Parted Ways (Chapter 7)

It took Anika about 25 minutes to reach the hotel. “OMG, it is amazing”, she whispered when she looked upwards at the tall walls of the building. “It’s exactly like I imagined it to be”. “Yes, right?”, an unknown voice asked. Anika turned around. The words came from a tall man her age who stood right beside her. “Umm, hello.”, Anika said, surprised by this guy’s unexpected reaction to her self-talk. He smiled, visibly amused by her reaction, and held his hand in the air, ready for a handshake. “Hello. I am Jack.”. Anika needed a few seconds to gather herself before she stretched out her hand and accepted his attempt to greet her. “Nice to meet you”, she said. “I am Anika”. “Nice to meet you, Anika.” Whilst shaking his hand, Anika gained back her usual self-control and woke up from her trance-state of daydreaming. Confident as always she asked, “So, do you live here? I mean in the hotel?”. She pointed at the Plaza Hotel. “Yes.”, the man said, “Are you not?”. “No”, Anika laughed, “I wish!”. “That is too sad! I thought I finally succeeded in making a neighbor of mine a friend”, he countered in a less serious tone. “Oh! So, exchanging a simple hello is enough nowadays to approve a friendship? … Wow, times changed”, Anika replied in a sarcastic, sweet voice. Jack laughed. He seemed to be a nice guy.  

Meanwhile, Steve still wandered through the avenues without any clear direction. He stopped when reaching the next intersection to decide where to go. Somehow your plan of swimming with the fishes didn´t work out so well, Steve, he said to himself. Maybe I should take the subway?, he said to himself. I honestly have no idea where to go. A woman who had observed Steve for a short while, and noticed that he looked kind of lost, offered him her help. “Hey, you look lost. Can I help you somehow?”. Steve, who was glad somebody seemed to have read his mind, replied, “Sure. I guess it looks kind of obvious that I have no clue where to go”. He made her laugh. Now he turned a little red again, just like on the day that he met Anika. His facial expressions are way too noticeable. Wow, I am cursed. How is it possible that I have no problem working in a job where it´s fatal to show emotions, but then I blush that easily when I simply talk to a woman on the street?? “Yes, it does”, the woman replied, “but it must be your lucky day that a real New Yorker, like me, came to your rescue!”. Amazed by the woman’s bold friendliness Steve felt an intuitive trust for this lady. He started explaining to her where he came from and that he had no idea what to do or where to go. He also mentioned that he was visiting the city only for a few days and had never been here before. She listened to everything he said, patiently, and nodded or laughed here and there. In the end, she said: “You know what? Let me show you around. I was on my way to work, but my group just canceled the meeting, which means I have some spare time to spend now. And it is your very lucky day as I am actually working as a tour guide in this beautiful city”. She smiled. It was a warm and pure smile. Steve had to smile back. And of course, he said yes. “What a great offer!”.