Hidden beneath the Breakfast Club, south of the river, you assert a bouncer standing still in the rain, "I'm here to get lucky." A clever little password that is, as the big guy moves out of your way to allow you to go down a stairway into a tropical-like speakeasy. I was here with friends on a rainy Saturday night to celebrate a birthday. We had a few drinks beforehand and after a while I was feeling the need to step outside for a cigarette. The thing is, I quit smoking a few months ago and I had genuinely lost that appetite for that quick puff, but I still deeply craved those few minutes of breaking off the bar noise and go to the outside silence. I lied to one of the guys that I would go outside for a cigarette and would be back quick. With a nod of confirmation I went up the stairs, smiled at the bouncer, and was out in the cold again. I didn't have cigarettes and I didn't want any but I soon thought I would look extremely weird being outside doing nothing in particular. I asked two guys for a cigarette and they kindly gave me one, as they were finishing theirs, I lit my cigarette and moved out of their way since they were clearly having a private conversation. A girl with curly bangs came at me halfway through a hit. We exchanged a few questions like "What's your name?" and "Where are you from?" but then I was quickly interrupted by her question, "What are you smoking?" and I responded with, "I have no idea." She grabbed what was little left of my cigarette, stared at it in disgust and threw it in a puddle. Confused, I stared at the floating cigarette and then back at her expecting some kind of explanation. Without saying a word, she pulled out a metallic little box and as she opened it I saw what appeared to be Golden Cigarettes inside. She pulled out two and handed one to me. "Don't smoke that crap. Here, smoke this, it's a golden cigarette." Confused but curious at the same time, I took the cigarette from her hand, put it in my mouth and leaned toward her so she could light it. She told me a guy she liked had given it to her as a gift. She then said she wouldn't share them with any of her friends as the cigs were too cool to just be handed away, but for some reason she gave one to me. Her name was Heledd and she was from Wales. She asked me what I did and I told her I was a writer, her second question was, "What kind of writer?", I lied and told her the kind that writes stories about the people I encounter and turn them into short stories online. Heledd not only gave me a Golden Cigarette but somehow unlocked the door I've been trying so hard to open.
Stepping out from the noise I finally listened carefully to the words in my mind that were subconsciously blurted out to a stranger. My mind made me say what I had not yet dared to be nor dared to say. I have decided to leave myself with no choice but to start a series of short stories of the people I meet. This series is called 'Happenstance'. Thanks for the cig Heledd.
