Everything was white. Just white. You hated the color. People see it as pure, and clean, and good, but to you, it was evil. It was pain, sadness, every negative connation that you could think of, every time you thought of the color white. Your mother wore white a lot. Instead of like most middle aged women who start feeling self-conscious about their looks and adorn their closets with mountains of darker clothing because black made you look skinner, your mother wore white. Which in a way made her look younger, made her personality seem brighter, and made her seem like an angel.  Now, to you it’s the color of death. The hospital room where she died was just plainly white. White walls, white floors, the white bed sheets, there was just so much white that it made that room unbearable. You think that in a place where people come to get better, they have to sit in a room and wait to die, over-bared with a color that symbolically reveals heavenly things. It’s ironic isn’t it?
               

You were sitting there in the big arm chair next to your mother’s bed. The second hand on the clock in the room slowly ticked. Every passing second you wish you could take back. Anything that let you have more time with your mom. You looked up at your mother’s face. She was practically an older version of you. Long dark hair that everyone loved to touch, smooth skin, and with age you can see the laugh lines on her face, she was beautiful though. You watched her for awhile, watching her sleep peacefully watching her chest go up and down in time with her breathing.

“Omma…” you whispered silently. You took hold of her cold hand and laid your head on her chest and listened to her slow dying heartbeat till your father got back.

“Hey…”

“HEY…” someone nudged you. You looked up from your cup of coffee and saw the face of your best friend Mai.

“Oh! Hey! I didn’t see you get here.” You said straightening your posture and pulling out the earbuds in your ears.

“You were spacing out again.” Mai said looking at you with her cute round eyes. “You’ve been doing that a lot lately.”

“I’m sorry…. I just have a lot on my mind.” You said looking back down in your coffee cup.

“Hm.” Mai just grunted and took off her wool scarf and placed it next to her in the empty seat. Her outfit was cute, you noticed. Mai was always the pretty friend and you were always envious of that. Her straight long dark hair and straight fringe framed her round face and her large round eyes made her look like one of those uzzlangs you see on fashion websites. She was tall and slender, and had that hourglass figure that you could never achieve, no matter what pilates class you take. She was the girl you went to when you wanted to borrow cute clothes from, or ask fashion advice from. She never has had a boyfriend nor did she really care for one. Her true love was her work, she was a stylist at some entertain company and has dressed some pretty famous celebrities, but you could recall a whole list of men that would gladly be seen walking around with a girl like Mai.

“So, how is everything?” Mai looked over the menu, contemplating at everything that the little café had to offer.

You loved this café. It was peaceful and lazily quiet, played awesome music, and always had that wonderful coffee smell when you walk right in. You and Mai discovered this place when you were both still in high school. It was the perfect place, and have been meeting here on a daily basis.

“Alright.” You took a sip of your coffee. The caffeine woke you up a bit. You needed a boost, especially since you have this big job coming up and with the lack of sleep you’ve been getting, it’s no wonder why you haven’t passed out cold yet.

“I’m worried about you.” Mai finally said looking at you straight in the eye. Her face was serious, and Mai is no practical joker.

“I’m fine.” You persisted.

“No you’re not.” Mai said. “You don’t even talk anymore. All you do is space out and give me short worded sentences like what you’re doing now.”

“And I can tell you haven’t been sleeping because it looks like you got punched in the eye sockets with those dark circles.” Mai said with arched eyebrows.

You rubbed your eyes, and grabbed your almost empty coffee cup and put it down again.

“Aishhh… I said I’m fine.” You whined. “Can we change the subject?”

“Fine, but start talking.” Mai crossed her arms waiting.

You looked around the small café, then out the window looking at all the busy people making way with their on-going lives. It was cold today. So everyone was bundled up in warm coats and scarves. The dark gray sky fit your mood perfectly. Then you looked at your bare wrist, missing your mother’s bracelet.

“I met someone. Well, sort of.” You said, with the first thing that came to mind with a sort of half smile.

“Really? Who is it? Tell me.” Mai said with curiosity in her eyes.

You told the ridiculous story and even about the phone call and the compromising date you made with the mysterious attractive stranger.
 

Mai laughed out loud “Omo! That is honestly the cutest thing I’ve ever heard. So, you’re gonna go on this date right?”

“meh. I mean have to.” You grunted. “How else am I going to get my bracelet back?” you tried making eye contact with the waiter to get a refill for coffee.

“Aren’t you at least remotely interested?” Mai gasped. “I would even consider seeing him, especially what the stunt he did to try to talk to you.”

“I’m just gonna go over there and see him, let him take me on his little date or whatever, then be on my way.” You just shrugged. “I don’t have time to date Mai, and with everything going on in my life I don’t even think I’m emotionally stable enough to maintain a relationship.”

“I think a relationship would be good for you.” Mai silently said. Which contradicts everything about this friendship, the one girl that would choose work over love is telling you to try and start dating.

“Anyways, if you’re not going to date this little heartthrob then at least tell me what you’re going to wear?” Mai concluded. “I will not allow my best friend going a date looking like a piece of dirty garbage.”

The two of you talked over details about clothes, and time slowly ticked away. This is what you wanted, just a nice conversation with your friend about clothes, boys, anything to take your mind off what haunts you the most.

Mai looked at her small wrist watch and took one last sip of her coffee and slowly started to gather her things.

“It’s sort of getting late, I think I’m going to leave first, if it’s okay?” Mai asked concerned.

“No. It’s fine go ahead. I was planning on leaving shortly.” You just waved it off. “I’ll be fine.”

“Alright, but call me on Friday and tell me how it goes.” Mai said throwing her shoulder bag on and fixing her scarf around her neck.

You nodded and watched her walk out, noticing a couple of other onlookers getting a last peek of your beautiful friend Mai. You scratched the top of your head and sighed, then took out your earbuds and stuck them back in to avoid the slight noise of the café.

You were quietly enjoying yourself and allowing yourself get lost into your own thoughts. You were always a deep thinker, much rather be alone in a corner and allow yourself to contemplate over things than going to parties or the movies, always avoiding too crowded of places. You were tapping your fingers to the beat of the song, then you heard the little bell of the door ring letting the café owners know that a new customer has walked in.

You froze in place to see who just walked in. “What?! No.” you frantically thought.

“What is he doing here? How even…” you looked around trying to find something to cover your face with something.

You grabbed the menu and used it as a mini shield hopefully to stall time from him noticing you.  “What is bus boy doing here? He comes to the same café?” You bit your lip and tried to plan an escape route in your head.

“Okay, after he sits down and is busy looking at the menu, I’ll slip out.” You thought this plan was full proof. You waited for a few minutes watching him take a sit and looking around the small café. “Oh god, he’s gonna see me.” You covered your face more hoping that you weren’t causing any attention to yourself. You took another peek and he wasn’t at the table anymore.

“He’s not there anymore. Where did he go?!” you frantically looked around but he was nowhere to be seen. “Maybe he got it to go or went to the restroom.” You put the menu down and grabbed for your bag and headed straight for the door.

“I’ll make it out here! Yes!” Then out of nowhere a person sitting down on one of the passing tables got up and rammed right into you.

“OMO!” you tried avoiding the collision but ended up knocking into the table and spilling scalding hot coffee on you. “AHHH.” You screamed from the hotness and slipped.

Before you knew it someone had you in their arms and broke your fall, and looked up to see your hero. You looked up to see chocolate brown eyes of bus guy.