Comets

Anna smiled at Euan and Euan smiled back.

An inexplicable wave of emotions rushed through her, like a dangerous torrent crashing through a riverbed. At first, she thought she imagined his smile but the wink he gave her after cast away any doubts. Trying to compose herself, Anna cleared her throat and shyly turned away from his crystal blue gaze but knew deep down that there was no fooling him. 

They sat across one another in a circle with three other friends who were happily chatting away, oblivious to the flirting going on under their noses. 

 The afternoon was beautiful and warm in stark contrast to the day before where it had rained throughout. Emerging from the confines of the previous day, The Meadows was packed with crowds basking in the last days of the clear and glorious sunshine while they still could. The vast park was filled with people playing golf on one side and tennis on the other with a few amateur funambulists between the trees. 

Not too far away, Anna noticed a homeless man lying on the neatly trimmed grass, his hands behind his head and eyes closed as he bathed in the summer sun. 

Smiling to herself, Anna’s playful imagination began working its magic by trying to concoct a story- his story. It was a childhood habit of hers to come up with ludicrous and often far-fetched life stories of strangers she deemed interesting. This habit had carried on into her adult years and showed no signs of stopping. The fedora he had on, coupled with his imperial moustache made him look like a detective in the likes of Poirot. She imagined he was undercover right now, pretending to be asleep whilst secretly spying on someone a few feet away. He was probably a loner who socialized only out of necessity, not need and his abode was probably cluttered with books and other oddities. Also, his puffer jacket screamed eccentricity while his-. 

He scratched the side of his nose and as if a spell had been broken, Anna came back to reality.

Undeterred, she averted her gaze to a boisterous group of college students who had a posh air about them. Anna couldn't tell if it was the clothes they wore or their accents that made her think this way. There was an uptightness to their behaviour which she found abhorrent but also quite comical. One of them was shirtless, clearly flaunting his toned body to whoever would pay attention. He caught Anna looking at him and gave her a sly smile. In response, Anna cocked an eyebrow and turned away deciding not to come up with a story for them. 

         Her eyes went back to Euan, who had joined in on the conversation with the rest of the group. They were finalising their plans for tonight to view Collie’s comet which had been the talk of the news over the last few days.  

        Cited as the ‘event of the century’, it would be the closest a comet had come to Earth in a hundred years and visible to the naked eye. 

         The hype surrounding it was unbelievable. Gatherings and events were being held all over the city because of it. Even schools and offices were closing earlier than usual. 

           "Anna?"

           "Huh?" Anna looked up to see her best friend and the rest of the group facing her. 

         "Are you alright there, darling?" Charlotte asked with a slight frown. 

         "What do you mean?" Anna asked.

          "I’ve asked you three times already if you’ll be joining us, babe!”

           Anna felt herself turn a deep shade of red and looked down. The group burst into light laughter while Euan looked on, amused. She quickly collected herself after her initial embarrassment faded.

            Surely she could go with them to the beach to view the comet. She hadn’t been out for a while due to her hectic work schedule and could use some downtime. Plus, Euan would be there. 

             “I guess I could. Or wait-.”

             She stopped short and her heart sank as she recalled the promise she made to Jo the previous day. 

             Jo was an elderly woman Anna befriended over a year ago. They met while volunteering for a charity and struck up a friendship which continued well after Jo’s knee operation had left her inert. 

              Jo was no ordinary elderly lady: born in Ethiopia and brought up all over the world, she still had the spunk of a teenager and could swear like a sailor when angered. Her life story was fascinating as well- from backpacking alone in Egypt in the 1960s as a young woman to meeting the likes of Freddie Mercury as a roadie, she was truly one of a kind. Jo’s husband had passed away two years ago and her sons were down south with their own families. Unable to discover and explore the world as easily as she once could, Anna had become her main source of friendship. 

            Anna felt guilt overcome her like a crashing tsunami. She thought of how disappointed Jo would be if she cancelled their plans to have dinner and view the comet together. On the spot, she decided there would be a compromise. She would have dinner with Jo and join her friends at the beach just in time for the comet. Surely Jo would understand her decision. 

"I'll probably join you guys but I need to check in with someone first," Anna responded after a while.

"Ohh, who are we talking about here?" Sibo asked, jokingly. His big frame jiggled with every word he said. He had to be the first one to learn the latest gossip. 

"Just a friend," Anna replied succinctly. She checked her watch to see it was already past six in the evening. If she planned on hanging out with her friends, she couldn't afford to be late for dinner with Jo.

"Right guys, I have to run. I'll keep you posted-,"

"I'll walk you to the traffic lights," Euan announced and got up just as she did.

The group looked at one another in bemused silence, then broke into hysterics. It wasn’t that hard to tell what was going on.  

Anna blushed but Euan remained composed, a wide smile spread on his chiselled face. His blue eyes sparkled as his eyes rested on Anna and with a slight head tilt, beckoned her to follow him. She did so obediently, with a small goodbye to the rest of their friends as they teased them from behind. 

They walked in silence for a few meters, trying their best to avoid stepping on the people enjoying their summer afternoon. A dachshund rushed past with a ball in his mouth and did a small circle around them before racing back to its owner. This jovial sight was enough to break the ice.

"The red dress suits your brown eyes, you know," Euan remarked, as they reached the outskirts of the park. "You look quite lovely today, actually. I thought I should let you know that."

Their flirting had been going on for a while now, but nothing had happened so far. She assumed Euan was just as shy as she was but that thought changed in a second. Before she knew it, Anna's back was against a big oak tree, inches away from Euan’s tall frame. 

He bent over and kissed her gently.

He was a good kisser, probably one of the best she’d ever locked lips with. He smelled of citrus and vanilla, one of her favourite combinations. 

He’s perfect.

A few more seconds passed before Euan broke away. They looked into each other’s eyes, smiling. Euan was about to reach in for another kiss when he felt something light and wet touch him. He pulled back and looked around, and couldn’t believe what he saw. 

“Is it snowing?” he asked puzzled. Anna opened her mouth in shock. In their moment of bliss, they hadn’t noticed the sun hiding and the clouds darkening above them. The snowfall was gradually becoming heavier, forming a white carpet on the earth. A chilly wind blew against them and immediately, Euan protectively wrapped his arms around Anna.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes, thank you. I can’t believe it’s snowing in the middle of August!”

“Neither can I.” 

He looked down at her, a dashing smile still on his face.  

"Please come tonight?" he whispered.

Anna nodded. She wouldn’t miss tonight for the world.

                                                    *

Jo had been more than understanding about Anna’s change of plans. In fact, she scolded her for still coming to dinner when she should have been on her way to the beach.

“Anna! I’m grateful for all the time you spend with me but my dear, never do that again! You’re young. Live your life to the fullest!”

With Jo’s blessing, Anna headed down to the beach and joined the others just in time to see the comet.

The beach was just as packed as the park had been. The weather turned chilly and people were dressed in a combination of summer and winter clothing, still in shock from the sudden weather change. The snow was still falling and small bonfires were ubiquitous. Anna was silently grateful to Jo for the winter jacket she’d gotten as she left. It fit her petite figure perfectly. 

“Took you long enough babe!” Charlotte said happily as she saw Anna making her way down the snow-covered sand to join them at the shoreline. “You made it just in time for the start!”

Anna smiled but her mind was elsewhere. Where was Euan?

Just then, she felt an arm around her shoulder and looked up to see him beside her.

“You made it,” he said.

“I did,” was the response. They were just about to kiss when a sudden squeal of astonishment made them look up to the sky. 

The comet had arrived right on time and was making its way boldly through the starry night sky leaving a trail of glitter in its path. Anna watched it wide-eyed and marvelled at its astonishing beauty. It felt surreal looking at it and even more so sharing it with someone special. 

All around, people gazed in wonder at the sky. The ‘wows’ formed a chorus everywhere.  

But then, something happened. The comet made a sharp turn from its original route and was coming closer and closer towards them. At first, the astonished voices grew louder but soon turned into shrieks of horror as people realised what was happening. Anna was too shocked to move until she felt Euan pull her away. 

“Anna! Let’s go!” he shouted.

It can’t be, Anna thought.

“Anna! Come on!”

It really can’t be real: Euan, the comet, the snow. It just can’t be real. All of this has to be a dream.