Solace

She tapped on his back. He turned around to face her. He looked handsome in a light blue shirt and grey jeans. “Finally you found the place.” He said and smiled.

“Yes I did.” She said. They started working in the wide corridors of the museum. Large paintings hung on the wall. She looked at them in awe. He looked at her in admiration. They walked for a while with nothing but the sound of their footsteps in the empty hallway.

“Okay I have a question. Why this place?” she was puzzled.
He laughed as if he had already anticipated the question from her. “Hmm… why did I choose a museum today? The answer is very simple. I like museums. They make me feel at peace and give me time to ponder. Art is the one place we all turn to for solace.”

She thought for a while before speaking. “I prefer to disagree with you.” Her face gleamed with a childlike glee. That was how she was: always willing to oppose him. He had curiosity on his face and no surprise. He looked at her expectantly.

“I believe you can find solace in anything, at any place or even in a person. It all depends on your mind. Our mind is similar to driving a car. It is we who decide where to take it unless the steering wheel is in our control.”

“Do you find solace with me?” he asked, looking directly into her eyes. They stared into each other for what must be 3 long seconds. She looked away and pretended to be in retrospection. She spoke after a long pause.

“The answer to your question is not very simple.”  

“I’m sure I can keep up.”

“Finding solace in a place is unlike from finding it in a person. Answering your question, I must agree that I do find solace with you. I’ll explain why. Being with you calms my soul in a way that I fail to describe. I feel the safest in your company. I forget to be anxious and agitated when I’m with you. It feels like I have finally found a home for my soul.”

She was breathless due to her long speech. He, because of her.

Her phone rang. It was the tune he hated the most. It meant that their time was up. Their journey together had come to an end. Time had again proved to be their enemy.

“Do we have any more sessions left?” he asked, fully aware that this was his last.  

“Of course, you do. See you tomorrow at 4 pm.” She said with a smile that explained the unexplained.