Prologue

-Present Day-

The sound of thunder awoke me from my daze. I turn my head from a local coffee shop and saw rain pouring like a flood as people from outside were running into the subway station or inside a restaurant to get away from the rain.

I looked down at my watch and sighed, “5 more minutes,” I said as I looked down my cold coffee, I forgot I had ordered one earlier.
“Professor Kwon!”

I looked up and there I saw one of my students from my Renaissance Literature class drench from the rain as I saw a soaking closed umbrella in one hand and a couple of books and shopping bag in the other. She took off her hood and than her baseball cap revealing her perfect tan skin and dark brown eyes. She was mixed, I remember she told me; half Korean, half Latino.

“I was getting worried there Sophie, I thought you wouldn’t make it,” I said as Sophie took her seat across from me.

A waitress came by to order Sophie’s drink, a warm vanilla latte while I ask the waitress if I could get another cup of coffee since my first one turned cold. Sophie took off her school book bag and then her jacket just as the waitress was taking away my cold coffee.

“I am so sorry I was late professor! The storm came out of nowhere,” she said as she pulled out her notebook, pen, and a recorder. “Thank you so much for doing this interview,” said Sophie as she put her book bag down on the floor.

“I am more than happy to,” I said as the waitress came by with our drinks, “ Now I am just curious,” I said as I grabbed a bowl of sugar and cream from the sides to pour in my drink.”What made you decide to interview me?” I ask.

Sophie looked inside her shopping bag that was standing next to her as pulled out a book and showed it to me. It wasn’t just a normal book, it a book that I had recently published, ‘To Hero.’

“Oh I see you just got my recent publishing,” I said as I gave the book back to her.
Sophie put the book back inside the shopping bag as she uncap her pen, “I only just got into the first few chapters and I fell in love it, as always from any books you wrote.”
“Well I’m flattered that you like my writing,” I said as I took a sip of my coffee.
“Like it? I love it! Professor Kwon, you are the reason why I’m into reading, and why I became a literature major! And that’s the reason why I wanted to interview you for my term paper. Plus I love the way you explain the human emotion and the symbolic meaning from the classic literature about being in love,” she said.

I laughed under my breathe, “Well I’m glad I made a huge impact on your life.”
“I’m just curious about one thing though,” Sophie ask.
“Go on,” I said as I took another sip of my coffee.
“What was your inspiration to your writing?”

I pause from taking another sip of my coffee as I slowly as the cup down on the plate and exhaled.

“I’ll sum my life up in a quote I once read, ‘Love is like playing the piano. First you learn the keys, then you learn the rules. Then you leave the rules and play what’s in your heart,’” I said as I watch Sophie writing in her notebook of what I just told her.

She put down her pen and grab her recorder and hit play.

“Could you elaborate more on that?” she asked with a shy grin.
Just shook my head playfully as looked out the window, “It all started on a rainy day...”