#228: Destiny

They walked into the bookshop hand in hand, but the allure of different sections pulled them apart. For Josh, he had spent most of the afternoon in there and now was the big test.

He stood close to the art history section, but stood with a vantage of the interior decorating self. He had scoured the books she was likely to peruse. Last night, whilst sleepless, he studied the books on her self.

Tomes of photographs of interiors by people he did not know about filled her shelves. The large glossy photographs were stunning, and he was intrigued by the ability of interior designer and photographer to coordinate to create such beautiful images.

As he roamed the sections likely to captivate her, he recognised a few of the books. And after a few hours, he selected one book as the one she was likely to flick through.

He wasn't sure where the idea came from, but he wanted to test himself on this little decision.

Having a coffee across the street, he wrote Skye a letter. A declaration of his love for her. For her abilities, and intellect and passion and virtues.

They were due to meet at the corner down the block when he raced into the store, flipped open the book, and placed the letter.

He stood and watched as she ran her fingers across the spines of the books.

What would it mean if she didn't select the book? Can he attribute something to it? That they weren't destined to be together? That he doesn't know her well enough?

If she didn't look at the book, would he retrieve the letter? Would he show her what he'd done?