The Bookish Love Affair #6 (Free Short Story)

“I can’t believe it’s been almost two months since this literary challenge started!” said Florinda, laughing, as the train left Agualva station behind.

With winter approaching, Florinda had exchanged her floral blouses for colorful wool sweaters and a teal overcoat. She was reading the last volume of Fifty Shades of Grey. Augusto, in turn, was reading Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, and every now and then he would laugh heartily at Florinda’s comments.

On that frosty morning, the young man on the other train had managed to guess one more title from the book Daniela had been reading. “Whatever our fate is or may be, we have made it and do not complain of it” had been Daniela’s chosen quote. She was now devoted to reading classic novels, and Anna Karenina was her current reading.

“It seems like you are having a dialogue”, said Florinda. ” ‘All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us’ was a message to you. And you now replied ‘whatever our destiny is or will be, we make it ourselves.’ “

“They’re just literary quotes,” replied Daniela. Florinda had an overactive imagination, she thought.

“You have to admit that he has a good literary taste. The Lord of the Rings is an incredible trilogy,” added Augusto.

Daniela had immediately recognized the Lord of the Rings’ quote. She loved the books, but also the movies. In fact, they were the only movies she thought were as good as the books. The young man did have good taste.

They left the Agualva station behind as the train headed for Lisbon. It was still a few months before Daniela finished her Master’s degree and stopped traveling to Lisbon every day, but a wave of nostalgia invaded her. She looked at Florinda and Augusto and thought she would miss them. She would miss Florinda’s exuberance and good humor, Augusto’s calmness, and also those literary games with the attractive stranger on the other train. They had helped bury the memories of Rafael deep in her heart and made her smile again. Daniela felt that Florinda and Augusto were already part of her family.

“I have something to tell you.”

“Is it related to the young man on the other train? He found you on Facebook and sent you a message?” Florinda had only recently discovered Facebook and looked like a child excited about a new toy.

Daniela rolled her eyes and laughed out loud.

“I don’t have a Facebook account!”

She couldn’t deny that every morning she longed for those two or three minutes when she saw him, but it was just a game that made the train ride less boring, she thought. He never wrote his contact on the white sheets, and she was not the kind of girl to take the initiative, so it would never be anything more than a platonic literary infatuation.

She liked his literary choices; The Lord of the Rings by Tolkien, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon, or One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez… but could one’s literary choices give away their character? Daniela didn’t know.

Daniela had received an invitation the day before, but it had nothing to do with her love life.

“It has nothing to do with him,” she said, at last. “You know that I am writing my Master’s thesis on Jane Austen…”

Florinda and Augusto tilted their heads to listen better. Daniela opened her bag and took out a magazine.

“Last month I published an article in one of the top literary magazines,” declared Daniela, proudly, holding the magazine in her hands.

“Congratulations!” Augusto and Florinda hurried to say.

“Let me see it!” asked Florinda, excited with the news.

Daniela opened the magazine in the first page of her article and held it out to Florinda.

“Oh, it’s about Jane Austen!”

Florinda flipped through the article and smiled. She was proud of Daniela. When she finished, Augusto motioned for her to pass him the magazine and Florinda held it out to him. When Augusto took the magazine, Florinda noticed the white mark on his finger, where his wedding ring had once been. She hadn’t realized that he had stopped wearing it.

“The big news is not the article,” Daniela continued, “yesterday I received an e-mail from a professor of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities who is organizing a Literary talk in which some well-known writers and also literary critics will participate. The professor said he read my article in the magazine and liked it so much that he decided to invite me.

Florinda and Augusto both smiled, feeling proud. That young woman was a breath of fresh air that brightened their days.

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This is the sixth 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 different trains who share the love for books.