A New York Romance by Abigail Winters

with someone.” Julie indulged him as if to find the flaws in his story that would acknowledge that he is not Cupid. She was more irritated now than attracted to him.
    “No, it is just because of the body I am in. I don’t need physical love like humans do. I am not a physical creature,” he pointed out as he began to shovel down his veggie omelet and sipped on yet another café mocha.
    Julie stared into his eyes refusing to turn away. Charlie felt uncomfortable, like he still had something to hide from her and was about to be exposed. He diverted his eyes and attention back to his food and drink. She noticed his unkempt hair. He washed it but he never combed it as if he didn’t think twice about impressing anyone.
    “I think your story is one of the saddest stories I’ve ever heard.”
    That caught his attention. Charlie recognized the sincerity in her voice. He felt a spark of hope that she might believe his story. He felt the weight of having to hide from the world lifted off his shoulders. But he didn’t understand why she would feel sadness for him.
    “What do you mean?” he asked. “I am very happy. I feel love for everything all the time. There is great joy in this. It is just this human body, you know, it is easy to become frustrated in it, but I know what love is.”
    “But you do not share that love with anyone,” Julie argued. “That is what we humans want.”
    “I share my love with everyone all the time. I, of all creatures, know what true love is. It’s the gift I give, or at least used to give, to humanity.”
    “It‘s not that. If what you’re saying is true, then you have spent eternity helping others fall in love, in true love , but you haven’t found it for yourself, with someone else. That is what I think is sad.”
    “You’re talking about the human part of love. Where I’m from we do not fall in love in human ways, despite what your mythologies say.”
    Julie paused. She could feel the frustration in his tone. She considered the possibility that what he was claiming was true.
    “You’ve spent your whole existence giving the gift of true love to others and you never experienced it yourself with someone else in a human way,” she admitted the humanness with pride. “You’ve never expressed that true love you feel with the closeness we humans have. That is what I think is sad.”
    “Of course not. I am not human!” he repeated. “Many of us gods found ways of bringing humans closer to God. I did it through human love, but I have no need for it. I’m already with God.”
    “Maybe,” she indulged him, “but you’re human now. Don’t you think you should know what human love is like if that is what you are selling?”
    “It is too dangerous for me to be close to someone even if I wanted to be. I’m not used to this body and if I get angry bad things can happen,” he recited the warning again, like a broken record to her bored ears.
    “So you desire love in a human way but you’re too afraid that you may hurt someone if you love them?” she made clear.
    “Yes, I mean no,” Charlie shook his head. “I do not need love in human ways. It is just this body that needs it. It will not last and I will be formless again. It’s this body; I have difficulty with these human emotions. They are new to me. Human love ignites passions, which can be difficult to control, and I can harm someone with my thoughts just like that. It is best that I stay away. I’m just here to observe more closely, Juliet,” he explained. “To find out what happened to love.”
    Julie stared at him again as he looked around the room, observing all the couples talking over their mochas, lattés, and pastry snacks.
    “I tried to tell people who I was before. I didn’t think it would be such a big thing, but they just thought I was nuts. So I kept quiet about it, until now. I live alone and just do my work. I never tell anyone these things, not even the couples I help. Not even the older couple who