The Bookish Love Affair #1 (Free Short Story)

That Monday morning, Daniela couldn’t concentrate on her reading. She had boarded the train at seven o’clock sharp, as she did every day. She sat down in her usual seat (one of the advantages of getting on at the first station) and opened the book. It would take an hour to get to Lisbon and then he still had to take the subway to the university. She always spent the commute time reading, but that day, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t concentrate.

Daniela raised her eyes from the book and looked around. She recognized a few familiar faces. She always noticed the other passengers who also read in the train. That morning she noticed that the lady in the floral blouses was reading another Nicholas Sparks novel, and the bald gentleman was reading Dostoevsky. From Monday to Friday they shared the same train to Lisbon, but the only thing Daniela knew about them was that the lady in the floral blouses devoured love stories and the bald man preferred the classics.

The train stopped at Agualva station. Daniela looked out the window and observed the passengers rushing to and from the trains. Fast-paced people, with grim, gray faces. The train always stopped for a few minutes at that station. On the opposite line there was another train, going in the opposite direction. Daniela observed the passengers on the other train. Just like the train she was on, they were a mix of students and people going to work.

Exactly in front of her window, on the other train, the book a young man was reading caught her attention. Daniela was curious. She tried to read the title, but the angle at which he held the book would not allow it. She tilted her head, trying to get a better look at the cover, but she still couldn’t read the title. What kind of book was that? She thought the young man must have been around 27 or 28 years old, although she couldn’t get a good look at his face. Maybe he was reading science fiction or a thriller, Daniela imagined. Try as she might, she couldn’t read the title. She grimaced. She wanted so badly to know which book he was reading.

Just as she was about to give up, she realized that the guy had taken notice of her curiosity and was looking straight at her. Daniela felt her body paralyze and couldn’t look away. He continued to stare at her. For a few moments they remained suspended, staring at each other, as if the crowds filling the train station did not exist. He smiled openly, revealing a young and attractive face. His smile reminded her of Rafael and Daniela looked away. That was not Rafael, nor could it ever be. Rafael hated to read and was always saying that she wasted too much time on books.

Daniela grabbed her book with trembling hands and pretended to resume reading. The train whistled, signaling that the doors were about to close, and she breathed a sigh of relief. As the train left the station behind, she peered out of the corner of her eye. He was still smiling at her. Daniela felt like she was short of breath. Finally, the train picked up speed, leaving the station and the young man behind, to Daniela’s relief.

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This is the first chapter of my short story “The Bookish Love Affair” that I’m publishing here on the blog. It’s a sweet romantic comedy about two strangers on two diffferent trains who share the love for books.

What did you think of the first chapter? Did you enjoy meeting Daniela?