Suddenly it dawned on Paul that in his "new" life as Celine he just (still) had paid work, and so he would just have to get up early the next morning, after which "Paul" went to sleep quickly. Fully immersed in "his" new being during sleep, the new Celine could effortlessly go about her usual daily business the next morning in her small, yet well-maintained rental apartment. She had worked for years, almost all her life - at a cleaning company that provided cleaning services for several small and medium-sized companies. She derived a lot of self-respect from the fact that she was absolutely good at her job, and although the "old Paul" as Celine still had to get used to this work, including the associated physical exertion, he soon understood why the "old Celine" been doing this work for so long. It was only after work, on the way home, that the new Celine had time to check her cell phone, and then realized not only that it belonged to the "old Celine", and thus belonged to Paul's new life, but also that Jeffery hadn't contacted her at all (yet). She realized this made sense, too, because Jeffery was connected to Paul, not Celine. After she got off the subway, she stood on the platform thoughtfully for a moment. Apparently this took a little longer than she thought, because she heard the next subway coming. At the same time, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a slightly older man, about her age, get up to take the subway. At the same time, she also saw him trip and fall, in danger of being hit by the oncoming subway. Celine reacted in a flash, managing just in time to pull the man away from the platform edge. She helped him to his feet and put him on a bench, after which she inquired whether he was well. he turned out to have a condition that caused him to suffer from vertigo. He had medication for this, and he thought he had a few more in the bag, but they were already gone. That's why he went to get them from the pharmacy, but unfortunately here, on the subway platform, he was already dizzy. - Tom -
Celine decided to go to the pharmacy with him so he could get his medicines safely. The older man was very grateful to her for her help, and offered to have a cup of coffee with her. When they sat in a cafe, they naturally got into a lively conversation. The elderly man had been retired for over a year, and had lost his wife to a fatal illness more than three years before his retirement. They had never had children. Celine felt more than sorry for him, she felt not only genuine sympathy for him, but even genuine affection, he was simply pure and real. He too had a small rental apartment, big enough for himself and his pension, which was enough to live on, but not much more. Celine decided to confide in him and told him honestly and plainly what had happened over the past few days. The older man--his name turned out to be Harry Forthbridge--listened intently, and only smiled. "The good thing about this," he said, "is that you have not closed yourself off from the world around you, you have remained attentive and, in the new situation, you have done something good spontaneously, from within yourself." The new Celine blushed and, wiping away some tears of emotion, thanked him for his kind words. His next question surprised and moved her even more: "May I see you again, Celine?" Overwhelmed with emotion, Celine said heartily "Yes!", and the rest soon became history. Not only did they continue to see each other, but they actually grew closer to each other, after which their relationship was eventually crowned with marriage and their mutual love gave them both a loving evening of life. - Tom -
Suddenly it dawned on Paul that in his "new" life as Celine he just (still) had paid work, and so he would just have to get up early the next morning, after which "Paul" went to sleep quickly. Fully immersed in "his" new being during sleep, the new Celine could effortlessly go about her usual daily business the next morning in her small, yet well-maintained rental apartment. She had worked for years, almost all her life - at a cleaning company that provided cleaning services for several small and medium-sized companies. She derived a lot of self-respect from the fact that she was absolutely good at her job, and although the "old Paul" as Celine still had to get used to this work, including the associated physical exertion, he soon understood why the "old Celine" been doing this work for so long. It was only after work, on the way home, that the new Celine had time to check her cell phone, and then realized not only that it belonged to the "old Celine", and thus belonged to Paul's new life, but also that Jeffery hadn't contacted her at all (yet). She realized this made sense, too, because Jeffery was connected to Paul, not Celine.
ReplyDeleteAfter she got off the subway, she stood on the platform thoughtfully for a moment. Apparently this took a little longer than she thought, because she heard the next subway coming. At the same time, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a slightly older man, about her age, get up to take the subway. At the same time, she also saw him trip and fall, in danger of being hit by the oncoming subway. Celine reacted in a flash, managing just in time to pull the man away from the platform edge. She helped him to his feet and put him on a bench, after which she inquired whether he was well. he turned out to have a condition that caused him to suffer from vertigo. He had medication for this, and he thought he had a few more in the bag, but they were already gone. That's why he went to get them from the pharmacy, but unfortunately here, on the subway platform, he was already dizzy. - Tom -
Celine decided to go to the pharmacy with him so he could get his medicines safely. The older man was very grateful to her for her help, and offered to have a cup of coffee with her.
ReplyDeleteWhen they sat in a cafe, they naturally got into a lively conversation. The elderly man had been retired for over a year, and had lost his wife to a fatal illness more than three years before his retirement. They had never had children. Celine felt more than sorry for him, she felt not only genuine sympathy for him, but even genuine affection, he was simply pure and real. He too had a small rental apartment, big enough for himself and his pension, which was enough to live on, but not much more. Celine decided to confide in him and told him honestly and plainly what had happened over the past few days. The older man--his name turned out to be Harry Forthbridge--listened intently, and only smiled. "The good thing about this," he said, "is that you have not closed yourself off from the world around you, you have remained attentive and, in the new situation, you have done something good spontaneously, from within yourself." The new Celine blushed and, wiping away some tears of emotion, thanked him for his kind words. His next question surprised and moved her even more: "May I see you again, Celine?" Overwhelmed with emotion, Celine said heartily "Yes!", and the rest soon became history. Not only did they continue to see each other, but they actually grew closer to each other, after which their relationship was eventually crowned with marriage and their mutual love gave them both a loving evening of life. - Tom -