Stories by Simone

       For the past few weeks in February, the weather hadn’t been great. Mostly cold and windy, a few days of breakthrough rays, but overall just weather that made you want to stay under your covers with something warm and watch your favorite movie. However, on this particular day, the weather was gorgeous and all of New York City was taking advantage. Eric lives in the Bronx and worked mostly from home, which gave him a lot more flexibility in his schedule. He decided, instead of staying inside all day, he would take a trip to the botanical gardens. He really only needed his phone in case he got any work calls, his planner, and his notebook. He wasn’t generally the type to go on solo adventures, but the sunshine was calling his name, so he obliged. He got in his car and took the 15 minute drive through his neighborhood to the gardens, parked, and walked to his destination. Eric hadn’t spent much time in this area and it had been years since he’d been to the gardens, so it was nice to

       “Hi. There was a woman and two of her friends right in this general area like a minute ago.” Eric gestured in a very vague direction, in hopes that the guard would understand. “Um, she had on a yellow raincoat and dark curly hair?” he continued. “I can’t remember what her friends had on but I’m looking for the woman in the raincoat.” “Yeah, I did see them here but they left a few minutes ago,” said the guard. “I think they headed back towards the entrance, but I’m not positive. Sorry.”  “Okay, no problem. Thank you.” Eric walked away feeling defeated. More upset that he didn’t just go straight up to her in the first place.  “Excuse me ladies, sorry to interrupt” he began quietly to himself. He was replaying all of the scenarios in his head that would have been much better than what he actually chose.  “Would that have been so difficult to say? Excuse me, ladies! That’s not rude. I mean how else do you get a person’s attention? You say excuse me ! Dummy. And who writes shit down

       In 2018, Carla was two years out of undergrad, living in a two-bedroom she could barely afford, working two part-time jobs, and babysitting on Saturday mornings. Her student loan debt had been deferred more times than she could remember, there was a leak in her bathroom that her landlord had been promising to fix for the past 6 weeks and she couldn’t remember the last time she’d gotten a good night's sleep. Yet despite all of this, 2018 had managed to turn itself into the best year of her life. Carla worked the morning shift at a bank on the lower west side, which was located across the street from a hotel, and inside was a restaurant. Occasionally, she would stop by for a cup of coffee, a sandwich, or a small pastry, depending on what her bank account would allow. She was familiar with the staff and a few regulars, but on this day she had seen a new face.  “Hi, welcome, I’m Thomas. Sit anywhere you’d like and someone will be right with you.” Thomas had an inviting smile, an

       After their first encounter, it was a while before they had met again. Carla had seen him leaving a few times through the window at her job, or catching an uber just as she was leaving the bank, but no encounters like the first. She decided to go back over there for lunch one afternoon when Connie was working and did some research of her own. “Hey, Connie,” she said as she grabbed a seat. “Hey, girl! You getting your regular?” she asked “Um, today I’ll just do a coffee, I’m not really hungry. Plus I’m off from my second job today, so I’m just gonna run to the grocery store after this and make some food at home.” Connie nodded and turned to walk away when Carla called her back. “Actually, I have a question. About Thomas? He’s the manager, right?” She knew the answer but was just looking for validation. Connie couldn’t help but give the biggest grin. “Ooooo yeeeees. Why what do you want to know?” Connie backtracked and was now leaning over the counter, and she and Carla were face

       It was a brisk afternoon in April, 2020 about 56 degrees. Grace finally got out of bed, as most people did at that time, and made her way to the kitchen. She grabbed her favorite mug, her favorite tea and the boiling water was the signal that her day had begun. Adorned in an oversized t-shirt, long socks and panties, she poked around her cabinets a bit, looking for a makeshift breakfast, even though she knew she was long overdue for a grocery store run. She found some bread, and just enough ingredients for a sandwich, but leaving her apartment at some point that day, was now at the top of her to-do list. The kettle clicked off, and as her tea was steeping, she walked over to her desk and opened her laptop. She didn’t really know what to expect, seeing as she’s been out of work for the past few weeks but at this point, checking her email at the start of her day was more muscle memory than anything else. She scrolled past a few credit card offers, some Starbucks coupons that were

       Very shortly after that encounter at the bar, every restaurant, every school, every gym, every business shut down. Some people vacated the city to their properties in the country but most of them stayed locked in their homes, having no idea what was happening next. Grace being one of them, even though she thought often about that girl in the bar. She figured she had no time for her, due the uncertainty of the world. She understood but still, she wondered. So to see her name pop up in her email after three weeks, she couldn’t believe it. She got closer to the screen, put down her tea and focused in.  SJFlax91@gmail.com : Hey, Grace! Sorry I haven’t been in touch. A few days after we met, my job shut down and both of my roommates got let go, so we’ve been pretty preoccupied to say the least. But about a week ago, we decided to head upstate since one of their parents has a cabin in the Catskills. They said we could stay out here as long as we need to and just get away from the craz

       Anthony sat there on the 1 train as it pulled out of 110th street station, head down and deeply engulfed in his book. Some days it’s just him and his favorite author, as he drowns out the sounds of busy New Yorkers exiting and entering and phone conversations that are much too loud. Other days, like today, he runs into the ruby-headed woman that he often sees but never speaks to. As they pull into 96th street, the stranger next to him exits, and she takes his place, letting Anthony know that today is going to be a great day.  “I’ve heard good things about that.” She gestures to his book, elevating their polite nod and quick glance relationship to another level. A level he hadn’t woken up prepared for but wasn’t about to shy away from.  “Yea, it’s good so far. I really like his work, so I decided to give this one a try.” He replied.  “Nice.” She said as she nodded with approval. Anthony had been caught off guard by her initial advance, but he wasn’t about to let the moment fade.

       Days passed and he hadn’t seen her again. Days turned into weeks and still nothing. Until one day, on his commute back home from work, he saw her. Him at one end of the car and her entering from the other. Her signature ruby hair made an appearance as she hopped quickly onto the train, as to not miss it, and removed her hood. Anthony’s eyes lit up and he couldn’t believe the universe had brought them back together again. Anthony didn’t believe in miracles or chance, but whatever this was, he knew he had to seize it. He started to make his way down the car to finally ask what he was too scared to ask weeks prior, when he saw a man run in at the last minute right behind her. He was tall, taller than Anthony, and very well dressed. As well-dressed as she was, making it clear that they complimented each other very nicely. He stopped and watched them for a second, observing their interaction.  “Please be her brother.” he thought to himself. “Or at least please be gay?” But when he st

  "Alright man, I'll see you."  Nick left his friend's apartment around 1:30am. The apartment warming was great and he was proud of Jessie's success. It's not easy moving out on your own, but winning the housing lottery sure makes that transition a lot smoother. It was early February, it was cold and he was tired.       "I can not wait to get home", he thought to himself as he blew into his hands and rubbed them together before shoving them as far into his coat pockets as possible.  Luckily he didn't live far from the train, but that 5-minute walk felt like an eternity. When he reached the station, he quickly raced towards the platform, as he heard a train. He couldn't tell if it was pulling in or out, so he picked up speed in hopes of catching it and as he rummaged for his metro card, all he heard were the only words you dread to hear on a cold, late night in New York City -- "Stand clear of the closing doors please". The train was

 "Bro, I'm telling you. I have to find her."  About a week later, Nick still couldn't get this beautiful stranger out of his head and he couldn't stop talking about this life-altering experience as he sat across from Jessie, who was trying to decide on his lunch order.      "Why do you  have  to find her?" he replied, not looking up from the menu. "Like what happens if you don't?" Nick let out a sigh. "I just do. She was gorgeous, man and I really feel like ... " he paused and let out a breath. "I really feel like I missed out on someone great." Jessie looked up over the top of his menu, the rest of his face still covered. They held a strong stare briefly before Jessie let out a laugh breaking the silence. "I knew I shouldn't have told you!" Nick said, feeling embarrassed about his moment of vulnerability. "Come on! A nod bro? You feel like you missed out on this spectacular connection because you shar