Sabine.

A short story.

October 2014.

Peter Wisdom was an aged soul who was very set in his ways. He knew what he liked and liked what he knew. His life experiences had led him to become the person that he was. He was always thought to be older than he is. His lonely way of life evoked sympathy from others yet Peter gained great satisfaction from his simple life. Infact, he was happier than most people he knew. Material goods were of no interest to Peter; he would cycle to work, wear the same top all week and buy food from the local market.

As the Christmas holidays were fast approaching, Peter proudly talked about his excitement for Christmas day. "Oh I do love just being by myself all day!" he bellowed through the office. Once again, his colleagues gave him the typical sympathetic looks to which he was oblivious. Mid conversation his mobile phone began to ring. "Who must this be" he asked in bewilderment.

"Hello." he answered in his typical assertive manner.

"Yes, make this quick please. I am a working man!" he said down the phone.

"Overpayments?" he shouted back down the phone as the conversation continued.

He put the phone down and looked up with some sort of smile plastered on his face.

"Well, would you believe this!" He said to his colleagues.

"My travel insurance has been taking double payments for the last year and the company have offered me air miles as compensation. Looks like I'm off to Morocco for Christmas" he announced.

His colleagues were astounded. Peter doing something utterly different to his usual routine was a shock to everyone! They all looked forward to hear what he would get up to.

December 2014.

As his eyes scanned across the Morrocan Plaza, Peter could not believe several things at this very moment in time.

1) He could not believe that it was Christmas day and he was not sat in his home.

2) He could not believe that he was surrounded by thousands of people.

Most prominently, however, Peter could not believe he was feeling the return of a certain emotion. He had shut this emotion off the minute he decided that he needed a divorce. He had spent his married life mourning for the affections of his wife and the day that she decided she no longer wanted to give it, Peter decided that he will never ever need anyone ever again. Peter had spent the last 7 years repeating the mantra "I am happy by myself and this is fine". And whilst it was true - he was happy by himself - Peter felt incredibly uncomfortable at this moment in time.

"No." he mumbled to himself. "I am above this. I don't feel lonely. I am happy".

The more he forced his brain to repeat this to himself, the sad truth overcame him.

Peter, did infact, feel incredibly lonely.

His eyes continued to scan and he laughed cynically at the irony of being surrounded by thousands of people yet feeling more lonely than every before. Mid chuckle, something caught his eye. Across the field, right in front of the Morrocan Plaza, there stood a young lady with long black hair that shimmered in the sun. Peter raised his hand over his head to block the sun from his eyes. This would allow his brain to zoom into this woman. 'How could she be so beautiful?', Peter thought to himself.

It was almost as if the acceptance of this void was being answered by this elegant young woman who stood across from him. She was the missing piece to his puzzle.

'How could this be" Peter pondered. The last 7 years he had spent feeling whole but in the duration of a moment, everything he knew about his very existence had changed. He longed for a woman that he had just laid his eyes on.

He sat in his spot and watched this mysterious woman's every move. He was lost in her. He was mentally pouring out everything he had forgotten to feel into this woman and he didn't care to stop.

He contemplating approaching her but instead he sat where he was in the hope that she would approach him. When someone is watching your every move, you notice them eventually he thought to himself.

And she did. She walked over to Peter and he watched dumbfounded as her hair moved beautifully with her every step. She sat down next to him without saying a word.

"You're beautiful" he said without looking at her.

"Sorry. I am not interested she said" coldly.

Peter couldn't believe this elegant beauty could radiate such ice. This is an absolute contradiction he thought, sadly.

She went to get up and Peter called out:

"Wait, tell me your name at least."

"Sabine" she said, still not looking at him.

She up and left Peter and he watched her walk away.

Strangely, he wanted to remember this moment. He had found something in himself that he thought he had lost. He hugged this feeling of loneliness. He was happy to be lonely. He knew somewhere somehow, he will come across another Sabine. Until them he will protect this loneliness as it did not mean he was incomplete, for Peter was incredibly complete. He was just human - an insane creature. An insane creature that would forever long for someone - regardless of his state of happiness.

He took out his phone to save her name. He wanted to forever remember this revelation. His phone, however, accidentally googled 'Sabine' and Peter smiled.

The meaning of the name looked up at him from his phone screen.

"Sabine: solitary happiness".

And with this, he repeated his mantra with greater conviction:

"I am happy by myself and this is fine".

But this time he continued with the acceptance of the following possibility:

"I am happy by myself and this is fine. I could be even happier if my state of Sabine changes and I enjoy combined happiness again. This is also fine.”