The other day in DC I approached this man with a backpack and a guitar simply because I thought he looked interesting and I could tell he had a story.
He told me he was in the States to play a masterclass and was just visiting DC for the day and had a 10:00 train to Boston. I told him I was a musician as well, I gave him the url for my page, and we said goodbye.
About 10 minutes later, I ran into him at a crosswalk and leaned in beside him and said “I’m not following you, I promise”. He asked me where the White House was and I offered to walk there with him. We wandered the streets, talking about life.
On our way to the White House, we made a detour to find a cafe and wound up at a really cute French place. I showed him my photos and my music and gave him a postcard from Arlington National Cemetery with a handwritten note on it.
Our feet were really starting to hurt at this point, but we kept wandering until we saw the White House. We walked the perimeter of it until we reached the side closest to the Washington Monument. I saw that the sun was starting to set, and I insisted that we head back over to the mall where I first approached him. I knew it would be stellar in the sunset.
We walked slowly, talking, taking pictures, and enjoying each other’s company. There was even a double rainbow to add to the magic of the moment. We saw the Washington Monument, the WWII memorial, the mall, and the Lincoln Memorial, all beneath a sky painted with magnificent colors.
And then it was 8:30.
We had to move as quickly as we could across DC to get to the train station.
Luckily we stumbled upon a metro station about a mile into our walk and by 9:30 we were at the train stop. Once we were finally relaxed, I asked him to play guitar for me. It was incredible, as I expected.
The train started to pull in, and as everyone in the station was standing in line to board, we were still sitting against the wall and stalling our goodbyes. We went back and forth thanking each other for the lovely day until it was clear that he needed to board. I wanted to kiss him but I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate, so I leaned in and gave him a hug.
Then he said “Leslie, I would like to kiss you, but I cannot.”
I said, “Well, I would like to kiss you too, but if you cannot then I cannot.”
I kissed his cheek and he kissed mine and that was goodbye.
Until 10 seconds after I started walking away, when I heard him saying my name behind me. He said “I think for tonight it will be okay” and then a few more words until I cut him off with a kiss. Not a French kiss (lol but also French because he’s French). It was nice and held out and a glorious release of a day’s worth of tension.
Lessons from the Universe:
1) Magic can happen at any moment if you’re open to it.
2) When you give yourself the courage to talk to strangers, amazing things can happen.
3) Don’t live in the past or the future. Live for today–yes it’s a cliche–and that’s when you’ll discover the richest, most fulfilling parts of life.
4) Foreign men are just yes.
It's been over 2 years since I posted in Tumblr, and my last topic was my then-upcoming adventures in Spain. Now, here's my SAI little leading an amazingly adventurous life this summer! Follow her story for photos, music, and spiritual discovery :)
