Petite histoire

The young man stood in the narrow entrance to the studio parking lot, and as I approached on my bike I could hear him talking excitedly to a handful of others standing near the building's doorway. He wore a dark coat and had long unkept hair, and seemed like he might back up into my path at any moment, so I carefully made a wide circle around him and continued on to the bike rack in the corner.

I was removing the key from my lock and gathering my things when I looked up to see him walking toward me. In one hand he carried a long wooden staff, and around his neck was a polished amulet that seemed to be the front tooth of a large animal. His coat flapped around his ankles as he came closer, and he met my gaze with a wide smile.

"Madame," he began, in heavily-accented English, "you see, this is the bizarre part of the movie." He held out his hand. The fingers were clutching a small spray of crushed purple flowers, which he laid carefully on the rack of a bicycle near mine, close enough for me to reach. He swept his empty hand back in a knightly gesture, and smiled again. "If you have nothing to talk about with your colleagues today, you can tell them that someone gave you some flowers."

"Thank you," I said, smiling back at him and bending toward the flowers, but by the time I touched them he had already turned and was walking away, a crow-like apparition about to take flight.

In the studio, I laid the flowers on my desk, and noticed that a long dark hair, definitely not mine, was entangled with them. The flowers looked sad, but it felt wrong to throw them away, so I put them in a tiny vase of water, and now, this afternoon, they've completely revived.

Comments

[Martine]

Glad the story had a happy ending!

[Natalie]

Marvellous incident, Beth, marvellously described. Can't help wishing there was more and that we know more about the strange young man. But it's also perfect just as it is.

[Frances/Materfamilias]

Absolutely charming -- truly heartwarming. Thank you!

[Rachel Barenblat]

Wonderful.

[Marly Youmans]

Sometimes we are the one who is given the unexpected, sometimes we are the mysterious giver! I am reading a book about Puritans and witchcraft, and so that single long hair does sound... strange.