A Moment

by Michael Vakian

Preface:
You know… in life, we get these moments.
Moments that stay with us.
Not the big milestones… not the ones you plan for…
but the ones that just happen.

And they stick.
They echo.
Sometimes for years.

The strange thing is…
the harder we try to hold on,
to stretch them out,
to give them permanence,
the faster they slip away.

Maybe the only way to keep them
is to let them happen.
And let them go.

But every now and then…
one seals itself anyway.
Forever.

The smell of diesel in the air,
grey clouds, bell chime
a smile as I walked into the small cafe
And that’s how it started

just a smile that caught my eye.
This was no Brigitte Bardot, no Marilyn,
but there was something genuine.
She tucked her hair behind her ear,
and in that moment, like the moments to follow,
I knew something was about to happen.

But not yet.
A missed chance, a hesitation,
a moment that drifted out the door before I could follow.
Days later, on that last night,
fate caught up to us.

Beneath the bar’s low amber light,
your hands moved in quiet constellations,
porcelain cups orbiting the warmth of your smile,
Outside, the city pressed its ear to the glass,
listening for the moment
when our voices would find each other.

We left on laughter’s soft edge,
the streets folded in narrow shadows.
Somewhere between the clink of glasses
and the sway of lamplight,
I learned the rhythm of your footsteps.
You stopped for an ATM,
and the night tilted
cobblestones holding their breath
as your eyes found mine
and refused to let go.

In your small apartment,
a bottle of wine abandoned on the table,
we let the hours loosen their grip.
Words sank into the quiet between us,
hands speaking in a language
neither of us would translate.
Paris leaned against the windowpane,
watching,
as if it, too, wanted to remember.

Morning broke in pale gold,
and we ran through the station
as if we could outrun the clock.
Your hair spilled into the wind,
your laughter breaking against the stone walls.
At the top of the metro stairs near Sacré-Cœur,
you caught my hand,
pressed a kiss against the day,
and stayed there in the sun
as I took the steps two at a time,
glancing back to see you still watching
the whole of Paris behind you,
and the moment sealed forever.