tell me it's real

"If you and I were meant to be, you would know. It would show by the end of the song."

It was apparent to Raven that the party was about to end. The servers had stopped restocking the food platters, the coat check line was getting long, and the DJ was only playing slow tunes. For Raven, this was one of the best Halloween parties she'd attended, at least since turning 25. Most people were in costume. The decorations were spirited but not over the top. There were no weird "bobbing for apples" type of activities. She was having a great time.

The DJ started playing one of her favorite songs. A slow, bluesy tune at least a decade old. Raven subconsciously started swaying to the song, which must have been the invitation for the unknown man to take her hand. The guy held her hand firmly and led her onto the dance floor. A small rush of excitement filled Raven when the man started dancing with her, but she brushed the feeling aside. After all she had a few glasses of wine in her and this was a great song.

But as the dance continued, Raven couldn't help but to let that feeling of excitement rush back inside. By midway through the song, her feet were tingling, her heart was racing. Raven finally stopped fighting the feeling, moved in closer to the man, and rested her head on his shoulder. The man immediately wrapped his arms tighter around her. Raven was surprised yet pleased to find that his heart was racing to.

And so they danced. The song didn't seem long enough. It seemed to end unexpectedly to Raven, even though she knew the song so well. She didn't want to let go of this man but without music there was no reason to cling to him. She stepped back and looked up into a pair of warm eyes. She imagined the passion she found there was probably a mirror of her own.

Raven didn't know his name, or what he did, or where he was from, or what kind of life he had led. But she knew something beautiful was about to happen.