The Sign

Counting thirty six steps after the last person greeted him; it was a quiet part of the town Anthony realized. The cold was convincing. He never considered packing anything warm. Like an excited bird for wings. And now he regretted being in a hurry not taking a coat at all, he was trembling.

He had only an hour to report on duty, luckily the people in this town seemed to take their businesses quite serious. They were open early and people were increasing as he walked further into town.

Some were selling fruits and veggies; others were making fires to prepare fresh fast food. All he wanted was a warm coat to purchase.

Spotting a small clothing shop, he could see through a thick clear glass a young woman holding with both her hands what seemed like a cup of coffee.

Deciding to enter, the shop was warm, the young lady amazingly beautiful, her smile was charming and welcoming. She looked him in the eye, he could feel his heart turning euphemistic, for a moment he was voiceless, captured by a sudden overwhelming sentiment.

"My name is Anthony" he hesitated not to Introduce himself. "May I... May I ask your name please?"

He knew himself well enough to know his emotions was ahead of him from the moment he set eye's on her.

"How may I assist you Mister?" she asked.

With a smile on his face he explained how suddenly he had to pack and arrived here with no warm clothes. She came to where he stood and indicated where the warm clothes were. Stepping to the coats he swiftly passed her; Anthony could not help to mention softly that he liked her. From a distance she watched him with a smile on her face. He kept gazing at her and realise a slight shyness when their eyes locked. Anthony was blushing more than he was looking at the coats.

As he gazed once more she was gone for a moment and suddenly reappeared with a coat in her hand. "How would you like this?"

"Wow..." He went closer to take a good look. "This is genuine leather" he said. "Yes it is" she agreed. "It belonged to someone I knew. Most of the clothes here belonged to people before, it is because of the good condition that we buy them from people who really need the money."

Attentively listening he realised that everything about her was beautiful even her voice was angelic to him. "I surely am falling for this lady" he confessed to himself.

"How much?" He wanted to know, embarrassed that he may not have enough money, he had no choice but to be honest.

The prize was difinately beyond what he had but the lady was kind enough to sell it anyway. After he paid he heard her say "Ursula... My name is Ursula."

"Please to meet you" he reached out for her soft hand and held it tight for a moment. She then took the coat and wanted to put it in a shopping bag but Anthony said that he was cold and wore it effectively. Ursula looked at him and had a broad smile on her face. "Perfect" she said as he gazed at a nearby mirror attached to the wall. He could not help to expose a handsome smile too. It looked good on him.

"Thank you" he appreciatively gratified.

Looking at the time on his wrist Anthony knew that he had to leave now.

"I hope to see you again sometime" Anthony said looking deeply into her eyes. "Wish I could stay longer."

"I'm always just here" Ursula kindly said still smiling.

Something inside convinced him that she felt something too.

That day Anthony could not forget about Ursula, he worked hard and talked less, meditating on the beautiful memory.

It was sad after a few days that he had to leave without having a chance to say goodbye to her.

Home, more than a thousand kilometers from Ursula and she was on his mind all the time.

There was a good friend owning a dry cleaner/laundry not far from him. He decided to take the coat for a thorough clean.

Glad to see each other.

Anthony told him about Ursula and his friend said "An elder once told me if you miss someone that bad and think about her all the time, she's probably doing the same."

Anthony smiled and felt glad that he had conversation with his old pal.

About to leave Anthony confirmed whether his coat will be sorted the next day?

"For sure buddy" his friend replied and they departed.

Anthony spend most of the day fixing his car that broked down a few weeks ago. By the end of that same day the engine was good and running. Suddenly he imagined himself paying Ursula a visit soon. He could still see that smile and her pure white teeth.

It happened sooner than he had thought. When he arrived at his friend the next day to collect his coat, his old buddy called him aside. "Look what I have found in your coat," It was a beautiful sparkling diamond ring worth a fortune.

"One of the pockets had a hole, it fell through and seemed to be there all the time" his friend explained.

Anthony remembered Ursula mentioning something about the coat used to belong to someone she knows. 'The ring must mean something special to someone' he thought.

That same day he decided to fill up the tank of his car and take it for a long drive after coming from the bank to withdraw money from his savings account. He bought himself some snacks at the garage café and thought not twice to hit the accelerater. Along the way thoughts as: "how can I make such sudden decisions, all for a women I hardly know. There was no doubt now that he was in love with Ursula. He was not the kind of person that would just take his savings to see a woman. This was truly love he thought.

After having at the tail of his traveling speed a few hundred kilometers he took out the ring, looked at it and thought again, what if the coat belongs to an ex lover?

The thought did not last long because he decided to turn on the music to distract such thoughts.

Arriving late that night he booked himself a room at a guest house not far from where he worked. He marked it for a day like this.

Exhausted he slept like a baby as the stars and the moon were using the darkness to their advantage.

Excited the next morning. After taking a bath and having breakfast he drove through town to explore and later went to stand not far from the little shop he never could forget.

As he got out, he walked over and entered the shop.

He saw the most beautiful smile, there was excitement in Ursula's eyes. "Can i see you tonight?" He went to whisper in her ear.

"No problem" she responded and gave him a pick up time. It was like they were both suddenly excited and shy. He left her attending to her clients.

That evening he asked her to make the choice on where they are going to dine after they came from her place to refresh.

She looked more beautiful and was wearing a short sleeve red dress with a thin gold chain around her exposed neck.

She directed him to a well sophisticated restaurant and they made themselves comfortable after entering.

Seated at a table...

"I missed you," he said to her.

"I missed you too" she responded.

They looked each other in the eyes, Anthony felt he was emotional on fire. They touched hands over the table.

"The coat" he suddenly said, wanting to ease the fire. "Who's was it?"

Ursula looked at him suddenly withdrawing her hands from his.

She looked at him muted for a while.

"It belonged to my father."

Anthony took out the ring and softly put it on the table.

"I found this."

Ursula's eyes was suddenly filled with tears at the sight of the ring.

"How could it be, this must be a sign?" She said.

"A few years ago my father wanted to propose to my mother, he bought her this expensive ring. I remember he took it out of the box mentioning that the box may spoil the surprise. Later the same day his friend came to pick him up, he had on that same coat and the ring in it. He was intoxicated that night when he returned home and went to bed.

The next morning he woke up, made breakfast while mom was still in bed, we helped him because we knew what his plans were. When he searched for the ring it was not to be found anywhere. He decided to drive to his friend and thought perhaps he dropped it there, that was the last time we saw dad. He died in an accident that day and mom three years after dad, they loved each other deeply.

The coat was all I had left, its because of the memories that I decided to sell it. Most men had it on but I was never satisfied, maybe I was obsessed who to sell it too. I said to myself that I would sell it one day to the man who reminds me of my dad.

And there you were, entering the shop making me think about my father. The coat is a good fit, you are a wonderful guy. I felt you from the first moment."

Anthony reached out for her hands, they both had tears in their eyes.

"I'm deeply in love with you Ursula"

"I'm in love with you too"

Anthony leisurely reached out for the ring, looked at it and then at Ursula.

"Will you marry me Ursula"

She started crying sensitively, and suddenly a smile of excitement appealed, everybody was watching them. Ursula stood up right where she was.

"Can you believe this man is asking me to marry him?"

The people all looked with excitement and good humour.

"Yes! Yes.... I will marry you. You are a magician Anthony, you stole my heart mysteriously."

Anthony stood up, went around the table, bend on his knees and sweetly fitted the ring into her finger.

Everybody was clapping their hands, some elders sat with tears in their eyes.