text: It was a rainy autumn day when I saw her sitting in front of the cosy café for the first time. Wearing a beige trench coat, comfortably taking one sip after another out of her cup while being lost in thoughts. Raven black hair was flowing down her head and shoulders as gentle waves flow during a summer breeze. Something about her intrigued me, woke the urge of getting to know her. However, I was too shy, too unsure whether I would come off as weird. “Hey, I just passed by and couldn’t help talking to you...” No that sounded strange and creepy. She was probably enjoying her lunch break not wanting to be bothered by a random stranger. So, I passed by her. I also passed by the next day and the following week as well. Until this one fateful day, the 7th of October. It had rained the whole morning and a thin layer of fog was floating over the ground. I saw her sitting in front of the cosy café again and was about to pass by her when she suddenly looked up and smiled. At first, I was unsure whether the smile was meant for me. However, she asked in a friendly and slightly amused tone: “Are you planning on just looking at me and passing by like every day?” So, the smile must have been meant for me. I stood there, surprised, and uncertain how to react. God damn, was my mouth open? I hope not. Smiling, she ended the awkward silence. “Why don’t you come and sit with me?” She asked while gesticulating in the direction of the empty chair at her table. “Of course, only if you have time.” “N-no, I mean yes! I have time right now.” I replied while clumsily sitting down at the table in front of her. She just looked at me and smiled again. However, this time I believed to recognize a shade of sadness in her smile. Or maybe it was not sadness but melancholy. Desperate to say something I scanned the table and my eyes landed on an origami, a little red butterfly. “Hey, that little butterfly looks nice! Did you fold it?” I instantly regretted the question, as her smile vanished, and sadness veiled her face for a short moment of time. Then, she quickly stored the butterfly in one of the pockets of her coat. “No.” she said quietly. Even though I was surprised by her strange reaction, I did not pry any further as the topic seemed to upset her. Instead, I asked her about her job, and we talked about our lifes. She told me that her name was Maivi and that she worked as an independent author. Also, we shared an interest in ancient philosophy. We instantly clicked. I always had a hard time talking to strangers however, with her it was different. With her my words and our conversation flowed naturally. After roughly one hour that felt like 20 minutes, she smiled at me again and told me she had to leave now. We waved goodbye, I looked after her while she elegantly walked down the wet and foggy road, her trench coat floating loosely around her body. The next morning, I showered, shaved, and used my favourite aftershave. Then, I looked in the mirror trying to tame my short but curly brown hair. I even used mouth water after brushing my teeth. Something I normally never do. I wanted to impress her. My plan was ready. I would join her at the cosy café again. Then I would ask her out on a date. Dinner at my favourite Italian restaurant. I put on my black duffle coat, slipped in black chinos, and finished off the outfit with a pair of white sneakers. Before walking out of my flat, I checked myself out in the mirror one last time and damn I looked good. Confidently, I walked towards the cosy café but froze in disappointment when I saw her empty chair. She was not sitting there. For the last week she sat there every day but now she was gone. I desperately tried it again day after day for the next week until I gave up. She was not going to come back, and I would not be able to ask her out. I would never see the woman, I instantly clicked with again. With this realisation, sadness crept into my life. I would probably never meet someone like her again. It has been a once in a lifetime chance and I missed it. For the next two and a half weeks, I continued to live in a state of regret until this fateful Halloween night. I should tell you that I love Halloween. The decorations and the costumes, which paired with the magic of autumn created this unique atmosphere, always cheered me up. I had bought lots of sweets and was giving them away to the kids the whole night. It had gotten late already, when the last children ringed, collected their sweets and left. Only the pale silver moonlight pierced through the darkness of the night, when suddenly someone knocked against my door. I had just sat down again, got up with a sigh and opened the door. “Trick or treat!” I could not believe who was standing there. “I saw you giving treats to all those kids and thought I would give it a try as well.” Smiling, Maivi looked up to me with her big, dark chocolate-coloured eyes. I couldn’t help but smile as well. “Unfortunately, I have no sweets left but you can come in for a hot chocolate or a tea if you want. Your effort shouldn’t have been for nothing!” “I will take you up on that offer!” she replied and came inside. We had a long and interesting talk. She told me that her brother passed away a year ago. The morning sun was already starting to rise when we finally said goodbye. Tired but happy, I fell into my bed and slept till the evening. It was October again. Nearly one year later. Shortly after last year’s Halloween night, Maivi and I had become a couple. We lived a happy lovers live and only argued rarely. However, since the beginning of October, Maivi seemed off. She seemed depressed and did not have the usual cheerful energy. And in the morning on the 8th of October, she was suddenly gone and also did not answer her phone. I panicked and aimlessly wandered through the town, hoping to find her. Finally, I returned home, devastated, and hopeless. In this moment, my phone suddenly rang, and Maivi’s number showed up on the display. With mixed feelings and a rapidly beating heart I accepted the call. She told me with a weak voice how sorry she was and that she did not want to make me worry about her. She said that she wasn’t ready to talk about what happened but also could not hide her feelings and therefore, she had run away. She promised to tell me everything and asked me to meet her at a lake close to our town. Even more worried and not knowing what to expect I got into my car and drove to the lake. I rushed through the wet and cold autumn night, wrapping my coat around me to shield me from the wind. The forest which surrounded the lake had already lost most of its colour. Fog billowed between the barren trees. When I finally reached the lake, I saw Maivi sitting on the shore. I sat down next to her, silently, and put my coat above her shoulders. She acknowledged me, with a quick glance and a weak smile, after which she continued staring into the lake. A few minutes of silence followed, then she started to tell me everything. How her brother died two years ago on the 8th of October, this exact day. And how they met at the cosy café every day of the week before his death. The cosy café where I had seen her for the first time. Afterwards, they used to wander to this lake and stay here until the evening. I did not know how to react, so I just looked in her beautiful but sad face for some time and then I hugged her tightly. While we were still hugging, she continued to tell me that her brother used to fold the red origami butterflies for her, every time they met at the café. How she fell into a deep depression after his death and that the relationship to me cured her depression and gave her new hope in life. We ended our hug and I told her that she could always count on me and how sorry I felt about her brother’s death. She nodded and said: “I believe that he is happy. Happy for me to have found new joy. Isn’t that the least we can do for the persons that leave us behind too early? They wouldn’t want us to be sad for the rest of our life because of what happened to them. Wouldn’t they want us to find happiness and hope again?” As if he wanted to confirm what she had just said, a small red butterfly suddenly landed between us and stayed there, sitting in the silver glow of the moonlight.