In Continuum.

Heartbreak Cafe

Love after Love

The time will come
when,with elation,
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door,in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other's welcome,

and say,sit here.Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine.Give bread.Give back your heart
to itself,to the stranger who has loved you

all your life,whom you ignored
for another,who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs,the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit.Feast on your life.

It's been raining all weekend,the longest in the boy's recent memories.He has a bittersweet relationship with the rainy weather,not because of the drenched clothes that come along with it most of the time,but the memories they bring.The smell of a approaching rainstorm,when your nose tingle to the salty air.The wind blows,and the cloud gathers.When the world darkens and all is in a shade of gray,the boy will think of the girl,and wonder if she is thinking the same somewhere under the same cloud...


Three hours into the book,and the boy couldnt put it down,neither has the rain relent on its wrath upon the town.People entered the cafe,all drenched and wet.Some cursed and swore,while others laughed it off over a cup of warm chocolate.It was a busy little cafe,fairly well-known to the locals.It's nothing like Starbucks,with branches everywhere across the country,but just a little family-owned business around the corner.The ones with memories lingering all around,even upon the walls where customers would leave their thoughts or comments,even random quotes or sketchings upon.It was a cozy little cafe,and the boy loved it.

On the table before him was a book,"The Time Traveller's Wife".A book by Audrey Niffenegger,and he loves it.He how twisted a love story this book has,how intensely moving the story is,and most of all how much he related to Henry and Clare.The smell of his Devil's Kiss Latte filled his nostril,as he took a long sip quietly in the corner of the cafe.The soft music played over the stereo above,and the boy was tired.He has been in that cafe for four hours straight,and three cups of coffee later he was still reluctant to leave.He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes a little.He took a look around the walls,with the beautiful graffitti all around.Quotes written by people he havent heard of all around,and it was a big mess in a beautiful sort of way."The door that squeaks gets the oil..." said one of the quotes,and that made the boy chuckle a little it reminded him of his mother's saying a long time ago.

A couple entered,and through the boy's blurry eyes all he could see were shapes.But the silhouette of the girl was unmistakable,the silhouette he has seen a dozen times;and most of all,that very last time.The last time...

He rubbed his eyes again,and put on his glasses.His heart skipped a beat,and then another,and then another,now faster.She was with another boy,a boy he hasnt seen before.They were hand in hand,and under the red umbrella they were laughing and joking,all happy.It was the girl,the boy thought.The girl who left him with a mountain of questions,a half-hearted kiss and most of all,a shattered heart so broken its been lost under the bed of memories for years and years.

The boy was dumbfounded,and waves of emotions washed over him.Memories he chose to forget started to come back to him,when the girl used to fall asleep in his arms.The time when she laughed till she cried to his awfully made brownies,and the time in the rain when he heard his heart shatter so loud inside,it was deafening.He heard it again,and as if the sound was real the girl spunned around and saw the boy looking at her too.Just then,from the stereo a soft song began to play.The boy heard it before,but couldnt put his finger on it.The girl heard it too,and her smile was all of a sudden,wiped away from her face.

If i gave you the sky
If i laid down my life
Would you believe me then?

The girl sat down with the other boy across the aisle from the boy.He didnt dare to look at the girl,nor did the girl dare to do the same.The sat quiet in their chairs and pretended not to be aware of each others' existence.The boy with her chattered away,something about his day at work and his dog named Elessar.The girl was uninterested,because she was nervous.Nervous because she had a secret;Nervous because she never told the new boy about this secret;Nervous because the boy was there,across the aisle;Nervous because a part of her memory now sat across the aisle,too.

If i promised to change
If i carried the blame
Would you believe me then?

The boy tried to read the book somemore,but he could not concentrate.He finished the Latte,and pretended to read.The rain continued to splatter on the tin roof outside of the cafe,the crowd chattered endlessly,but the sound of all that drowned by the boy's inner thoughts,the turmoil within his mind right now.He took a glance from the top of the book,and from the corner of his eyes he met hers,and there in the cafe on that fateful day,they loved once again.Her eyes sparkled like before,and she smiled a little,but was nervous before the other boy.The boy too,smiled under his breath.Across the aisle they conversed,but only in their eyes.Like a secret they both shared,now told again between their eyes and over the smell of brewing coffee.

Could you see it like me
And believe what i see
Could you listen and remember that i loved you
Only because i told you,because i told you so...

The girl looked away from the boy's gaze,because she was afraid the boy before her might suspect something.It was a painful memory for her,how she had to choose between the two at the very beginning.It all felt right at first,to have chosen this boy over the other.But now she regret to have made that choice,that maybe she mightve been better off the other way round.Perhaps back then,she was looking for Mr. Right Now instead of Mr. Right,and on that rainy day so many nights ago she missed out her chance on that perfect boy,that boy talked to her on the phone,in that playground upon the hill,and in her heart when all came crashing down.

If you told me you lied
If i stayed true and tried
Would you believe me then?


The boy thought of the past,when they were still together.How painful it was a choice for him to let her go,when his hand released his grasp of hers,when her lips left his on that rainy day,when his tears mingled with the rain and was lost.Despite the painful memories,he smiled at the imperfection of it all.The bittersweet memories that she gave to him.He smiled,because she was all he ever wanted.He smiled,because at one point of his life,he completed her life.Most of all,she completed his.

If your beauty was gone
But my love lingered on
Would you believe me then?

Could it be possible?The girl thought.That if she could turn back the hands of time?What if she chose the boy across the aisle over the one sitting in front of him now,going on and on about mindless stuff?What if...What if...she excused herself to the bathroom.And inside she wept quietly,for she didnt want anybody to see her.Her tears dropped one by one,into the sink and as they flowed into the sink she felt like her life was shrinking.Yet,she was hopeful,and she had faith.She loved the boy across the aisle.

Could you see it like me
And see it like me
Could you listen and remember that i loved you
Only because i told you,because i told you so...

The boy saw her leave,with tears welling in her eyes.In that moment,he thought he felt a sour feeling in his nose.He rubbed it off,but it was still there.Old memories,pricking at his emotions.He thought to himself,what if he had tried a little harder?Perhaps things wouldnt have turned out the way it did.What if he had just grabbed hold of her hand on that rainy night?When her kiss was still warm upon his lips,when all was not the end and not too late to take back?Then again,he snapped back to reality.It's all the past now,and the boy has moved on.His life,his career,his memories shall remain as memories no matter how sweet they were,or how painful they were and still are.It was a painful decision,but he made up his mind.He closed his book,and stood up from his seat.He took in a deep breath as he passed the girl's seat.Persian Rose,he thought it was.Her favourite perfume,and apparently still was.He opened his umbrella,and outside the cafe he looked back just one last time.With a sigh,he left.Forever,and promised to never look back.Ever.

You take the wheel for now
Im too tired to drive this one home anyhow,
For now.

The girl got out of the washroom,and saw that the boy was gone.She looked around for him,desperate.But he was nowhere in sight.He was gone,for real this time.The boy at the table asked her what was wrong,but she said she had a sore eye.She lied,for the hundredth time.Over the radio was that same soft song sang by a woman.She heard the last lines,and before that song was fully done she dashed out into the rain.The traffic was heavy,and so was the rain.It drew a veil over her eyes as she looked for the boy.But he was gone,forever.He promised never to look back,ever.

When you mention my name
Let this one thing remain
My love
Believe me now...

Special thanks to Derek Walcott and Jonatha Brooke...