The Watcher & The Talker

Flint isn’t a talker but he observes very well and seems to be able to read a persons life, by merely making eye contact. His father doesn’t think much of him, in fact due to Flint’s inability to exhibit the normal traits of a man such as courting a woman, and manual labor; he tends to look down on Flint. His father is particularly disappointed in Flint’s constant failure to “keep his word” when a promise is made. Flint is different from many, and in all due honesty, his father is ashamed of him. In a time of regular interstellar space travel, and an Earth with very little opportunity for new experiences, the people have looked elsewhere for colonization. A good number of humans have left Earth in hopes of raising a family in a new galaxy. Flint’s father is a working man and jobs in his field has been all but exhausted on Earth, but millions of light-years away rests a planet that could use his help. Flint looks at life a tad different. To Flint to merely survive for 14 days at a time is not enough. Flint’s father is about work, Flint is about experiences. So the new planet has something for the both of them, and Flint gave his father his word that he would accompany him on the risky trip no matter what. On the other hand there are still a good number of people who are committed to maintaining Earth and are invested in creating a new era of experiences for generations to come. With about a 72 hours left before Flint, his father and about a thousand others take off, Flint finds himself in a coffee shop. He sits in the back and is face deep in a photography book. No coffee, no smokes, just a large thick book full of pictures from across the universe. A special barista from behind the counter sees Flint is completely transfixed by this book. She walks over and sits down at his table, and stares through the large book. Flint lowers the book and is welcomed by a large smile from the Barista. He isn’t a talker.

“You’re a watcher huh?” The Barista says with a grin. Flint is caught completely off guard, seeing that he has never been approached by the opposite sex. He raises an eyebrow. The Barista notices Flint’s nervousness.

“Seeing that you’re looking at a physical book with pictures, and you haven’t spoken to anyone in here, I figured you were a watcher. Am I

right?” She said with that beautiful smile. Flint returns the smile and nods yes.

“I’m pretty good at being the watcher, what are you good at?” A rare reply from Flint.

“They say the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body. I wouldn’t say it’s the strongest, but I’d definitely say that it’s the most powerful. I’m a talker.” The Barista said before moving her chair closer to Flint’s.

“I’ve never seen you before.”
“It’s my first day.” The Barista replied.
“So what made you approach me?”
“Simple. I saw that you’re a watcher and I’m a talker, simple.” The

Barista said as Flint nodded, utterly speechless. “Do you like Earth?”

“Um, I do now.” Flint replied.

“I love it here. You would too if you knew what I knew.” The Barista says with a smile. Flint cracks a disappointing smile back at her.

“What do you know about love?”

“I know the irony of being a watcher but not knowing what love at first sight looks like.” Flint said as The Barista smiled.

Over the next 71 hours The Watcher and The Talker’s time together would be a journey of sweet tastes, followed by sour after tastes. The “Why Me” game never seemed so easy to entertain. Why couldn’t he have met her years ago, why couldn’t he have met her on the new planet that he promised his father to go to. The “Why Me” game can seem as endless as the excuses you have when you can’t do something. A broken promise of this proportion would leave the relationship with his father dead in the water. During the remaining 71 hours Flint and The Barista build a bond that would rival an epic love odyssey from Greek mythology. The last hour is always the toughest,

“What if you stayed?” The Barista asked.
“I would be disowned.” Flint Replied
“What if you left Earth with me?”
“Earth is the only home I can ever know.” The Barista replied

before smiling.
“Don’t worry you should have no problem seeing me again.” “How?” Flint replied.
“Because you’re a watcher.”