IN PASSING

His heart didn’t skip a beat. He wasn’t scratching his ear. His face didn’t suddenly become hot. His left eyebrow didn’t rise. Yet she was drop dead gorgeous. His body wasn’t doing what it does when his eyes meet a woman like her. Then again, his eyes have never met a woman like her. It’s like her beauty made him feel…comfortable. Peaceful even. It didn’t ask him to be presentable or masculine or charming or funny or interesting. It didn’t ask him to approach with a dashing smile and a great personality. It did not need to be swept of its feet. It was satisfied with admiration. And he was in awe of it.

She caught him in his stare. He didn’t look away. She didn’t look away. They were watching each other watch each other. Two strangers intruding on each other’s personal space. Except there was no intrusion. It was strange. He had a hard time reading what she was thinking from her face and strangely, he wasn’t curious. Even if he were curious, he wouldn’t be able to get past how alluring her big brown eyes were. It might have been his imagination, but he thought he saw her lips break into the slightest of smiles.

They walked towards each other. They walked past each other. The rest of the Nairobi human traffic on Tom Mboya Street kept moving around them.

Sometimes the best stories happen in 15 seconds.