Friends. A last-minute arrival in Paris. A text confirming a time and location. Early afternoon. The conversation lightens while the smoked BBQ wings are placed centered on the table. We sip our drinks, re-familiarizing ourselves after years. Time will make a stranger of someone. This version is steady and knowing. The main course arrives. The laughs begin to flow with ease as the fizz from Prosecco loosens our tongues. The excitement of old stories told anew. Laughs of the absurd. Revelations brought on by time and distance. New philosophy. Life is coming into focus. The depth of a person, I realized, I knew so little about. We pay our bill. Our feet are carrying us through the park. People stroll. Laughter penetrates our ears. A backdrop of clear blue skies.
The sun deepens the melanin of our skin. Rediscovering my new home through new eyes. He mentions a location on his list. Confessing the hunchback of Notre Dame was his favorite movie as a child. "It's dark", he chuckles. We pause. I look over. Someone whose sunny demeanor charms anyone within a meter of his radius. We laugh. Life is full of surprises. Depth. We walk. We arrive. A moment where a child's imagination meets their reality. I see those young eyes. He hoists himself upon the granite bench for a better view. His body morphing into a small child-like wonder. He stands silent. I sit.
Now caught in my remembering. The silence insulates us into our imagination. He plops down. We talked about Disney for 30 minutes. He tells me every single detail of the hunchback. He points out the differences. Looking out for the village. A bit of disappointment crossed his face as the last of nostalgia sobered him up. That was a long time ago. Time passes. Inevitably, our youth dissipates. We return to our adult selves. Sitting. The noises around us are becoming louder. We decided on another round of drinks.
We walk lost for a bit until we land at the brasserie. We take a seat. Our conversation is deepening. Questions are asked. Confessions are had. Night falls. Yet it's still early. We have shifted from champagne to petite cafes. Time has arrived. We walk to my metro stop. We hug. Squeezing to savor a new understanding of someone we did not know before our day had begun. I turn around as a pang of grief grazes me. I walk down the metro stairs, taking in the faint smell of urine and the bustling of tourist trying to navigate their way back to their place of rest. Strangers among friends.