The Destiny Seeer

We were each on our third glass of wine. Outside the resin glow of sunset had transformed into an azure ambiance of evening. The bar had emptied of the shoppers and sightseers that had whispered and drank when we sat down and was now filling with hipsters and roguish couples, both western and Asian.

There was a younger Middle Eastern looking gentleman who sat at the far end of the bar and seemed to fix Wendy with an intense stare as he drank a dark beer. Although her back was to him, it seemed to me that on one occasion as she turned to address Sapphire she caught sight of him in the mirror behind the bar. A look passed between them, or perhaps it was only my hyperactive imagination. I did notice that shortly after that, he left his beer unfinished at the bar and melted somewhere into the now crowded back end of the building.

Up to this point, our conversation had been dominated by questions from her and rambling, story filled answers from me. I was relieved that there seemed to be no hard feeling about my semi-stalking behavior, and was happy to prattle on regarding my interests, my family and my formative years.

She easily sidestepped my questions about her background and interests with practiced answers like "There is nothing really to tell." And "I'm sure that your stories are much more interesting than mine."

Finally I stopped in the middle of my story about my college education and laughed. "I feel bad that I am the one doing all the talking."

"There is no reason for you to feel anything but good." she said. "I am enjoying listening to your stories."

"Seriously." I said, fixing her with a feigned exasperated look. Truth be told, I enjoyed telling stories about my life.

"It's time for you to start telling me a little more about you. I know that you were raised in Glasgow, Scotland and came to Hong Kong when you were 28. What brought you here?"

She took a sip of the wine that were now drinking and I thought I thought I saw a darkness cloud her expression. Then it was gone and she set her glass down and smiled again.

"It's really not that interesting." She said again. Why don't you tell me more about your travels around the world?"

This time I wasn't going to be put off so easily. I didn't say anything. I just tapped my fingers on the bar in syncopation to the pop song that was playing on the speakers behind us. I saw that the smile on her face that had not wavered since we sat down faded just a bit when she realized that I was not going to be detoured again.

She slid off of the bar stool and said "I am going to visit the loo, and when I return I will tell you a story about me."

I sensed that she was uncomfortable so I smiled and was about to say that it was no big deal, but she had quickly turned and was gone through the crowd towards the back of the bar.

I noticed that she had picked up her phone, sunglasses and duffel, and was thinking to myself that I had blown it. She was just going to leave because I had pushed her to talk about herself. Then I was remembering the odd looking guy at the end of the bar who had stared at her a little while back. I was about to walk back to the back of the place to try to find her when Sapphire touched my hand. I looked at her as she was staring at me. I realized that she must have said something.

"I'm sorry?" I said, looking puzzled.

She said "Are you leaving? You haven't paid for your drinks."

"No, no." I said, shaking my head and reseating myself on my stool. "I was just going to find the bathroom."

"We don't have a bathroom here." She said. "You have to go back out the front and there is a public bathroom two buildings down to the right. It's a pain in the ass but at least it's clean. I would suggest that you wait until your lady friend returns so that you don't lose your seats. We get a pretty good crowd in here starting about 9."

I was about to just pay her for the wine and get up to leave when Wendy came back in and slid onto her seat. I noticed right away that she was no longer carrying her bag, but I didn't say anything.

Her smile had also returned, and she turned to Sapphire and said "How about two glasses of champagne. I think I saw Bollinger's on your menu. It's time that we celebrate!"

"Bollinger's it is." She said with an electric smile and disappeared through a canvas flap door behind the bar.

There was a lot going through my mind at the moment, but the emotion that easily trumped my curiosity and my concern was surprise.

"What are we celebrating?" I asked, with a true look of puzzlement.

"I am about to tell you a story." She said. "One that I have not told in a very long time, and one that I am sure will leave you with more questions than answers."

At that moment, Sapphire set a pair of long stem glasses in front of us. They were filled to the brim with golden liquid, bubbles rising to the top in long streams from somewhere in the depths of the sweat beaded glass.

I picked up my glass and turned to Wendy "To you!" I said, raising my glass in her direction. "And to the fates that brought us together."

"To the fates." She said, and raised her glass in return.

We both took a sip. "And to your many futures." She added.

I looked at her, puzzled. "Many...?"

"Shhhhhh" she said. "Now it's my turn. I am going to tell you a few things then I am going to tell you a story."

"First...it is not a coincidence that we met. I have known that I would find you at that dock for several days now. I dreamed of you."

I said nothing. Although I had only had two glasses of wine and a sip of the champagne I was starting to feel light headed.

"Second...yes my hair is red everywhere." She said with an impish grin.

I felt my face and scalp turning dark with embarrassment, but still I said nothing.

"Third...I am a destiny seeker, and our paths have crossed because I need to tell you about not only the destiny that you will create, but also about the destiny that has been created for you."