of you, every moment that illuminated my life was intact there, like a well-preserved film.

I left work, immersed in my thoughts, after a null day like most of them in recent months, I return home but I slow down my steps to delay my reunion with loneliness, I stopped on a sidewalk in the square, with no desire to return home, then a mature gentleman, gray hair, dressed in an elegant suit, carrying a bouquet of flowers, looked a little nervous, greeted me and started a conversation with some questions, which managed to get me out of my isolation:

-Hello friend, do I look good?

He asked me as he fixed his tie, although I was not comfortable with the way he approached me, I answered him:

-Yes sir, you look good

I answered politely, but I tried to avoid him with my eyes, but he insisted:

-Excuse me my friend, am I interrupting you? I'm a little nervous; I'm going on my second date with a special girl. I know, I know! I'm too old to be nervous . . . but I would understand if you knew her, she has magic in her eyes. I met her recently, she used to pass by my store every day, she likes flowers, she always smelled the roses, at that moment her face would light up, there I understood that she was suffering, so little by little I approached her, we started to talk, I gained her trust, she told me about her sorrows . . . well, I am a widower, but that girl made me feel special and I dared to ask her out, I think this is serious. Please forgive me if I bog you down with all this talk.

The gentleman spoke excitedly, but he noticed my sad face and his voice changed tone:

-Friend, I think I have bothered you, normally I am not like that, but I got carried away by the emotion, excuse me, but I notice you a little sad, if you want you can talk about it, it doesn't matter if I am a stranger, maybe this way it will be easier.

I looked at him with some distrust, but he was right, I have left all this inside me, so I told him about my sorrow:

-She left me! . . . I don't want to think about how she is no longer here, I just want to let myself be carried away by the memory of the landscape, reflected in her eyes brimming with happiness, that day when we escaped to a place of dreams, very close to the sea of crystal clear and peaceful waters, surrounded by mountains of an impressive green, multicolored birds were regular visitors who with their songs woke us up in the mornings. The horizon offered the immense blue of the sky, over the blue and turquoise sea, but in the late afternoon, the spectacle was to see how the sun was reflected in the water as it sank, between golden and reddish glows, only to give way to the night with its millions of stars illuminating our lives.

I took a deep breath, looked up at my casual listener, and continued:

-You know, it's amazing that all that scenery, I appreciated it better by looking at it in her eyes, maybe the magical effect was brought by seeing her so happy. Now that I think about it, everything that was reflected in her eyes looked better, they gave it a special touch, one that radiated a wide spectrum of sensations, tenderness, peace, joy, mischief, but what really caught me was to see my own reflection in them, in those moments it was love that enveloped us.

Moved, my kind listener put his hand on my shoulder, before saying goodbye he said to me:

-I am so sorry, you have lost something wonderful, believe me I know about losses, but, if life gives you another chance to have something similar, do everything possible even more not to lose it... I say goodbye my friend, I am going for my second chance, thank you for listening to me.

The man got up, fixed his tie and walked hurriedly to his appointment, I stayed a while longer on the sidewalk, the night had fallen, the cold air blew with short gusts, the hustle and bustle of the city gradually died down, then I started my way home again, to meet my loneliness.