Valentine's Day

Valentine's day. That's the day when flowers are expensive and chocolates are marked up. The day for which reservations are made weeks in advance and you have been convinced that to love is to spend on expensive gifts.

Valentine's day. That's the day I met you. That's the day I gathered the courage to walk up to your table and ask to sit with you. You told me about your brothers. You told me about your sisters. You told me what you liked and disliked. You told me all the committees you are in and the events you are organizing. You told me all this through that smile of yours.

That smile. I still see it. I forgot the details of our conversation but I still remember each feature of your face. Twice we tried to meet up. The third time we made it. I said I enjoyed the night. You said you enjoyed the night. I asked you out for drinks. You said only as friends. I asked if something changed. You said that nothing changed. Yet friends — friends don't ghost each other.

Valentine's day. The day we turned from strangers to strangers.