She took the wrong bus home the other day.

It wasn't completely an innocent mistake. She found it refreshing to see life from a different point of view. So, she decided to take a different route home.

When she was waiting at the bus stop, she stood next to a man possibly in his late 20s. He was supporting a backpack, a hoodie and wearing checked pants, you know, the type that chefs wear. But her first conception of him was that of a dishwasher. Again, this shows the plain prejudices she has engrained in her mind just by judging him from his attire.

But he could've been a top culinary chef!

Carefully, he lightly dusted icing sugar over his masterpiece. Presentation was everything to him. This could potentially be the most life-changing event for him if he did well. Everything........had to be perfect. He took a clean towel and wiped the rims of the plate, turning it slowly and wiping away any remains of dripping chocolate. He glanced at the clock, he had around 10 minutes before his creation will be deconstructed and scrutinised, down to the smallest detail. He had already readied himself for the constant roll of criticisms that is sure to come his way, "the chocolate isn't smooth enough!", "you call this a profiterole tower? It can barely stand upright!", "the custard tastes atrocious! and look! its curdled!".
He heard footsteps outside the hallway. The short staccato steps could only be made by high heels. This is it, his toughest food critic. If he could impress her, he would be able to do anything. One word from her and he'll be ready to take his gastronomic vision to the world.

“Well?” he asked, his voice slicked with nervousness and anticipation as she tried a piece of his croquembouche. Her expression was difficult to read. There was slight concentration within her eyes as she probed the morsel in her mouth with her tongue. She swallowed before taking a sip of red wine.

She smiled “it’s perfect”.

“Really?” he asked in disbelief, wringing his hands and looking uncertain.

“Oh come on Rob, of course it is!”. She kissed him and walked towards the door.

“Everything you do is…..,” she smiled and put on her coat. “I’ll wait for you outside, and wear something warm! It’s freezing”.

He stood in the living room with a warm glow. Its like the feeling you get when you’ve eaten something really sweet.

A shot of love.

Of course she highly doubted that a top chef would be taking public transport home. But still. He actually had a very lonely look about him. She could picture him tucked in bed, staring at the ceiling and night and sweetly dreaming of another existence. Maybe that is why she wrote him a soul mate. Someone he cared for so much that her opinion was all that ever mattered to him.

Chef-man got off the bus near Maroubra beach.

The bus climbed higher and for a spilt second, she felt my heart in my throat. There’s no denying it. The city definitely looks better at night, from every angle possible.

She got off the bus in a daze.

Then, it took a good 5 minutes for reality to set in.

She didn’t like the sea-salt air and it was making her cough, she was freezing her bum off because naturally its colder near the sea side, she had no idea how to get home and it was past 6, there was no one around and the panic started to set in.

Don’t worry, she got home in the end :)