Who could she be? Hal could see her clearly as he played with the earring’s dangling silver shards, he saw her walking into his cafe with a look of conscious poise that only barely betrayed her distress. She was scattered– she wore only one earring. He cursed as the double soy latte he was preparing overflowed. He wanted nothing more in the world at this moment than to find this mystery woman– the one who had left her earring. Hal knew the man at the counter didn’t understand; to this man, the fine silver earring that dangled from Hal’s left ear was either a forced attempt at cultural rebellion, or just plain strange. Hal was sure the man would never know the longing that he felt for his mystery woman.
She had looked everywhere. The office, the car, the lobby. She asked her secretary, she asked her officemates. Her favorite silver earring was nowhere to be found. She felt the odd looks when she surged into the cafe filled with the desperate hope that this place was The place; it didn’t help that she wore only one earring, its silver petals sprinkling the morning rays across her neck. Suddenly she saw the man behind the counter was staring. He had dark eyes and a dark complexion; he had the eyes of more than a barista. Then she saw it. Her earring dangling from his left ear. Her heart jumped, and for the first time since high school she had no idea what to do next. She was completely vulnerable, exposed, completely at the mercy of the cafe, its customers, the barista. Her heart stopped beating. Those eyes, she felt them pierce her armor, peering into the depths of her soul– into the places she had left buried so long she had forgotten they even existed. “Hey, you okay?” He called.