June 29, 2023: Rainy Conti Campus summer party

29th June 2023. The rain poured incessantly. Most students fled under nearby roofs or sought shelter in buildings. There was this man, with a beer bottle in hand, turning towards the stage and swaying his shoulders to the beat. And then there was me. With a backpack on my shoulders, in black jeans and a raincoat, I danced on the grass in front of the stage to Billie Jean by Michael Jackson. The Conti-Campus Fest had started an hour ago, but I planned to stay only briefly to make the day productive.

As the rain subsided, the square quickly filled up. I took a short break on a somewhat wet bench. A student behind me nudged my shoulder. I turned around. She handed me a completely white, slim cigarette. I took it, put it to my lips, and leaned back with my back to her so she could light it.

»Thank you. You must be able to read my mind«, I said, taking a drag on the cigarette.

»You're the guy who was so lit last time, right?«

»Yeah, probably you mean me«, I replied, exhaling the smoke through my nose.

I turned back around and continued smoking, watching as the dance floor slowly filled up. Someone sat down right behind me. I turned around and froze. A strange fluttering of nerves ran through me. It was the red-haired fairy tale woman I once approached in the cafeteria. I averted my gaze, thinking about how enchanting she was. Too bad she was taken, I thought.

I took out my phone, opened my banking app, then the trading app, then WhatsApp. There was nothing new. Then I ended up on Bumble. I had a message from Gaby, a twenty-year-old Moldovan with brown eyes and black hair. Not necessarily my typical taste. Her clothing style in the photos seemed extravagant, just as I imagined it with an Eastern European woman. Not necessarily my style, but her flawless, beautiful, symmetrical face fascinated me. In the messages, she came across as empathetic but also very direct. Her character reminded me a bit of Viola. At least that's how it seemed to me as we exchanged a few voice messages. She studied at Leibniz University and agreed to a soon-to-come date with me.

I stood up. My gaze met the gaze of the fairy tale woman. We almost simultaneously said »Hi« and smiled at each other. Her smile warmed my heart. The sparkling light brown eyes lingered in my thoughts for a while. I walked away.