"Time stops for no one
To me is a just reminder
This is what I am."

         "Someone stole my spot..." I frown. There is this girl sitting in the shade of the narra tree I often go to after class. More specifically, after I buy salmon sashimi after class. Salmon first before all.

This place is peaceful and there are barely any people passing by. That's why I like it so much.

Is she going to leave soon? I squint to get a better look at what she's doing. It's probably time for me to get glasses, but I refuse to have to put up with people making me say how many fingers they're showing all the time. I see people do that to my brother all the time, my patience wouldn't survive.

"You there!" The girl shouts. I take a quick look around to see if she might be talking to anyone else, but the only other person here is me.

"Are you... Talking to me?"

"Yeah, you! Person eating salmon, you've been standing there for a while now! Since you're here I might as well ask you something."

"Ask me something?" I reluctantly walk over to her, she holds a small notebook and pen in her hand. There is a slightly larger notebook that lays in front of her.

"What is time, for you?"

"Is that uh, supposed to be a philosophical question or something?" As if my daily existential crisis isn't enough.

I watch her fingers comb through her light brown hair, an awkward wait before she replies.

"You aren't supposed to answer a question with a question silly."

"Wha- and you're calling me silly? You're the one who just called me here to ask me something so weird."

She continues to grin at me, who is, and has been glaring at her since I saw her by the tree. And now that I continue to look at her, I realize she's quite... Pretty.

"Ti-time is uh... Time is."

The more I grow conscious of myself and the girl before me, I feel like my sanity is slipping. Time is what?

Time...

Time is well, oh yeah I remember now. This is like the 100th time a girl has made me feel nervous as heck.

Mom told me not to get a boyfriend, dad told me if I brought home a boy call of duty: real life is going to occur. Yeah I doubt a boy is what I'll be taking home.

I'm not really interested in them.

"Salmon person? Hellooo?" She waves her hand in front of me.

"Time for me is fleeting, but a piece of who we are will always remain." I blurt out.

"Wow that's actually a good answer! Let's see..." She writes things down on the larger notebook.

"Thanks... But what was the question for? Are you working on something for school?"

"Oh nah, it's just for a haiku. I wanted to make today's haiku about time but I couldn't think of anything. You helped me out a lot!"

So she writes haikus... I'm not a good writer, but I'm still able to appreciate literature. I think.

She seems to be thinking so I sit beside her, a safe distance apart because I don't want to seem like a creep getting close to a stranger.

"Time stops for no one..." She counts the syllables. "To me is a reminder, this is what I am."

"That sounds pretty good."

"You think so?" Her smile is blinding. Taking the pen back in her hand, she writes again but in the smaller notebook.

I chew on the last piece of my salmon sashimi while she is busy writing.

Would it be bad if I asked for her name?

"Soo, I'm Lilena by the way. And you are?"

"Salmon sounds way better. Nice to meet you salmon!"

There are two things that irritated me with what she said. One, she made no effort in dodging how I asked for her name. Two, I actually like my name! But I love salmon so I guess being called salmon is kind of fine.

"Nice to meet you too...?" I respond in a please just tell me what your name is already are you trying to make a fool out of me? Tone.

"I've finished today's haiku so I'm out of here! See you salmon!" She closes her notebooks, puts her stuff in a small bag she has with her and hurries off without giving me her name.

What a weird encounter. I'll probably forget about it tomorrow anyways.