Page 65 of Only You

Paris

Yousef Gabrie wondered if humans were creatures of the night.

Not to say he didn’t enjoy the day, but a certain energy emerged under his skin when the sun set.

Or maybe it was the fact that it was a little easier to remove the thin VR lenses that always covered his eyes, whether for work or to talk with a friend, and just observe the people around him.

He took out his vape, dialling down the strength level for his evening smoke before taking a puff.

He didn’t know why he was outside.

His fiancée, Nadia, didn’t care if he smoked inside.

They had air filters in every room, so the smell never lingered, and their balcony had a better view of the stars.

So many choices of comfort and still he donned his coat around midnight, walking down five flights to the building entrance before stopping at one of the convenience stands for a snack and heading to a nearby bench to smoke while trying to understand the restless energy under his skin.

Some nights, he enjoyed it. It felt tangible and real in a world wrestling with the artificial too often. On other nights, like tonight, he couldn’t help but tilt his head up to look at the stars for answers. He wanted to ask them:

What do you want?

But the universe was nothing if not silent. He sighed before taking another drag. ‘They used to be harder to see.’

Pulling his gaze from the stars, Yousef turned.

The person – she, from the red pinkie ring that indicated her pronouns – was leaning against a nearby lamp post in jeans and a lace hoodie that somehow looked both delicate and street-smart.

She smiled at him mischievously as if she knew an inside joke that he wasn’t privy to.

He tilted his head curiously, and she pointed to the sky.

‘The stars,’ she clarified. ‘A few decades ago, you would have only ten or fifteen on a good night.’

Yousef looked up again at the hundreds of stars above his head. He couldn’t imagine seeing such an empty sky in the city. ‘Huh,’ he said.

‘Anything particularly special up there?’

‘Only the answers to every question we ever asked,’ she shrugged. ‘Probably. Seems only right the heavens know everything.’

‘Much better than humans, we’re a bit reckless,’ he smirked. ‘But we’re all lucky.’

‘Would a lucky man look so pensive?’

Yousef huffed out a laugh at the odd question. ‘Only if he’s the luckiest one of them all,’ he answered.

A flashing advertisement showed the time. Already thirty minutes had passed, and he didn’t want to leave Nadia by herself for too long. He stood up, straightening his coat. Yet, he hesitated to walk away, noticing that the woman’s attention was still on him.

‘Hope you and your peculiar questions have a good night,’ he said, prolonging the moment.

Her eyebrows quirked, but she simply shrugged. ‘Same to you and your interesting answers.’

For a moment, something sharpened in her gaze that made Yousef hyperaware of his body, the space between them, the way her eyes never moved from his and the smile she held back.

He stared at her, wondering what he could say, but soon the moment passed.

He had to get back home; he’d said all he could. He tipped his head towards her.

She nodded in return, her gaze boring into his back.

He ignored how the thrum beneath his skin was soothed by the interaction, instead pretending that it was the walk home that helped.

Still, he went straight to the balcony to stare at the stars a little longer, contemplating how lucky he truly was.

Ava Ke?ta had seen the man a few times on her walks around the city.

She figured he lived nearby as she’d often caught him buying something from the local convenience stands or smoking while looking lost in the night.

He moved in sync with the community around him, clearly woven into the neighbourhood.

Honestly, she was surprised he’d never noticed her.

She always felt like an outsider when venturing beyond the vintage beauty of downtown Paris, like she was standing still in a moving crowd.

Now, Ava knew he wasn’t particularly special.

She had roamed many neighbourhoods, and there were always one or two people who stood out to her.

Still, something about the way he seemed so comfortable and yet so confused called to her.

It was a contradiction she understood. As a fashion designer, she always felt as though she were on the edge of rejection, despite her skills and the praise she often received.

She rarely met a person who displayed that feeling so openly.

So, she figured she would do what she always did: try to satisfy the curiosity. Only this time, receiving one answer wasn’t enough. Instead, it felt like a fire was being set off in the distance. It did nothing but intrigue her, making her wonder if it was warmth or danger.

‘Curiouser and curiouser,’ she murmured as she watched the flame disappear into the night.