Part Two

It was very strange, but Ailene could not stop thinking of the unusual young man within the next few days. She worked as a teacher at a local primary school. A music teacher who would have all of the children from each class come to the assembly hall, where they would sing, play instruments and learn about the greatest composers. She would give the older children little tests every week.

Ailene loved music, the instrument of her choice was piano, and it was the instrument she would accompany her students as they sang. Ailene tried to become a musician of herself, but it was more of a struggle than anything, especially for women of that time. She played in a small orchestra from time to time, as well as sang, but it was not enough to sustain her. So, she took her love of music and teaching and combined them.

As usual, Ailene sat in the last booth of the coffee shop, although this time, she was much more aware of who walked through the door. A few locals would come in around five o'clock, then a couple of tourists from America came in around six-thirty, exhausted from their day's adventures. Then, the bell rang, and there he was. He looked the same as he did the other night, although this time, his odd cloak was a deep maroon.

He smiled kindly at Rosa, who smiled back. "Same?" She asked.

He simply nodded and found the exact booth he sat in the other night. Again, same newspaper, although with different pictures and headlines. Ailene couldn't decipher what they read, but she could tell it was another issue.

Rosa came with his coffee, and he covered the paper slightly, though smiling kindly and gave her a simple, "Thank you."

Ailene was staring still, and, like the other night, he looked up and met her gaze. Ailene, stunned, gave a smile, and he returned it. He was handsome, she realized to herself, though somewhat unconventional in looks. Ailene felt her cheeks redden, and she looked down at her work. His face was all she could see on her lesson plans. This was not like her. Ailene was very independent for a woman in her time. She was well aware of her needs and wants, and never made an effort to pursue a man. Maybe it was the mystery behind him that kept her curiosity at pique?

She also felt like everything was repeating itself. Everything was occurring the exact same as the other night. She continued with her plans, glancing up every once and a while to see that he was still deep in reading, though this time something had caught his attention. He was holding the paper closer to his face, his eyebrows pointed forward. She noted that his face looked harsher in this fashion, almost intimidating. Those icy eyes certainly didn't help.

"Closing time." Rosa had said, suddenly, and the both of them looked over at her. The young man checked the magnificent gold watch on his wrist that had peeked out from behind his cloak's sleeve, and he quickly gathered his things, leaving a few pence on the table for the coffee.

He gave Rosa a small "Goodnight," before leaving the store with a chime.

Ailene stood at once and walked over to his table, she picked up some of the coins he had left behind and they were all normal, every day pounds. "Weird..." She said.

"You hear me, girl? Closing time."