Frankly Told: Meet me at Hello
The music was booming through the speakers and the night's cool air seemed to amplify it. The beat vibrated through his body and the melody tickled his soul, ever so slightly. Even though he didn’t understand the lyrics, he felt the singer with every word.
Taking a swig of his beer, he met the bottom of the aluminium can. It greeted him with sorrow. The last one of the night, he thought. The last droplets hang on to his moustache and trickled onto his lips and he licked them in like lip balm before placing the can down by the side of his seat.
In front of him, the crowd was on their feet and dancing to the music with much vigour. It made him smile for a little while and he forgot himself. He took in a deep breath and let out a concluding sigh as if to end his night there. In his mind, with this night, ended his life. He had spent the last few coins on that beer and just like he bet with himself, no one approached him all night.
As he geared his body to get up and leave, a tap on his shoulder stopped him. Turning back he looked to his side and there she stood. In the glow of the moon and the pulsing lights of the stage, she looked like an angel. She seemed a little out of breath and he couldn’t help but wonder if she had run for just him. Her teeth were so straight a line he couldn’t help but stare.
She looked young, maybe a decade or two younger but she was beautiful. She smiled at him and his heart fluttered like she had awoken a youth in him that he thought had since gone dormant. He smiled back but he could tell that lopsided smile did nothing to hide it. He was smitten almost as much as a teenage boy talking to a girl for the first time.
“Hi,” she quipped.
“Hi,” he hesitated.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I- I think so,” he replied. “I am now.”
“Okay,” she started. “So this will sound very weird but I’ve been watching you sitting here by your lonesome whilst everyone else is dancing. I just thought I’d come and ask if you are okay with it… if you’d like to dance?”
Her eyes glowed with hope and he didn’t have the heart to tell her no. He took a second to process it and thought, why the hell not?
“I’m okay with it,” he affirmed.
“Awesome,” she said, reaching out her hand.
“Where are you taking me?” he asked, taking her hand.
“To find space to dance, of course,” she threw back.
He let her lead him into what the crowd had colonized into a dance floor and settled for a spot in the middle. When she stopped, she turned around and let go of his hand. The alcohol rushed to his head and it dazed him for a moment.
“You okay?” she shouted over the music and the crowd.
“I think so,” he shouted back. “Haven’t drunk alcohol in a while.”
“Well, let’s hope you remember how to move your feet,” she teased as she began to get into the groove of the music.
He had no choice but to follow her lead and let the music carry him. With the amount of time he had spent off the dancefloor in his life, the rust in his joints started to show. His movements were still and almost uncoordinated, enough to make her start to laugh. He liked the sound of her laughter. Like a warm hug on a cold night, he thought.
“ You are so stiff,” she prodded in between laughter.
“Like this,” she took his hands again and swayed him to the beat.
The music and his rhythm finally began to feel like they were in sync. The night went on so full of fun he didn’t realise it until the artist on stage called for the last song of the night. Sweat had begun to drip from his forehead and his lungs burned as he tried to catch his breath.
“Aw,” she said. “The last song.”
She feigned sadness with an exaggerated frown that was very easily replaced by a smile as soon as the music came back on. She was off again, dancing to the beat without a care in the world. Smiling with the people left and right who were dancing alongside her. As he stood there, taking in the moment, a smile crept up on his face and a warmness grew in his heart.
They danced another round and when the song ended, they applauded the band off the stage. Many of the people in the crowd almost immediately began to leave as soon as the music stopped. She turned to look at him, out of breath and smiling. He nodded with a grin that refused to leave his face.
“I have to go look for my friends,” she said to him, as she began to collect herself.
He nodded again.
“I’ll see you around, okay?” she bid him as she began to walk away but he grabbed her arm.
“Hey,” he started. “Can I just ask why you asked me to dance without even asking my name?”
“When was a name ever the key to fun?” she asked whimsically.
“Well… thank you, nonetheless,” he bowed.
She curtsied to him with a chuckle and a smile and began to walk again.
“Can I meet you again?” he called after her.
“Mmh… sure,” she agreed.
“Where?”
“Meet me at hello.”
She disappeared into the crowd as it dispersed, leaving him with nothing but warmth in his heart and life back in his bones.
