The sun had long since risen above the horizon, and the warm air of the new day filled the small coastal village. Lila sat at a round wooden table in the only open café she could find, watching as the first rays of morning lit up the colorful rooftops of the huts.
The scent of freshly brewed coffee and baked pastries lingered in the air as she stirred her cup and gazed at the little square in front of her. It was astonishing how quiet everything was—no honking cars, no frantic bustle. Only the distant sound of waves and the occasional laughter of a child broke the silence.
Yet, despite the idyllic scene, she felt strangely restless. Her thoughts kept circling back to the encounter from the previous evening. Rafael. His name had etched itself into her consciousness, as had his intense gaze and the words that left more questions than answers.
“Lila?”
The voice made her look up, and she froze. He stood before her, as if appearing out of nowhere. Rafael. His dark hair was still tousled, and his clothes were the same as the night before—as though he hadn’t had time to change. Or as if he had stayed awake all night.
“May I sit?” he asked, though he was already pulling out a chair.
Lila reluctantly nodded, her fingers gripping the hot cup as if it could offer her protection.
“Two meetings in two days,” he remarked with a hint of amusement in his voice as he sat down. “Fate seems to be bringing us together.”
“Or maybe this village is just too small to avoid each other,” she countered, trying to hide her unease behind a sarcastic tone.
Rafael smiled, but his eyes remained serious. “Maybe. But I don’t believe in coincidences.”
A waiter approached their table, and Rafael ordered a black coffee. His Spanish was fluent, with an accent that marked him as an outsider, just like her.
“So, Lila,” he began once the waiter had left, “what really brings you here?”
She hesitated, her gaze fixed on the steaming cup in front of her. “As I said yesterday, I’m looking for peace.”
“Peace,” he repeated, as though tasting the word. “But peace is hard to find when you’re running from something.”
Her eyes shot up to meet his. “And why are you so sure I’m running from something?”
He leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest, and regarded her with a gaze that almost touched her physically. “Because you have the same look I had when I first came here.”
His words hung between them like an unspoken truth. For a moment, she felt exposed, as though he knew all her secrets, even though they had barely spoken.
“Maybe I’m wrong,” he finally added, his tone soft, almost apologetic.
“Maybe you are,” she replied more sharply than she had intended.
Rafael nodded, as if he had expected nothing else, and took a sip of his coffee. For a while, they sat in silence, the village slowly waking up around them.
“You didn’t answer my question,” she said at last.
“What question?”
“Last night,” she began, looking him directly in the eyes. “What are you looking for here?”
He lowered his cup, holding her gaze. “I’m looking for answers.”
“Answers to what?”
A shadow crossed his face, and for a moment, he looked as though he wanted to get up and leave. But then he shook his head, almost imperceptibly, and replied, “To something I lost a long time ago.”
Lila wanted to know more, but before she could say anything, her attention was drawn to movement at the entrance of the café. A man, tall and broad-shouldered, wearing dark sunglasses and a grim expression, stood in the doorway. His eyes scanned the room until they settled on Rafael.
“Excuse me,” Rafael murmured, rising abruptly. “I have to go.”
“What? Now?” Lila asked, startled by his sudden change.
“It was nice seeing you again, Lila,” he said with a brief but intense smile. Then he was gone before she could ask another question.
All that remained was the feeling that Rafael had more secrets than she could have ever imagined. And that her own escape from the past might somehow be connected to him in ways she didn’t yet understand.
