Ben was silent for a while as he gazed out at the gray sea.
For some reason, I started to feel sorry.
Had I asked something too personal?
Just as I was about to bring up another subject,
he quietly began to speak.
"I don't really know."
It was a short answer.
But somehow, those words seemed to hold more time than I expected.
He took a sip of coffee.
Then he slowly continued.
"I've moved around a lot."
"More than I wanted to."
I quietly waited for him to continue.
The cold winter wind swept across the sea.
After a moment,
he said,
"My parents separated when I was little."
"I lived with my mom for a while."
"And then..."
"She started a new life."
He smiled for a moment,
but the smile didn't last long.
"So I was sent to a boarding school."
"In Switzerland."
I stared at him in surprise.
"Switzerland?"
"Yeah."
"I was eight."
I couldn't say anything.
He smiled faintly for a moment,
but the smile quickly disappeared.
"I didn't really understand it back then."
"I just knew I had to leave."
The wind blew once more.
A seagull skimmed low over the sea.
Ben continued speaking as he looked out at the water.
"After that I moved around a lot."
"Different countries."
"Different schools."
"And then I came here."
He shrugged and smiled.
"I guess that's why..."
"I'm pretty good at being the new kid."
Hearing that, I remembered the day we first met.
Tim Hortons.
The breakfast combo.
The way he had spoken to me first, even though I was a stranger from Korea.
So that's why.
In unfamiliar places,
he knew better than anyone
what it felt like to be alone.
A brief silence passed.
I carefully asked,
"So..."
"Which place do you miss the most?"
Ben thought for a long time.
Then he smiled very quietly.
"I don't think I miss a place."
"I miss people."
I looked at his face.
He was still looking out at the sea.
"When you move that much..."
"You stop getting attached to places."
"But..."
"You never stop missing people."
The moment I heard him say that,
I felt like I understood a little
why he treasured people,
why he had waited patiently for my English,
and why, on the day we first met,
he had helped me without hesitation.
The wind grew a little colder.
I took an umbrella out of my bag.
Click.
The umbrella opened.
Ben smiled and looked at me.
"So..."
"Mind if I borrow half your umbrella?"
I let out a small laugh.
"Only half."
He laughed too.
"Deal."
We stood beneath the same umbrella.
But
there was still enough space between us that our shoulders didn't touch.
Just close enough for us to stay out of the rain together.
We walked slowly.
The rain was still falling softly.