his name was Marshall

the mysterious man at the coffee shop

His name was Marshall and that was all I knew. He sits behind me as I write this. I wonder if he knows that I am writing about him (probably not).

I was sitting here with friends; minding my own, and doing some homework, when in walks a man with a beard. Not a really shaggy beard, one that was well-kept. But, one that suggested he may be an adventurer. I believe you can tell a lot about a man by his facial hair. There was nothing too special about this man with the adventurer's beard, but he caught my eye as he walked in with his dirty hiking backpack and wallet made of linen and leather. 

His backpack seemed to be begging to tell a story, like "ask me where I've been, these marks tell a story." I concluded that the backpack and Marshall had definitely been on an adventure before, the question was, where? Where have you and your backpack been?

When he walked in, he was stopped at the door by a man who called him by name, "Marshall!" That's when I knew, I knew his name was Marshall.. ha(: They stood talking for a few minutes and then I heard the other man say something about how Marshall should visit the Oregon coast, "for it was absolutely breathtaking." I could tell Marshall was intrigued.

Marshall chose the table behind me and got settled in, doing something (I'm not quite sure what because I don't want to turn around and investigate for fear that he may think I'm weird or something.. Funny, since here I am writing about the intriguing man with the beard in my local coffee shop.) Anyhow, the owner of the coffee shop came walking around asking how everyone was doing and how we liked our drinks, he stopped at Marshall's table and called him by name (I now knew that Marshall was either a regular or friend of the owner, I think he's just a regular but I suppose he could be both).

I really do not know much about this man, but for some reason he is quite intriguing. I think it must be the mystery surrounding him. His average height; dirty blonde, tousled hair (modeled to perfection); perfectly well-kept, scruffy beard; and his clearly toned (but not too toned) body. This, paired with an effortless, casual jeans and t-shirt seemed to occupy my mind while I tried to finish my homework. I wondered why he intrigued me as I factored my algebra equations, and I wonder if he was intrigued by me too.. He is gone now, and I wonder if I will ever see him again. That's the thing about strangers, sometimes they pass you by and you never see them again.

We never actually spoke, but if we had I imagine he may have told me about the time he climbed Mount Everest, or the year he lived in Australia, maybe even the time he backpacked across Europe.. I guess I'll never know, but it's kind of fun to imagine what could've been (maybe even better than reality).

This seems silly to have written, but people fascinate me (especially when I think they have a story to be told). Until next time.

Love,

Madison

p.s. did anyone intrigue you today?