A Message Over Coffee - Part 3
A few days later, in the late afternoon, Cendra received a short message from Mario:
"Tonight. I have a thermos of tea and a blanket. Will you come?"
She didn’t have to think long. She grabbed a warm sweater, thick socks, and smiled to herself. She felt clearly that his presence had become part of her daily life—a place where she wanted to be.
They met at the old pier where Cendra had gone fishing with her father as a child. The season was over—no tourists, just a few seagulls circling above the calm, darkening sea.
Mario stood by the railing, dressed simply but elegantly in a subtle way. In his hand, he held a paper cup, and beside him lay a thick wool blanket. When he saw her, he smiled as if he had been waiting for her his entire life.
- I brewed tea with orange and cloves. Warms better than words. - he said half-jokingly.
They sat together at the end of the pier. The blanket wrapped around them both, and the cups of steaming tea warmed their hands. Cendra leaned lightly against his shoulder—not because she was cold, but out of the need to be closer. His presence was like a melody—calm, yet moving the heart.
They didn’t talk much. The silence was comfortable—a space where they could simply be together. The waves lapped against the shore in a rhythm that seemed synchronized with their breaths.
- You know what I like about places like this? - Mario asked quietly. - Here, you don’t have to pretend. You can just be.
Cendra looked at him, then at the sea.
- I used to be afraid of silence. - she admitted. - Now I see that it’s in silence where you can truly meet someone.
Mario gently took her hand. Cendra felt something soften inside her. She didn’t have to know everything—she could simply trust.
- Cendra… what do you think about giving this a chance? No plans, no pressure. Just… letting it happen?
She rested her head on his shoulder, feeling the warmth of his sweater. Her heart beat calmly, yet strongly—in the rhythm of a new, familiar melody.
- I think that’s the most beautiful thing we can do. - she whispered.
Without words, she gently lifted herself and kissed him. The kiss was soft, calm, full of acceptance that you don’t need to know everything to truly feel something. The sea continued to murmur. They sat there, embraced, at the edge of the world—which had now become their shared place.