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A Brief Encounter Short Love Story Set in the Age of Covid By Iconic Journalist, Author and Broadcaster Alison Jane Reid exclusively for The Luminaries Magazine.
Intro
Out of the silence, in the deserted museum cafe, came the delirious voice of an Arabian singer.... a voice of exquisite, finely wrought sorrow, passion and tumult. A voice like a whirling dervish of emotion, that breathed stories of other worlds, in a language of longing, desire, colour and mysticism. It felt like a siren call to to live, to love, to travel to be free.
It was intoxicating, given that the world had been standing still during the age of Covid.
The Buzz, Mayhem and Camaraderie of a National Newspaper
I have always felt at home writing in cafes, hotels and on long train journeys. It's the next best thing to the buzz, mayhem and camaraderie of a national newspaper office. Now it felt like a lifeline and the chance to make believe that the world was opening up again after the lockdowns ended.
Two Strangers, Working Remotely After the Lockdowns Ended
The cafe was empty apart from me and one fellow remote worker and the skeleton museum and cafe staff, who kept a low profile. The redbrick museum and arts centre cafe was situated close to the bustling heart of the ancient part of a town that has ebbed and flowed in my life since I first saw The Sound of Music at the Hexagon.
If I close my eyes, I can see my eighteen year old self standing on platform one at Reading station, waiting for the next chapter of my life to begin. How I loved taking the long train journey to and from university in a chic little black wool dress with a gauzy midnight blue scarf strewn with tiny sequins and stars, with an antique brooch I had found at a vintage market, close to the station, brimming with twinkling fripperies from a bygone age of elegance and whimsy. Reading cultivated my passion for haute fashion and beauty. It is a town that should be a city, with roots that stretch back to William the Conqueror.
Casually, I studied my fellow worker who had also been drawn to the allure of cafe society that has existed for centuries. He had a luxuriant mop of very black hair, pale skin and a quiet, calm voice. Throughout the day, he would make work phone calls on his mobile and I could barely catch a word. Perhaps he was being polite. I wondered what he did and where he had blown in from. I had never seen him before.
He was Handsome and Sartorial in a Keanu Reeves Sort of Way
He was tall and dressed in black jeans, a polo neck sweater and a jacket which succeeded in looking both relaxed and yet sartorial too. I like a man who knows how to dress well. He was handsome, with a kind, appealing face in a Paul Rudd meets Keanu Reeves sort of way.
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