His name was Richard. Richard Kingsley. He was the first person I got to know from the circus. However, contrary to what you might think, we didn't meet inside the circus or during a show.
It had been a few days since I moved to this city—about a week. It took me two days to memorize the subway map. After that, I would travel around the city by subway every day, buying things for myself and my small apartment. Don't get me wrong—this wasn't a vacation. But I treated it like one.
Eventually, I needed a job and a source of income. After a while, I ran out of money. But it was as if I had become addicted to riding the subway. Every day, like a fool, I'd get on the subway, roam the city all day, and then return at night. The subway had become my whole world. The only place where I felt peace.
And what's better than peace?
The subway was usually empty. Sometimes only a fly would join me, and I'd chat with it in my solitude. That brought me even more peace. The further I was from people, the better I felt. But that night was different. When I got on the subway, there was someone else already sitting there. A man who looked to be in his early twenties, hunched over his knees with his legs spread at a ninety-degree angle, deeply focused on something on the floor. He had beautiful hazel-brown hair curling around his ears and framing his face. His clear amber eyes sparkled from afar. His fair skin, with freckles across his cheeks, had turned a soft pink—and altogether, he was a very attractive man with a charming smile.
Of course, I'm not the type to care about such things! I don't judge people by their looks. That's why I walked up to him and, without saying a word, tried to see what he was staring at so intently.
It was a line of ants crossing the floor. So he liked ants! How interesting.
I saw him again in the empty subway the next day. This time I approached more cautiously and stared at his face carefully. I was strangely drawn to him.
Now, I wasn't taking the subway just for the ride—I was going to see him, to secretly watch him in silence.
A few days later, as usual, I was watching him when he suddenly turned his gaze toward me. I quickly looked away, but it was already too late.
"Why have you been staring at me all this time?"
My face burned with embarrassment, turned red, and my hands began to freeze.
In a barely audible voice, I said, "I'm sorry…"
The man laughed. (Even his laugh was charming.) "No need to apologize! I'm not upset. I just wanted to know why."
I nodded. I still couldn't bring myself to look into his golden eyes.
Then, jokingly and in a flirtatious tone, he said, "Don't tell me you're into me?"
"No!!!" I shouted, turning even redder. He laughed. "I was joking, little miss."
And that's how I met Richard…