The most valuable moments in our lives come when we would least expect them.

When I was younger, I remember begging to the Devil to rob me of my soul; Free of charge.
To give it away, and to not get it back; was the goal.
I prayed every single night, in hopes that I could get rid of my ability to feel, which seemed to be the cruelest curse at the time.
Well, sometimes it still does.
But not on February 28.

An Appointment Booked in the Starts

Sometimes a seemingly severe disadvantage can turn out to be a trait of immeasurable value; even if it remained hidden from our very eyes.
Fate writes no boring screenplays.

Some say it’s luck, no more than mere chance. Others are convinced that there are certain events, at certain times; which are ought to happen, just as day follow the night, these encounters are inevitable.

It was a sunny Thursday morning, -fairly uncommon in the Netherlands; where I found myself pondering on the main event of the day:
The first date with my future Wife.
What a foolish statement, you might say. Guess what, you are right. It is foolish, just as foolish as moving to a foreign country without any insurance for survival, but hey.
Welcome to the mind of a slightly silly Man.

I literally flew out of bed.
Picked up my second favorite outfit and left my hair slightly undone, just so there would still be some room for improvement for the next time; as She taught me how to cook pasta through WhatsApp the other night- that made it quite sure that no matter how it goes, our first wouldn’t be our last.

Since my financial situation didn’t allow us to shoot for expensive experiences, the plan ended up to be a simple walk in the Center, so the fine, warm rays of sunlight wouldn’t go to waste.

We decided to meet at 2, so She arrived at 3.
“Whoops” – She said
After all, She drove through the country to meet me at my house, what it is, if not a sign of dedication?
When I walked past the door, there She was, leaning against her car, which- if you’ve seen a few american movies; was as cool as it gets.
After a cheeky grin slowly appeared on our faces, we went to the bus stop, eager to conquer the city.

She eloquently jumped on the bench and made a cute remark:
“So, you’re my Man Today”
If there was such a thing as an internal smile, my soul would’ve curved into a half circle towards the sky.

The second we arrived She came up with the idea to gift me something of great value; but it didn’t feel right to receive, while I was already in such an abundance of joy. She really wanted to give me a book, if only my pride would’ve allowed me to say yes, today I would be richer with both a memory and an experience.

It felt like we merely started to talk; the sun was already setting behind us.
During the walk, we bumped into a statue, which I decided to mount with a secret ingredient: A unicorn mask, pulled out from my bag.
“But how will you get up the-“
and there I was, looking at her from a horseback, struggling to put on my horse head.
Using her sense for art, She went down to a perfect Slavic squat to nail the angle; which gave birth to this piece of art:

#5 Date in English (2019.02.28, Arnhem – Loïs)
An item on my bucket list which was sitting there for sooo long.
At this point, it definitely deserved to be crossed out.
Little did I know, it wasn’t even close to what was yet to come.

After this, we went to the harbor, where the last rays of the setting sun would still catch our backs, forming a thin, warm coat; which would briefly dispel the icy winds of Holland.
Making connections during these times was something I had no experience in at all, especially not on the first run.
But somehow, even though I had many locked doors, She had all the keys.
Perhaps; She felt the same.

She cunningly pulled me closer, and decided to walk by clinging to my arm.
The style was from the 40’s; more than 50 years old, but boy, did it rock!
There was nothing more a man could’ve asked for.
Since we’ve been walking for a while now, we ended up on a sturdy bench for a brief pause.

It didn’t take her more than a second, She was already waving with her hands, explaining why things are the way they are.
She would even poke me here and there, if it seemed like our views might differ.
To her, the stories of our lives were written the skies, while to me, all that mattered is the fire in her eyes.
One of us found meaning in the starts, the other did so by witnessing the beauties of Earth.
We’ve been on different roads, wearing different glasses, yet our vision of the future was the same.

Soon the feeling in our legs went offline because we chose to worst possible position, so in attempt to gain back the power on our lower parts, we decided to take another round. The date was far from over.
We bumped into a huge sandbox, and climbed up on a big plastic guy.
It was the sort of playground people make when they have no idea how to fill up unused space. Just as we got on the top, it started to rain.
Although it was sunny 5 seconds, now I just say: Holland weather; doesn’t matter.

We rushed down before we got wet, (well, I can only speak for myself) and headed to the first place that seemed to be comfortable enough to enjoy our time.
Instead, what we found was the nest of the best.
The second we opened the door, the smell of communism hit our nose. Old people turned at us, with the usual grumpy look they throw at younglings, who dared to disturb their favorite pastime, the sweet complaints about how terrible the world; especially our generation- is.

For the second try, She seemingly chose the most luxurious coffee shop in the city.
As if even the cheapest place wouldn’t astonish an eastern guy.

Time Flies By

You know you’re in good company when you look at your watch every 30 minutes, just to notice that 2 hours has passed.

The clock wasn’t relevant anymore. Time ceased to exist.
There was nothing but dim lights and our unstrained attention towards each other.
Sometimes, She just wouldn’t stop talking. Though seeing the pleasure in her smile, I had no intention to even just consider to interrupt.
If we were at the sea, I would’ve been a Pirate, charmed by a Siren, whose passion was to sing, rather than to take men to the depths.

After all those years of trial and struggle -for the first time; it was natural.
For some reason, I just never felt home on the place where I was born.
It’s been a long and toilsome road, yet in that moment everything made sense.
That night it felt likeI finally found the place where I belong.

“For no man knows what the future would bring, much less the next hour”

Viktor E. Frankl

She was savvy all the way. She knew exactly when to take a step back, or when to take two forward.
If dating was basketball, She was Michael Jordan.

Hours passed by, and we wouldn’t even notice.
The only thing that could distract us, was a small mouse, who rushed through the floor, doin’ a quick scan for some precious crumbles. It went under a desk, but wouldn’t come out. She wouldn’t believe her ears, and I wouldn’t believe my eyes. I sneaked to the desk, slowly lifted it up, and we found our witty little cheese stealer.
The cute and fluffy interruption snapped us back to reality, and we found out what time it was.
It was time to go.

There was still an hour before midnight, the next bus wasn’t in a hurry to arrive, so we had the opportunity to take the day’s last walk.
A stop was right next to us, but being poor as fuck, we could; under the name of being adventurous– choose one which was far enough to enjoy a walk, yet close enough to get there in time.
I also saved 0,17 euros, which unarguably worth at least 2 slices of brood.
Yep. Eastern life on the West.

As we reached our destination, we were already tangled up, not just in thoughts, but as a whole.
Even though I couldn’t know less about this kind of art, things just went with ease.
She turned a rock into something smooth, with less effort than anyone else who ever tried to tackle this task.

Then the six-wheeled savior came, to bring us closer to the night’s finishing touch.
We hopped on, and the trip which was supposed to last 20 minutes, passed in no more than 5.
Perhaps, the speed of time linearly grows with the amount of pleasure.

Just as She was about to get in her car, a last hug seemed to be a proper closure of our night, but once we became wrapped, there seemed to be no force on Earth that could separate that bond which was -between us; formed.
We just stood there; binded to our very selves.
She would say the answer to all this could be found in the stars.
I would just smile, shrug; and ponder about the journeys yet to come.

Once upon a time, somewhere in Arnhem; the clock struck midnight and the date came to an end. As the month shifted and spring came forth, a book suddenly fell.
It had our names on it, so She swiftly picked it up and opened it, though we quickly realized it wasn’t a fancy novel as one would expect, but a sea of empty pages; and placed between them, was a pen.

Take care,
Erik

28.02.2019 – Day 38

P.S.
“That’s how you dot the Ï”
Where my sense for art ends; Her creativity begins –

{Bloopers}:
In the midst of the hugathon, she looked in my eyes and asked:
“Can I Kiss You?”
– Nooo… – I said, in a shy and playful tone.
Our loud laughter afterwards surely shook up the sleeping neighborhood.

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