Microstory 1059: Walter

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Are you feeling okay, Alma? You look a little rattled. I hear you just did several interviews in a row, so if you need some time to process whatever it was those kids told you, I’m fine. My story isn’t going to hurt, I promise. My most profound experience with Viola was quite lovely, actually, though not necessarily all that conventional. About a year ago, we met for dinner and a movie, but halfway through the screening, she suddenly got up and left. I followed her out into the hallway, and asked her what was wrong. She said she had to go take care of something, but that we would reschedule. I didn’t know exactly what went wrong, or why it happened in the middle of the film, but I knew that meant she never wanted to see me again. I wasn’t surprised either, because I wasn’t exactly Prince Charming. She seemed to sense this doubt in me, so she told me to meet her at the laundromat the next morning at exactly 5:13, and we would spend the entire day together. Needless to say, I was excited about that. Don’t worry, my mind was not in the gutter; it wasn’t like that at all. I had heard so many stories of her helping people in really important ways, and I felt like this could be my turn. After all, she asked me out, which was good, because I was too nervous to do it myself back then, especially for someone as great as her. So I go to bed early, wake up, and head straight for the laundromat, where I find Viola stepping out at exactly 5:13. She’s wearing the same outfit as before, but I don’t say anything, because that would be rude. Somehow, it made reminded me that she was a real person, and maybe things didn’t always work out perfectly for her. This kind of helped me not feel so terrible about my own life. Anyway, she takes me by the arm, and walks me down the street, right into the back of a luxury vehicle. I try to ask the driver where we’re going, but the partition is raised, and I assume they can’t hear me. She takes me out to the original gold mines that gave this town its name. They’ve been shut down for years, and were reportedly unsafe, but she said that she would protect me, and I suddenly felt safe. She took me deep into the tunnels, where a secret rock concert was about to begin. It was the best day of my life, and after that, I wasn’t so nervous anymore. I’ve asked out tons of people since then, and I owe it all to Viola.