on october 27, 2006, my friend gabe and i attended a halloween party in logan square. while we waited for a few of our friends to arrive at the el stop, a beautiful, lost girl approached the bus stop where we sat. she inquired about when and where the number fifty-two stopped, but sadly, gabe and i had no answer. we invited her to join us until our friends arrived, and she gladly accepted. we soon found that she and gabe shared their hometown of minneapolis (they lived no more than a half and hour away from each other!). this sparked a gloriously comfortable and equally interesting conversation that lasted until our friends arrived fifteen minutes later.

gabe and i were not about to leave our new friend, kate, sitting all alone at a bus stop waiting for a vehicle that might not show up at 11:00pm. she called the person she was there to visit, but he simply could not pick her up (the jerk even asked her if she could sleep at the bus staion!). enfuriated by this rude request and incredibly intrigued by the tea drinking philosophy major, i invited kate to stay at my place until we could get her to her friend or back to michigan (where she goes to school). she once again accepted the invite and accompanied gabe, our friends, and i to the costume party.

that night, when we got back to my apartment, we decided to have some tea and get to know each other a little better. gabe, kate, and i ended up sitting on my living room floor, drinking tea, listening to music, and eating oreos until 4am. we decided that, at that point, we might as well stay up to watch the sunrise.

around 6:00, the three of us walked to the lake and sat in such calm, comforting silence watching the sun come up over the glowing cloud horizon. when our eyes finally drank the flash of the sun, we bagan to walk back home. we shuffled along in a refreshingly sleeply stupor, musing over the immense beauty of our new friendship and love, when suddenly we were floored. someone had traced several hearts in the gravel surrounding buckingham fountain. i could barely contain the gust of wind swelling in my chest as we skipped the rest of the way home to fall asleep curled up in each other on my sofa.

kate ended up hanging out with gabe and i for the rest of the weekend. on october 29, 2006, the three of us set out for union station. around 4:30, we arrived at the calder sculpture. i swear, the feeling that was felt in that moment can never be put into words. the sun shown orange and was reflected by the glass buildings, giving everything a peaceful sepia tone. we reveled in the crisp fall air, and promised that we would see each other again.

kate's train departed at 5:20. we met again in december when my bus arrived in minneapolis at the start of another tremendous weekend. letters have been written frequently ever since.