• He picks up his soda and moves to sit down across from her. She looks away from him to hide the tears in her eyes. “What’s wrong?” he asks her quietly.

    “Why the hell should you care?” she demands defiantly.

    “I just thought you could use someone to talk to,” he answers, suddenly realizing that they’re they only ones besides the tired looking waitress in the diner.

    Her face softens as she looks across at him. “And here I thought the people of this world only cared about themselves,” she says cynically.

    “Some people, but not all of them. I’m one of them. It seems like you could use a friendly face.”

    She laughs bitterly. “No…what I need is a good uncomplicated relationship.” She sighs, looking tired.

    “Do you want to go somewhere and talk about it?”

    She grins for the first time, making her look absolutely beautiful, and years younger than she really is. “Why, I do believe you’re hitting on me.”

    He shakes his head, amused at her boldness. “No. I just find you interesting is all.”

    She smiles playfully, just a curve of lips really, not a full smile. “I was supposed to meet someone here. He should’ve been here by now.” She tilts her head back to study him a bit more. “And now that I think about it, you look an awful lot like him. Is your name Mike by any chance?”

    He looks surprised. “Yeah…do I know you?”

    She looks disappointed. “You really have forgotten our two AM conversations, when we spent hours just talking, do you?”

    His eyes widen as he studies her intensely. “Selen?” he finally asks.

    Yeah…” she says softly her mouth having gone dry. “How are you?”