🌃 A Night That Wasn’t Meant to Happen
🌍 Meet Ava
😒 Then Came the Hawaiian Shirt
“Mind if I sit?”
came a voice—gravelly, cheerful, impossibly out of place.
She turned. Floral shirt. White beard. Whiskey glass already in hand. He wasn’t just old. He was vivid.
“Please,” she said firmly, “leave me alone.”
Not angry. Not rude. Just done.
He didn’t flinch.
“That’s fair,” he said,
nodding with no offense taken. “Most people do.”
She blinked, surprised by his tone—gentle, not wounded.
“And yet… they usually don’t say it that clearly. You’ve got good boundaries.”
Ava stared, unsure if he was mocking her.
“I meant it,” she said, colder this time.
“I believe you,” he replied.
“That’s why I’m not asking anything from you. Just a seat. A drink. And the chance to sit near someone who still remembers how to mean what they say.”
She turned away, pressing her lips tight. She was hoping he’d just… go.
But he didn’t talk again. He didn’t fill the silence.
He just sat. Quietly. Respectfully. Like someone who wasn’t afraid of it.
And after a while… that bothered her less than she expected.
🌃 You Reminded Me of Someone
The city lights flickered against Ava’s glass, but her eyes were unfocused—trapped somewhere between memory and fatigue.
Roshi sat beside her, quiet. Still sipping his drink. Still unbothered by the cold silence.
Then he said it. Softly. Not to impress her. Just… truthfully.
“You reminded me of someone.”
Ava didn’t turn, but her voice came sharp, automatic.
“Your daughter?”
He chuckled, shaking his head with a wistful smile.
“Nope. My girlfriend, actually. She was sixteen years younger than me.”
“Met her while working in Budapest. I was in a bad place—lonely, bitter, always complaining about time slipping through my fingers.”
Ava turned now—just slightly.
Not warmed. Not smiling.
But listening.
“You know what she used to say to me?”
Ava didn’t answer, but her silence leaned in.
“She said: ‘You’re wasting your second chance complaining about the first.’”
That stopped her.
For just a breath, something flickered in her expression.
Not agreement. Not affection.
But recognition.
🫂Loneliness vs Solitude
“She sounds smart,” Ava muttered, eyes still fixed ahead.
“She was,” Roshi replied.
“Too smart to stay with me, honestly. But smart enough to teach me the difference between loneliness and solitude.”
She hesitated. Then asked, quietly:
“What’s the difference?”
He turned toward her, just slightly.
“Loneliness is waiting for someone to notice you.
Solitude is finally noticing yourself.”
She didn’t say anything.
But something in her posture shifted—just a fraction. Like the tension in her chest took its first breath in hours.
Roshi let the silence breathe. Then offered a small shrug.
“She also said I have a gift for turning good thoughts into bad metaphors.”
Ava’s mouth twitched.
“So… basically a wise man wrapped in a bad TED Talk.”
“Exactly,” he grinned. “But at least I serve drinks with mine.”
She looked away again—barely stifling the smirk now. And somewhere behind it… a laugh was waiting.
😃Ava Laughed
Roshi leaned in, playful now.
“You want to hear the real definition of solitude?” he asked, lowering his voice like he was about to deliver a sacred truth.
Ava raised an eyebrow, curious.
“Solitude,” he whispered, “is when you finally realize…”
“…that eating ramen in your underwear at 2AM with no witnesses is peak adulthood.”
She froze.
Blink.
Processing.
Then—Pfft.
She snorted. Loud. Unintentional.
A full laugh broke through her chest before she could stop it.
She clapped a hand over her mouth, surprised at herself.
“Oh my god—what?!”
Roshi grinned like a magician who just pulled joy out of thin air.
“To accidental truths.”
Ava shook her head, biting down a smile that refused to leave.
“That’s… the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”
😂 When the Smirk Cracks
Ava breaks. The laugh is real, full, and unstoppable.
Ava’s smirk was lingering—just long enough for Roshi to see it blooming.
So he doubled down, eyes twinkling.
“You know what else solitude is good for?”
Ava looked over, guarded but curious.
“What now?”
“Rehearsing arguments you’ll never win.
Apologizing to plants for emotional neglect.
And… developing a one-sided relationship with your air fryer.”
Ava blinked.
Then—broke.
“Oh my god—what?!”
She burst into laughter—real, unfiltered, loud.
The kind of laugh that catches in your ribs and shakes something loose.
She clapped a hand over her mouth but kept laughing anyway.
“You’re insane.”
“Statistically possible,” Roshi nodded. “But charming.”
“No—like. Legitimately weird.”
“It’s a gift,” he said, raising his glass like it was a certificate.
Ava leaned back, still catching her breath.
Not a single worry in her posture.
Just that rare, golden feeling of forgetting the world existed.
🌙 I Think I Just Started To
A quiet toast. A night that mattered more than either expected.
The laughter finally faded, but the glow remained. Ava rested her arms on the bar now—no tension, no edge.
Roshi swirled the last of his drink, glancing at her.
“You’ve got a good laugh, you know.”
“I don’t use it much,” she replied, still smiling. “It’s expensive.”
“Well, I hope I got it on discount. Or at least happy hour.”
Ava giggled again—softer this time.
They clinked glasses gently.
“To solitude,” Roshi said.
“To emotional air fryers,” she added.
They both laughed.
Then came the quiet.
Not heavy. Not awkward.
Just still.
The kind of stillness that only happens when two people understand they don’t need to say more.
Roshi looked at her one last time—sincere now, no jokes left.
“I hope you have a beautiful evening, Ava.”
She looked at him. And for the first time all night, her eyes were soft. Clear.
“I think I just started to.”
💫 End of Chapter One
One rooftop. Two strangers.
A little whiskey. A lot of weight lifted.
Ava didn’t come to the bar looking for company.
But sometimes, the right kind of company finds you anyway.
And all it takes to change a night… is someone who listens.
Check out Images of Ava: Photo Gallery of Ava
