Frequency of the Universe. Yuriy Gorobchenko

was on the corner of a small street, it looked modest outside, but it was comfortable inside: wooden tables with warm lamps, walls hung with black and white photographs of the city, and the light aroma of freshly advanced coffee, which was strangely mixed with the smell of beer and baking.

      Behind the counter stood Barista – a guy of about thirty, in a black apron and with light carelessness. He looked like a person who had long come to terms with fate to pour coffee and beer philosophizing visitors, but found his pleasure in this.

      James and Emma went deep into the conversation, beer in their glasses gradually disappeared, and the topic had already touched on such depths that one could not do without a second portion.

      Barista, without changing facial expressions, put new glasses in front of them and calmly said:

      – Great choice! Today we have a special offer: three glasses – and you automatically sign up for the course “How not to call the former after midnight.”

      James grinned, raised his glass and said:

      – Well, to the former – this is definitely not about me. But for conversations with a pleasant person at least to the ends of the earth.

      Emma smiled, grabbed a glass and added:

      “So the discount is laid for us.” We philosophize, but for love.

      Barista pretended to be thinking, nodded and, giving them an account, added:

      – Well, if so, the surcharge is only for particularly deep thoughts. Everything is honest.

      James and Emma laughed, clung their glasses and continued the conversation, enjoying the warm atmosphere of the cafe, as if being in their small world.

      Conversations and trips

      After that, they talked. About life, about the fact that she dreams of once opening her boutique, about her love for walks in the native town. The fact that people in the modern world, in the pursuit of money, completely forgot that you can live and not rush anywhere without burning your life in an endless race. Emma told how she would like to see the world: without wars, where there are neither poor nor sick. How could everything be arranged. To which James replied that he was also often attended by the same philosophical thoughts.

      After the day when James came to the aid of Emma, something changed between them. Their friendship, always warm and trusting, began to develop into something more. James began to take Emma after work, and they went to ride his jeep, which he called the Monster. This became their ritual, the moment when they could distract from the everyday fuss and simply enjoy each other’s society.

      Jeep James was an old, but well -groomed, with a powerful engine and a high clearance that allowed them to drive along the most impassable roads. Emma loved these trips. She felt free when the wind fluttered her hair, and endless landscapes stretched around. James always knew where to go – to the lake where they could observe the sunset, then in the forest where you could stop and just listen to the silence.

      Their conversations were long and deep. They talked about everything: about dreams, fears, past and future. James told Emma about his trips, about how he rode through the desert one night and saw the stars that seemed so close to reaching his hand. Emma, in turn, shared with him her thoughts about work, about how she sometimes feels locked in a routine, but these trips with him gave her a feeling of freedom.

      One evening, when they stopped at the top of the hill, from where the view of the whole city opened, James suddenly said:

      “You know, um, I always thought that my life is a road.” Constant movement, new places, new faces. But now, with you, I begin to understand that sometimes it is worth stopping. Just be.

      Emma looked at him, smiled and answered:

      – Maybe this is the most important to find someone with whom you want to stay.

      Since then, their trips have become even more frequent. They did not just ride – they created their little adventures. Sometimes they took with them a thermos with hot coffee and sandwiches, arranging picnics. Sometimes they just drove without a goal until they found any interesting place that they had not known about before.

      Their relationship developed naturally, without haste. They did not need words to understand that they were feeling each other. It was in their views, in how they laughed together, in how James always found a way to make her day better.

      Once, when they stopped again on the very hill, James took Emma by the hand and said: