CoDa, Tane, and me

I turned round and saw Tane outside the window glass. He came in, holding three cups, smiling to meet us.

‘Long time no see.’ I smiled, ‘You look grown up a bit.’

He handed us each a cup of coffee. ‘Yeah... My father went to Europe. I joined him later, then back in a month’s time.’

‘Good.’ I said, taking a sip. The coffee smelt good.

Tane looked around, caught sight of a larger drawing up high on the wall.

‘That’s a new one.’ CoDa said in a coffee-warmed tone.

‘Do you need another disc?’ He asked.

‘Cool. Why not. Maybe it works again.’

‘How’s your school?’ I asked Tane.

‘I finish all the course works earlier. In the coming school year I’ll jump up two levels.’

‘Bravo.’ CoDa seemed to say it for me.

Tane asked, ‘I read your book. The part on the future you, is it true?’

‘Don’t believe what a fiction writer says.’

‘A writer like him, even so.’ CoDa said.

We both smiled at her. She looked at us, with a strange look on her face.

I asked, ‘What?’

‘...Hard to say. You two looked alike, in the line.’

We talked for a short while at that time. I thought I can leave something to talk with Tane afterwards, so I had not talked much. But after Tane left for Europe, he seemed disappeared. Only a few emails in the beginning, then lost. I guessed he was in Europe, somewhere. I thought we could talk again, but no. I had lost his contact.