chance encounter: lunch

He waited until she was only inches away, nearly within his reach.

“Excuse me,” he said in a pleasant baritone.

Looking annoyed, she raised one eyebrow while leaving the other stationary.

Smiling brightly, his teeth glistening, he raised his well-manicured hands in resignation.

“Can you tell me where,” he asked, glancing down at the shopping bag she carried, “Belltown Market is?”

The look on her face said ‘idiot’, but she replied politely, “It's over on the next block.” 

She raised her bag. “I just came from there.”

He smiled again.

“Actually,” he said moving in close so she could smell his spicy cologne and the mint he’d just finished chewing. “I was wondering if I could take you to lunch.” 

greetings from paradise: chance encounter

aloha no, readers! for this very first blog post, i'm going to introduce you to a character in a story called chance encounter--one of several selections in the chocolate rice milk collection of shorts. 

mary is a middle-aged, japanese american (sansei) living quietly in a noisy metropolis, and the contradictions don't stop there. as attractive as she is, mary is only attracted to things that others find hideous or repulsive. 

due to the disappointments in her life, mary no longer has expectations for any great happiness. breathing on autopilot, she's long let go of the belief in magic she once held close...until she meets a second-generation korean american man, several years her junior. unfortunately, this good-looking, mysterious stranger is not who he presents himself to be. but, mary can't see it as she literally falls into his arms blinded by her sudden, awakened need to breathe consciously.

like a flowering bud, mary yearns for someone to notice her. but, the city's hurried footsteps simply rush past.