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Post by Mason Broderick on Jan 21, 2011 23:13:41 GMT -5
Her smile was like a blanket; it was warm and comforting. If he had known how easy it would be to talk to her, he might have tried it sooner. Or not. She was the one who started talking to him first, and he wasn't sure he would have dared to take such a presumption as to start a conversation with her. Besides, usually the line was too long and she was too busy to talk anyway. Tomorrow it would probably go back to the way it always had been and she wouldn't have time to talk to him. He would just be another face in the crowd, another coffee order to prepare. He didn't really expect it to be any other way. But at least he'd had this moment with her.
"Th-thank you. I-I th-think you'll really like his work. S-some of it is sad and d-dark.... but even.... his phrasing and meter are s-so beautiful."
He cleared his throat and looked around, feeling as though he'd suddenly been pulled out of a dream. "I-I sh-should probably g-go... Y-you'll have other c-customers..."
There was only one other customer in the shop, and Joe was currently dealing with him. Mason planned to sit at one of the tables and read for a while before he had to go to class, so he didn't really have anywhere to be yet. But he couldn't really think of a good reason to continue their conversation.
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Post by Aislinn Dean on Jan 21, 2011 23:52:39 GMT -5
Aislinn thought that she was going to make it a point to talk to Mason every day, no matter how busy the shop got. After all, she thought that Mason had become a friend. Making friends wasn't all that hard, but Aislinn rarely did it.
As he made the comment of going, Aislinn frowned, but only for a split second so it was fairly unnoticeable. She didn't want him to actually go at the moment. It wasn't all that often she was able to actually talk to someone, other than her father and Chase, if she was there.
She noticed that there wasn't any one behind him. "You don't have to," she said in a soft tone of voice. Her hands clasped together. "But if you have work to go do, that's fine." Her last statement was softer than the first.
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Post by Mason Broderick on Jan 22, 2011 0:34:22 GMT -5
He saw the frown for just a second, but it was gone so fast that he wasn't sure that he hadn't imagined it. Still, even the idea of a frown on her face made him want to do whatever it took to keep it from ever happening again.
She wanted him to stay. She wanted to keep talking to him. This surprised him, and for a moment, he couldn't think of a single thing to say.
"I.... I don't have a-anything to do," he said, biting his bottom lip. "I-I w-was just g-going to go over my h-homework for today... But I d-don't have to. I... I like t-talking to you."
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Post by Aislinn Dean on Jan 22, 2011 0:44:32 GMT -5
It might have been cliche or cheesy, but while she was talking with Mason she felt completely normal. There was a light trace of a smile that widened a little. The light pink tint reappeared on her cheeks once again.
"I like talking to you too. Every one seems to be in a rush all the time. It's nice to find someone who is not rushing around all the time." Aislinn was finding it surprisingly easy to talk to Mason. She usually didn't have a full on conversation with customers. "Plus, not all of them are as nice as you are, nor do they attempt to carry on a conversation." There were the regulars that she would speak to. She would usually just ask how their day was going to go, or what happened since they last came in, but that was usually the extent of it.
"I'm not going to keep you from finishing anything for class, am I?"
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Post by Mason Broderick on Jan 22, 2011 0:57:18 GMT -5
When she smiled like that, he could almost swear he heard music playing somewhere. He felt rather proud that he had been able to make her smile like that.
"M-most p-people are in a hurry to d-do something or g-go somewhere," he agreed. "I like to st-stop and l-look around sometimes... you n-never know what you're missing if you m-move too fast to see it. Th-that's what I l-like about poetry... The great poets... you get the feeling that they never rushed anything... they took the t-time to en-enjoy the world around them."
He took another sip from his coffee and shook his head gently. "I d-don't have anything I n-need to do. I-I f-finished all my work l-last night."
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Post by Aislinn Dean on Jan 22, 2011 9:44:50 GMT -5
Aislinn usually took her time every day, especially with the people she was close to. It was important to take the time and enjoy them while they were here because it was never clear when it would be the last time she would see them. She learned that when she was younger.
"I like your way of thinking Mason," she said. Since Mason did finish his homework on time, and still wanted to look over it said a few things about him, as well as coming into the coffee shop every morning at the same time. He was pretty punctual and he knew what he wanted. Aislinn was sure that if he checked over his homework and found something he didn't like, he would change it.
"What type of homework did you have last night?"
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Post by Mason Broderick on Jan 22, 2011 18:58:37 GMT -5
Mason's love of learning came from that very idea--the philosophy that one should take the time to explore the world around him and appreciate the beauty in the every day. There was much he wanted to learn about the world, and he just wasn't in a hurry to work on a career. It seemed to him that the more a person worked, the more they missed out on. People neglected their families, they stopped seeing the beauty of life when they became obsessed with success and career and power and money. These things did not mean much to Mason. Perhaps it was because he had almost died before he even lived, but Mason saw how precious life was and he didn't want to waste it on things that wouldn't last.
"Th-thanks," he said, blushing. He was getting used to the idea that Aislinn wanted to talk to him now, and he didn't feel quite so self-conscious about it. "W-we had to analyze a poem," he explained. "W-we're r-reading Paradise Lost. It's by Milton... h-have you read it?"
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Post by Aislinn Dean on Jan 22, 2011 19:23:47 GMT -5
"Milton, yes, I've read it. It's pretty good actually. It's more about the fall of man. I do have to admit, Milton wrote about it beautifully." If Aislinn wasn't in the coffee shop or with Chase, books were more her thing. Maybe she should put the books away for a little bit in order to get out more often, but she didn't really want to, she didn't really have any reason. "Wasn't Milton blind? I think I heard somewhere that his daughters actually had to write out Paradise Lost as he spoke it to them."
"I know it's not by Milton, but Doctor Faustus by Marlowe happens to be my personal favorite from the 17th Century.
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Post by Mason Broderick on Jan 23, 2011 0:35:25 GMT -5
(I want to pause for just a minute here to say that the source I was using for poetry led me astray. It listed "I Arise from Dreams of You" and "The Indian Serenade" as two totally different poems, when they are in fact the same, with the latter being the true title. So... oops. haha!)
"Y-yes," he agreed. "H-he was blind, b-but he w-wasn't born that way. His eyesight de-degenerated over time... By the t-time he wrote Paradise Lost, he was c-completely blind. He may have done s-some d-dictation to his d-daughters, b-but he also had a number of aides and s-secretaries that worked for him."
No one ever wanted to talk to him about these things except for teachers. The fact that she was willing to not only listen to him talk about literature and poetry but also join in with him and share her own thoughts was incredible. Who would have ever thought she would be even remotely interested in these things?
"Doctor Faustus is a c-classic... Y-you know that l-legend has been retold m-many times, not j-just by M-Marlowe, but by Goethe and by Thomas Mann, and others. B-but I agree.... I th-think Marlow's version is best."
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Post by Aislinn Dean on Jan 23, 2011 9:41:33 GMT -5
"The librarian recommended it to me once. After I read it the first time, I went to the bookstore to buy it." Aislinn liked living on the muggle side of London. Here, she felt a bit safer than in the wizarding part. There were memories over on that side that she wanted to forget but they stuck with her. She never went to the wizarding side of London unless she had someone with her. The muggle side seemed less complicated.
"Other than literature is there anything else that you're interested in? Maybe art, culinary, or history?" Muggles were indeed fascinating. There wasn't one that Aislinn had seen that didn't fascinate her. The more she watched muggles, the more she didn't understand what had happened in the wizarding world. They were all humans, one just had magic and the other didn't. They all had pretty much the same problems.
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Post by Mason Broderick on Jan 23, 2011 12:49:47 GMT -5
Mason's apartment was practically wall-to-wall books. Many of them he hadn't read yet, but that didn't stop him from picking up more books every chance he got. He just couldn't get enough of them.
"I-I do like h-history," he replied. "M-my f-father is a h-history teacher, and my mum is a librarian... so I g-guess I g-got it from them. I l-like a-art, too, but I d-don't know as much a-about it."
While he loved learning, there had always been certain subjects that he had no talent in. Science and mathematics, in particular, had often been a struggle for him. He liked words and images, but numbers and calculations just didn't hold his interest. He was lucky that he had been able to get grants for his schooling, because he would have had troubling paying for it otherwise.
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Post by Aislinn Dean on Jan 23, 2011 16:27:37 GMT -5
"That's pretty cool," she said. She could see where Mason's love of literature came from. "The thing about art is that it's an artist's way telling a story, much like an author's words tell a story. You can actually see the whole picture of the artist's story visually." Artwork was one of Aislinn's favorite things to look at. Sometimes she could go to an art gallery and spend at least an hour in there trying to figure out someone's story. Each painting told a very unique story. She couldn't draw very well, but she liked to go view it.
"You should check out the local art gallery sometime, if you haven't already. They have a new piece of artwork every two weeks." She smiled. "It can serve for a lot of inspiration sometimes."
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Post by Mason Broderick on Jan 23, 2011 19:50:56 GMT -5
Mason smiled. He was becoming visibly more relaxed now, and was leaning partially across the counter in an unconscious attempt to be closer to her. "I a-also th-think that literature and poetry and art.... they're a-also r-reflections on the way the writers and artists see the world. They're m-more than just stories... they're a state of mind."
He blushed a little, hoping that didn't sound too dorky. "I-I th-think that's why Shelley and Keats and Byron... they're all my favorites. Th-they're the Romantics.... they saw all the beauty and r-romance in the world around them. I-it seems like n-not many people th-think that way anymore... it's all about r-routines and schedules and m-making money. Th-that's not what life's supposed to be about."
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Post by Aislinn Dean on Jan 23, 2011 21:51:13 GMT -5
"True. They didn't see the world as death and destruction. A very rough diamond can always be made into something smoother. They took the stand point on smoothing out the diamond. Of course it took work to look past a lot of things. People now, they just get lazy. They decide that they rather get wrapped up in themselves and not see the world around them. They miss all the little things. In reality, it's the little things that matter, because they make up the big picture. You miss those little things, and your whole picture is not complete, you have a few holes to fill."
Aislinn could tell that there weren't many people like Mason. He was dedicated to his work and he thought in ways that no one thought of anymore. This thought made her smile. "You're a very rare person to come across, you know that?" Her smile was warm. "It's hard to find other people who talk or even think that way. Don't ever change, okay?" Maybe people actually thought that way, but because of the way things happened, maybe those old thoughts were pushed to the backs of their mind. Sometimes people just needed a nudge, or sometimes a shove, in the right direction.
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Post by Mason Broderick on Jan 23, 2011 22:55:30 GMT -5
"A-and th-they didn't care about making m-money... Th-they didn't write b-because they wanted money or fame or glory... they did it b-because they had s-something to say, and they e-expressed it the only way they could."
Mason identified with the Romantic poets for many reasons. Like them, he wasn't interested in material things or in success or power. The power of the written word fascinated him just as much as the beauty of the world around him. He also believed in love, and the power it could have over a person's life. Even though he had never felt that way about another person, and he didn't particularly expect anyone to feel that way about him, he still believed that love was the most profound form of magic left in the world. Most people were searching for it, and yet, they never truly opened their hearts to it. But true love, that could strike unexpectedly and without warning, and was powerful enough to bring a man to his knees.
As she continued, Mason's cheeks flushed red again. He might have thought she was making fun of him for being so odd, but when she told him to never change, he couldn't help the shy smile that spread across his face. He wasn't aware of it, but the effect of the blush and the smile lit up his face, making him look very handsome.
"Th-th-thank you," he said. "Y-You're pretty unusual, too. I-in a good way, of course. M-most people a-aren't that i-interested in my ramblings about b-books and poetry. I-I've enjoyed t-talking to you."
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Post by Aislinn Dean on Jan 23, 2011 23:12:05 GMT -5
Aislinn liked the way Mason's face lit up, and she liked the color on his cheeks. It was great that Mason did actually blush and not just take what she said to him and turn it into something else. He was sweet and he really was one of the rarity.
She let out a small laugh when he said that she was unusual in a good way. "Thank you," she said with a smile. "Your ramblings about books and poetry are actually refreshing. It proves that you do take your time, just like you do every morning. You're never in a hurry for anything. Besides, I like talking about things like that. I like seeing how history shaped the way people thought."
There was a blush on her cheeks once more. "I've enjoyed talking to you too. To be honest, I think this is the longest conversation I've had with anyone, other than my dad and my best friend of course."
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Post by Mason Broderick on Jan 23, 2011 23:33:30 GMT -5
For the first time ever, he wanted to stay right where he was and just keep talking to her, instead of going off to lose himself in one of his books. He thought to himself that neither Shakespeare or Shelley or Keats could ever have written a poem as lovely as she was. He liked the way her eyes seemed to sparkle when she smiled, and the way her laugh sounded like music. Maybe those things were in his imagination, but he liked to think that they were only for him.
"I-It's true. Literature, poetry, philosophy.... the-they are a-all unique to the t-time period and a-affected by th-the events in the world at that time. Th-that's one of m-my i-ideas for my thesis. The Romantic poets c-couldn't have wr-written what th-they did if they had lived in a different time."
He was distracted from this thought when she mentioned that it was the longest conversation she'd had with anyone. He found it hard to imagine that a girl as pretty and as intelligent and interesting as she was would not talk to many other people. Even more hard to imagine, however, was that she had chosen to talk to him like this. A part of him still wondered if he was dreaming, but he decided that if he was dreaming, he didn't want to wake up.
"I-I d-don't t-talk to many people either," he admitted. "J-just my parents and teachers. Th-the other students at school think I'm.... weird. A-and when I was y-younger, th-they made fun of my s-stuttering. I-it's a-actually better now than it u-used to be..."
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Post by Aislinn Dean on Jan 23, 2011 23:44:57 GMT -5
"You're not weird. ," she said with a shake of her head. "You just understand things a lot better than they do, and you see things in a different light. If they saw things the way you do, they wouldn't think that." Aislinn understood about the being made fun of in school. "I understand about the whole being made fun of thing. Being younger wasn't a walk in the park for me either for awhile." She gave him a half smile. "Besides, your stuttering is nothing bad. Everyone is different."
Aislinn's hands still played with the rag that was in front of her. "We're all unique in our own way. You look at things the way people used to look at the world. Personally, that way is perfect. Not everything in the world is horrible and I believe that you're going to be one of the people that show others that there is more than just one way to view things."
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Post by Mason Broderick on Jan 24, 2011 0:10:33 GMT -5
Mason couldn't imagine that anyone would ever make fun of Aislinn or do anything to hurt her. A girl as sweet and pretty as she was deserved to be treated like a princess, and if other people couldn't see how special she was, then it only proved exactly what he had always believed--that those people were the ones that were weird.
"A-anyone wh-who could m-make fun of you m-must have been c-crazy. I-I know I b-barely know you, but I th-think you're amazing. Y-you're so kind and generous... I-if they couldn't see that, they m-must have been blind."
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Post by Aislinn Dean on Jan 24, 2011 0:18:33 GMT -5
Mason's comment caused Aislinn's blush to deepen. She dropped her eyes for just a moment before looking back up to him. No one and ever really said that to her. "Thank you," she said in a soft tone. Aislinn knew that she was kind, sometimes she was too kind.
"My early teen years weren't exactly the years that I really wanted to remember." She gave a shrug. "I was different and well, you know kids, they pick up on the difference and they run with it. Although there is one good thing that came out of it. I met my best friend while I was getting picked on. You've probably seen her around here on some mornings. She works here from time to time."
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