Oh So Simpatico!

I was at my favorite Japanese Yakitori restaurant having dinner solo recently ?a ritual that I have come to partake in quite often as of late?and reading one of the local news rags, when a younger couple walked in and sat at the table directly in front of me.  I had a clear view of the young woman with her ample bosom that seemed far too large for her small frame, short stylish haircut, and dimpled chin.  The young man who sat across from her was suitably lanky, somewhat unkempt, and spoke rather loudly?almost boastful?about his troubled childhood and the fact that his mother was on her third husband.  It was almost as if he wanted everyone in the tiny restaurant to hear him. 

They made a somewhat oddball couple, and it was obvious that it was their first date as the young man was desperately trying to make a lasting impression on her.  She cooed, smiled, and laughed in all the right places, but her behavior spurred my inquisitive thought process.  Considering that he appeared to be the veritable mountain man and she was the consummate city woman, was she merely pretending to be engrossed in his less-than-witty banter?  Was he a last-minute date replacement, merely a vehicle for her to fill her rumbling belly with tasty morsels of yakitori chicken and a delectable morsel of sushi?

And what does all of this have to do with motivating you to write?  Well, right there, nestled among those queries that a nosey person such as myself are dying to know, is a story.  There is no need for me to know how their courtship ends.  As a writer, I call pull the rabbit out of my own hat and have their lives play out on my computer screen.  Will they fall madly in love, have twelve kids, and reside in the quiet confines of the suburbs while she plays host as a Dunwoody soccer mom?  Or perhaps she will tire of his arrogance, smile politely when he asks if she had a good time, and vow silently never to see him again.  The possibilities are endless.

Countless stories are played out around us each and every day.  We just have to be in tune to our surroundings.  What you may believe to be relatively mundane can be magically transformed into fanciful and engaging prose.  You never know?the perfect story could be unfolding at the table right next to you.