Cafe on the bridge

Pauline and Martin stood near the cafe on the bridge, greeting the dawn with their suitcases. — I think that’s all. Now we can leave this city. — Martin said quietly, breathing air into his lungs, feeling how he himself was freezing. — Where are you going now? — Pauline stood and her face was illuminated by the sun — I don’t know, now you can go anywhere, but where? — I think the question should be asked differently. Is it necessary? — Martin smiled. Pauline It was true. Was it necessary now? To rush somewhere and run somewhere, was it necessary to change anything in your life now? They stood with their elbows in the cafe and each thought about his own. No, now they were completely confused and in complete freedom to themselves, which made their brain not work at all and refuse to look for something and offer it to their consciousness — Tell me, Pauline, is consciousness the brain or the soul? — The girl looked at the man — Good question… I don’t even know, maybe the brain, or maybe the soul. Although no, probably, the brain is consciousness and body, and the heart is the subconscious and soul. But what’s the difference? I do not care anymore. — Well, I just want to understand — What? — Where does my soul want to go now? And the brain. They want to give themselves another chance at a life of love, but what is that chance and to whom is it more valuable of the two? — For both. Getting enough sleep is for the brain, and love is for the heart. — Where are you going now? — She shook her head — Martin, I realized that I don’t want to go anywhere. I want to stay here with you and get to know you better. — But I’m dark and scary — Don’t worry, I’m not an angel either, I’m far from bright, I have a lot of darkness and fears, but why not now look at each other without masks and smiles. — Good idea, then let’s start again at the cafe on the bridge? — She nodded, and they again entered into a pleasant atmosphere. They sat down on the same table where he first sat down with her on that cold winter evening. The day was rising outside the window, and there were few visitors, but this did not matter to them. “Do you think I’ll ever be ashamed for driving Larry away so unceremoniously?” You know, now the thought slips into my mind that it could be better for her to stay? — Oh Martin, no, you did everything right. you are ashamed because you finally allowed yourself a little more than you usually allowed, so it turned out that this behavior caused you shame, but don’t worry, you did everything right. I am also ashamed of many moments. When I was emotional for no reason or when I didn’t understand why I was acting so stupid. But all this becomes clearer with age and an understanding of how things could have been different. at that moment you could not do anything else. Therefore, stop reproaching yourself and thinking that another option could be better than what you did from what life offered you. — the man thought, on the one hand, what should he do now, besides the cafe they have nowhere else to go, and where should they go now? But Martin stood up, placed his suitcase on a chair, and buttoned his coat. Pauline, who was watching this, also got ready. Leaving the cafe and on the way to the station, Pauline asked: — Where are you going now Martin? — Probably to the west. And what? — It’s okay, if anything happens, I’ll be in the South, come, let’s talk. You will find my number in the phone book. — Pauline, of course, I’ll come, believe me, you can’t just be forgotten. You are not a girl who is crossed out the next morning, you are not forgotten for centuries and cannot be washed away by the salty sea, you eat into the soul, and I will come, of course I will come. You won’t even have time to look back. Time will fly by very quickly. — Oh Martin, if you only knew that for us women time flies in seconds. — Martin came up and hugged Pauline, and said goodbye to her and walked through the steam coming from the trains and the roar of people. Pauline stood in the middle of the Station, not knowing where to go. After waiting for half an hour, she also boarded the train and left, south. There was no sadness in her soul; it was light and calm, there was no experience of anything. There was clarity and lightness. Just like Martina. Who, sitting in the third class on an uncomfortable hard seat, now looked at this city and asked himself the same question that flashed in Pauline’s head “why did I come here?” Was it a madcap decision of desperation or a sense of escape? now it made no difference. That forest flashed before their eyes, those streets where they walked together and that cafe where they first met. They were very grateful to each other for the release.