Paris

It was a lovely late spring day in Paris. He had been watching her for the whole day, he had seen her walk with light steps, like a ballerina, her head high, a bright smile on her face, her eyes sparkling. She was ready to fall in love. He had followed her as she wandered around the Latin Quarter, getting lost. He had seen her breathe sunshine in the Jardins de Luxembourg, closing her eyes for a moment, ignoring everyone around, she sat by the fountain for a moment feeling the freshness of water nearby. From there she walked down to Saint Michel and the world stopped around her, a silent tear of happiness escaped her and she let it stream down her tanned cheek. After a while she returned to real world and browsed around the stalls by the Seine before walking into Notre-Dame. Inside the cathedral the colored light played tricks with her eyes. He was also there when she shivered at the sight of thousands of books in Shakespeare and Company, how she walked in awe around it, picking books up as if they were fragile items, reading one of the old books on the top floor. 

As she walked out of the bookshop he approached her. He was tall, had tousled light brown hair, and green-mottled caramel eyes. He had to talk to her. 

-Did you enjoy the shop?- he asked her. 

-I did, a lot. Is it yours? 

-In a way.- there was something familiar in his smile. 

-You’re not Parisian.

-I’m not, but I have lived here for a long time. Would you like me to show you around? 

-Yes.- she said after thinking about it for a minute. 

He offered his arm to her, and she lightly placed her hand on his forearm. They walked around the quais by the Seine, surrounded by people enjoying the rare summery day. They crossed the stone bridges, simply wandering around. He explained her the story of the city, which he seemed to know really well. He took her to the Tulleries where she stopped listening but held tightly to him overcome with emotion. By sunset they had climbed up to Montmatre and were sitting on the stone steps in Sacré-Coeur. The lights of the city were lit up and none of them needed to say anything, he had his arm around her waist and she had her head on his shoulder. Her mind was completely lost, and he was focused on her happiness. 

-It’s time for me to go.- he said. 

She softly caressed his cheek and kissed him on the lips. It was a sweet kiss, charged of romanticism. And he knew he had been right all along, she was ready to fall in love. And that he had been wrong all the time, she had already fallen in love but not with a person, with Paris. 

-Will I see you again?- she asked. 

-I’m sure you will.- he said before kissing her again and bidding farewell. 

The following morning she woke up to the news that Saint Michel statue had gone missing for some hours the previous afternoon at broad daylight, but it had been restored at some point of the night. The TV showed a close up of the statue, that familiar smirk on his face.