Like when people meet in a movie

Yesterday I went hiking up Runyon Canyon sans expectations of anything. I did people watch the Monday hikers to see what other jobless or independently wealthy people looked like. I noticed when people noticed me. At the first bench, where there is a nice lookout over the city, I saw what a clear day it was-you could literally see out beyond the city and into the blue of the ocean. No smog, no haze, just a perfect day.

While I was at that little pit stop I noticed Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome notice me. It's not unusual to see hotties on the canyon, so I continued on my hike. Pretty much immediately after I began the uphill climb I sensed that Mr. TDH had decided to start his climb too. He was right behind me for much of the hike til I stopped and stared at the view again...this is when he passed me. Then, he stopped to take in the view. At this point I just told myself that it could either go on like a cat and mouse game for the rest of the trail, OR I could say something. Hmmm? What to say...I went with stating a fact, "It's so clear today", I said as I stood right next to him and looked at the Griffith Park Observatory in the distance. I don't remember what he said to that, yet it was the beginning of our spending over four hours together. We walked and talked and we realized that we are neighbors, that we have friends in common, that we both needed to go to Ikea, that neither one of us has life figured out and that that is okay, that we both want to start carrying cameras with us to not miss the opportunities for capturing beauty (and for me to capture the fairy landscapes of Runyon after the rain), that we could talk so freely with each other and that THAT is rare. He came over to see my apartment (that's not code for anything). My flatmate came home and we all talked for an hour then decided to hike the canyon again. We walked and talked again. I confessed that I initiated a conversation with him because I thought he was too shy to talk to me. He confessed that he had "noticed" me. I said I knew it, he didn't believe me. He thought he had been so subtle.
It felt as though we were just kids that met on a playground and decided we were going to be friends from that moment forward. No pretenses, no guards up.

My life changed with one little remark about what a clear day it was, actually it changed with the decision I made to say anything at all. It really made me think about all the opportunities for adventure that I am faced with everyday.

It was like when people meet in a movie and their lives are changed forever.