5 Minute Fiction: Their Love Could Follow Moonstones

Photo: © Marta_Lemaris | Depositphotos.com

Genre: Contemporary, Romance

Note: This was the first piece of fiction I ever wrote, sometime in the summer of 2009. The title was a creative writing prompt that I used to get started. Enjoy. :)

They met at the train station. This could have been a romantic place to meet, but this was much more mundane. They were both on their daily commutes to offices that were quite far from their homes.

Donna carried a half-eaten bagel with butter in a foil wrapper. She had taken a few bites in the car on the drive over, one hand on the wheel, one hand on the bagel and half of her mind as far away from that car as possible. Not that safe of a combination.

Rick appeared well put together, a medium coffee with cream, but no sugar, in his left hand and a folded newspaper in the right. His eyes were alert behind his stylish glasses and the blue dress shirt he wore highlighted his complexion nicely.

The train was late. Donna sighed as she realized that she wouldn't be leaving the office as early as she thought today. She had decided to take an earlier train, and actually managed to make it up and out the door on time. Rick wasn't worried as he usually got to his office earlier than he needed. He liked taking the early train because he never had to worry about being on time (his boss was rather authoritarian). So today, instead of being early, he would simply be on time. No problem.

Rick noticed the lady who stood several feet away from him. She was attractive, if not slightly disheveled. Or maybe it was that she was slightly disheveled that made her attractive. Her long hair hung in loose waves around her face and shoulders, but was still just a bit wet from her shower. The sweater she wore complimented her figure, although Rick noticed the gentle wrinkles in it. And the large bag she carried seemed about to vomit with papers, notebooks and personal items that she had thrown into it. She had relaxed just a bit as she realized she could eat her bagel in peace before the train came. Rick was at once fascinated and horrified by her disorganization.

Rick liked order. And structure. Not wearing a tie to work was the extent of his rebellion. He enjoyed scheduling and planning, and was proud of the methodical way in which he was successful. So when Donna dropped the last quarter of her bagel on the platform, rendering it uneatable, he was strangely saddened.

Donna looked at her fallen fragment of bagel with amused resignation. She bent down to pick it up and walked to the trash can, which, coincidentally, was right behind Rick. In a moment of unusual candor, Rick said to Donna, "Sorry your bagel fell on the ground." His face was friendly, but pained.

Donna looked up at Rick and smiled slowly. "It's alright. I managed to eat most of it, at least. Most of the time, it's just coffee then out the door. I actually ate three quarters of a bagel today." She laughed as she said this and it was clear to Rick that she was someone who allowed things to roll off her back.

"Actually," she began again, "it would have been nice to have eaten that last piece. I was starving this morning. But, I'm just going to be happy with the three quarters I actually got into my mouth." She looked at Rick and smiled again. "So, did you also have trouble with a rogue bagel this morning?” She was enjoying the conversation but was slightly puzzled why he seemed so upset over her loss.

"No," a small smile crossed his lips, "I had oatmeal, two eggs and a banana before I left. Plus, my coffee. Cream, no sugar."

"Wow, you actually sound organized and together," Donna said. They both laughed.

"Yes, that's why it was so painful for me to see your bagel drop to the ground. I can't stand seeing others not have a good breakfast," Rick said in an uncharacteristic display of pleasant self-deprecation.

Donna threw her head back slightly and laughed, her eyes now bright with amusement. Despite her shortcomings in the organization department, Rick found her charming and fun. He was hoping the train wouldn't come too soon.

They talked about work and about the town in which they lived, where they went to school and television shows they followed. Rick told her that he was training for a marathon, his third one. He went into detail about his strict and difficult workouts.

They both heard the train whistle and turned their heads at the same time to see the lights coming down the tracks. Rick kicked at some stones on the platform and sent them to the pile of gravel below that filled in the space between the tracks. Donna turned to him and said, "In the winter, when it's dark in the morning when I get here, I always notice the moon in the sky if it's not behind the clouds. I like to imagine that these stones and pebbles down here are stones that have fallen from the moon, moonstones I guess," she giggled at this. "That way, when I get on the train I feel like I'm traveling through the sky toward my dreams. That this all means something."

Rick looked at her for a moment and considered. She smiled at him and he couldn't help but smile back. They both boarded the train.

This story was originally published in my flash fiction collection, Writing On The Walls 1, which is now available as a "retired story" in my Ko-fi store. It is listed under "pay what you want," so please pay whatever you feel you should for it.

You can also pick up one of the (very few) remaining paperback copies of the collection as well.

Amanda Linehan is a multi-genre fiction writer and indie author. She has published 13 titles since 2012 and has been read in 113 countries. Get a free, exclusive short story, The Sommer House, when you sign up for her newsletter.