“Hey, wake up.”

I ignored the person who dared to disturb my sleep.

“Your café got totally trashed because you left the door unlocked. I see they stole the cash register too.”

Frantically, I shot up and looked around wildly. The café was still in perfect condition, and I found myself facing the boy. A bit dazed, I tried to remember what had happened earlier. The boy was quickly rummaging in his backpack as the previous night’s events returned to me.

“I probably shouldn’t have barged in last night,” he said, not looking up from his backpack. “I’m sorry that I disturbed you.”

“You had a fever,” I said, stating the obvious. This statement caused him to glance up and give me a wry smirk.

“How very observant of you,” he said, with a hint of sarcasm. “Thanks to you it’s gone now.” Despite his brave words, he still looked incredibly tired, and I could see him trying to fight back a yawn. He returned to his shuffling and he pulled out a small box. Without any sort of formality, he the box into my hands.

“It’s a present,” he said, closely monitoring my expression. “I saw it in a store while I was away and thought of you.”

The box revealed a simple white stone that lay on top of a long silver chain.                   

“I can’t accept this,” I said softly. The boy leaned his head forward, and I caught a glimpse of a black stone that seemed to be at the end of a gold chain.

“Do you know that black is the most misunderstood colour?” he asked me. I was caught off guard by his question, and shook my head.

“Black,” he said, “is lack of light.” I nodded this time, unsure what he was trying to hint at.

“White,” he continued, “is lack of darkness.” He caressed his gold chain, and I saw the black stone shine under the unexpected light of the café.

“Black,” I said slowly, “is beautiful.” He stared at me with hooded eyes, and simply tilted his head.

“White completes it,” he said, placing the white stone in my hands. I watched the silver chain unravel and slink onto my palm.

“I can’t accept it,” I repeated, “Not when I don’t even know your name.”

He seemed amused by my attempt at subtlety. Silently, he turned to go, and I caught a whisper  that escaped his lips as he went out the door.

It started with a “K”.