[ IP ] And we sat , and we talked , and the world went by

Dawn waited patiently under the horizon, let time stand still for a few hours, and Seth thought about how four in the morning is still night-time. 
 
 There's a period between the end of December and the start of January in which everyone leaves the city to visit their families out in the country, and the tired asphalt takes a much-needed break. If the stars were missing on nights like these, the neon sparks in skyscraper windows made up for it. One cafe stayed open, Seth's favorite for a cup of coffee. The amber glow from its interior spilled out onto the sidewalk, illuminating the smoke from Seth's cigarillo as it rose up into the night sky. 
 
 This was how he preferred his new year to start -- quiet, alone, introspective. Bitter coffee and sweet tobacco formed one of the simple pleasures of life. 
 
 As he sat puffing, thinking about the past year, rare footsteps rang out. Seth chose not to look, preferring the false profundity of ignoring the only other resident of the empty cityscape. To his surprise, that resident entered the same coffeeshop; and a few moments later, she sat beside him. A flowery perfume and the aroma of hot coffee met him first, then she spoke: 
 
 `` Happy new year,'' she said. 
 
 `` Happy new year,'' he responded. He risked a glance. She was gorgeous, and Seth wondered at the false profundity of that -- a beautiful woman sat beside him on a lonely first of January. 
 
 `` I'm Hannah,'' she smiled. 
 
 `` Seth.'' 
 
 `` Can I share a puff?'' 
 
 He gave her a cigarillo from his pack, and she lit it, and they sat staring at the empty city. His mind raced with the anxiety of meeting a stranger, how it ruined the deep contemplation he'd been cultivating, what words he should conjure up to kill the awkward silence -- 
 
 `` Do n't worry,'' she said. `` It's not awkward. I just ca n't stand to see people alone today.'' 
 
 He wondered about that, considered whether she often talked to strangers on cafe benches, thought about how her voice sounded the way her perfume smelled and her yellow sweater seemed so out of place in the dark. But then, he supposed, there was no one around to judge her fashion sense. 
 
 They sat smoking side by side and listened to all the silent sounds an empty city makes. The sky began to brighten, the clouds overhead reflecting all the artificial lights, turning it that typical urban orange-grey color that's so common in cities. 
 
 `` Do you normally --'' Seth started. 
 
 `` Every year. I'm not trying to jump the lonely guy.'' 
 
 Seth realized that his cigarillo was getting short, and then realized that he did n't want it to. He risked another look at the woman and found her looking right back. Their eyes locked, and they laughed it off, and Seth could n't help but smile as he finished the last puff. 
 
 `` Hannah?'' 
 
 `` Yes?'' 
 
 `` Thank you.'' 
 
 And as the sun rose higher into the cloudy sky, Seth considered that having a smoke with a stranger is one of the simple pleasures in life.
