Perfect Match

The moment someone finally finishes university, they think that life will be a long path covered with a red carpet and roses. However, as one finally enters in a company, they realise how wrong their perception was. 

Undoubtedly if someone manages to land a job position that they love, they'll certainly enjoy themselves. Still, no matter what work one has, routine does kill all the joy eventually. Laura has been working at a company that seemed promising and loved to be part of. Three years later, though, she fell into the trap of routine, and now, she can only feel frustrated and tired. 

It was finally Friday evening, and Laura, after another week of tedious paperwork and phone calls, she got on the bus to get back home. She couldn't wait to arrive at her cosy little apartment and cuddle up with her calico cat, Rollo, under the blankets.

However, as always, while riding the bus, she was listening to music when one of her favourite songs came up. The song is a bittersweet story of a man's one-sided love story that lasts only a single night. Everyone at some point in their lives stumble upon someone who they instantly fall in love with. In Laura's favourite song, the singer describes how, during a night out with his friend saw a beautiful woman and couldn't take his eyes away from her.

During the whole evening, he steals glimpses towards her, and when she looks at his way, he feels nervous and excited, thinking that she noticed him. However, she was only looking for a waiter. His friend eventually gets frustrated at him since he keeps bugging him about how he fell in love with a stranger. He expresses his feelings of hurt, sadness as well as jealousy towards the man she loves. 

As Laura was listening to the song, she was reminded of her own unexpected encounter with a stranger. A few years back, she had the chance to experience her own fairy tale of one day with a person that today she doesn't even remember his name.

As a university student, Laura always tried to be active, and she would grasp any opportunity to try new things. In the end, she managed to participate in several activities such as dancing clubs, yoga, photography, hiking, book clubs, and even personal development workshops. 

One day, the university's union was offering Latin dance classes, and since Laura loved dancing, she couldn't pass this opportunity. After all, as a teenager, she had taken classes in Latin dance, so it was an excellent opportunity to be reacquainted with it. Unfortunately, none of her friends were interested in joining her. Still, she was determined to enjoy herself and immerse herself in dancing. So, she wore her best training clothes and confidently went to the event. 

There were a lot more people than she was expecting, so in the beginning, she felt slightly awkward. In general, although Laura loves is a very active person, she is, in fact, an introvert and has a quiet personality. So, standing all alone in a room full of people was a bit frightening.

Once the event started, the choreographers told the students to mingle and take as a partner whoever was next to them. Laura felt more confident now because, in this way, everyone was stranger to the other, so everyone felt a bit awkward. 

Unexpectedly though, Laura ended up with the perfect partner. He was just the right height for her, and his physical features were in perfect harmony with hers. They looked like a real couple that came to smash the dance floor.

With a shy smile, Laura introduces herself. Until today, she remembers being slightly nervous and couldn't look him in the eyes. Awkwardly, Laura was merely waiting for instructions from the teachers so that the tense silence would go away. Finally, clumsily, they started the first steps for the choreography.

However, from the very first steps, it was obvious that Laura and her partner were indeed perfect. Their dance skills were a match, and with a newly found confidence, the couple started having small talk and laughs in their mistakes. 

Gradually, they got the teachers' attention. They were showered with praises and cheering shouts. The atmosphere suddenly became celebratory. Soon they became very close, like old friends, and performed like a couple madly in love.

Nevertheless, the end of the session came. One of the representatives from the dance club took Laura away to convince her to attend the classes with the goal to one day go for competitions and performances. Although competitions and performances around the country sounded tempting, Laura, as an introvert, never liked the attention. Therefore she was never good on the stage. Politely she declines with the excuse that she doesn't have time for dancing classes with her busy schedule and goes back to the other students.n

But during her time with the representative, her perfect partner was taken away by his friends. It was a large group of friends, and she could see them talking loudly and laughing. Laura's heart was telling her to go up there and talk to the guy and maybe get his contact. After all, their chemistry was tremendously good. But her introverted and awkward self deliberately refused to go and speak to them. Thus, the only thing that she managed to do was wave a shy goodnight to him from afar and then left.

And that's how Laura's fairy tale of a single day finished. Abrupt, harsh, and awkward. That was the first and last time she saw this person, and now years later, she doesn't even remember his name.

Riding the bus after a long week of tiring work made her ponder on what this person is doing today and if he remembers that day of them being the perfect dancing couple. It has already been three years since she left university and three years since she started working. Everything is completely different in her life now, and one can wonder how many people one meets during their lifetime that will never see again. However, while Laura was reminiscing old fond memories, she could only feel the joy of meeting beautiful people that only brought happiness in her life. As for now, she can't wait to go home, wear her fluffy pyjamas, and cuddle up with her cat Rollo under the blankets.