The Man in the Corner
He glanced her way as she came through the door. The sunlight outside cast a shadow over her, but he knew that figure anywhere. She briefly walks slower as her eyes adjust to the light before picking up the pace again. He looks away for fear of being caught staring, but he can't help but look anyways. She's perfect... The way her brunette hair curls and frames her porcelain face. The light blush on her cheeks and nose from the harsh cold outside. And her eyes... so beautifully blue the way they shine in the light. How is it that a wondrous gem like her could have ever found its way to the corner coffee shop where he works? Always from the far corner, he draws. Extravagant pictures of everyday life. Simple yet elegant. She is in many of them though never knows. Idly sitting by the window sipping coffee, chatting it up with a friend... Every now and then he thanks her for her service as his muse by anonymously pre-paying for her drink. Her startled and grateful face is all the reward he needs.
Then one day another sits beside her. Not one of her usual girlfriends or coworkers. A man this time. He pays for her drink and converses with her. They chat and giggle and he takes her hand. The man in the corner sees a warm, caring smile spread across her face. An expression he has never seen her wear before. The couple begin to come regularly. The man will sketch them both; a new piece to his collection. He even pays for both of their drinks for their service as muse. One day the woman enters alone. Something is different about her but the man cannot depict what. Then, as she reaches for her coffee, he sees it. A glint of light. There, on the ring finger of her left hand: a ring. Simple, elegant, ornate. She sits alone by the window, looking out onto the street. She waits. And waits. And waits. As she does so, he sketches her. The look of longing in her eyes, the gleam of light pouring in from the window, and a glint of light reflecting off her ring. It's his finest piece yet. And his final.
After that day he stopped attending the coffee shop on the corner. There was no need to continue drawing. His pieces had earned him enough to live the rest of his life out. His muse had a new life of her own. Little did he know that she knew him. She noticed him there every time she walked into that shop. Once or twice she even caught him staring at her. But he never said a word. She was always curious about the man in the corner but was too shy to ever ask. That is, until she noticed the day he stopped coming. She asked one of the ladies at the counter who he was. The waitress explained how he drew for a living. There was even a piece that he dedicated to the coffee shop. The waitress directed the woman's gaze to a sketch hanging behind the counter. It was a picture of the man in the corner and his muse. He drew a picture of them chatting over a cup of coffee. The waitress explained how it was the one picture from his imagination. The woman thanked the waitress and left the shop with her coffee. Upon her return home her husband said he had a surprise for her. As she undid the wrapping the woman recognized it. It was the picture of the day she sat alone at the window for so long after her husband had proposed. The day she sat there, thinking about what her life would have been if she had mustered up the courage to talk to him. Talk, to the man in the corner.
Hi! I'm new to and this is just a trial piece.
I wrote this short ages ago when I was feeling lonely... but I'm better now ^_^
Would you please let me know what you think of it?
Please and thank you!
~KunoichiBlade