It happens while I'm driving, probably because I am perpetually looking into oncoming traffic, studying the faces of the people as they speed past me (it's a wonder I haven't caused an accident). It happens in the classroom as my head swivels in a complex yet predictable pattern. It happens in the gym, when I catch the eye of someone in one of the mirrors. It happens as I walk down the street, or an aisle, or anywhere where there is two-way human traffic. They smile at me... I smile back.
But then I realize: The woman who was driving was on the phone. The young lady in class was daydreaming with eyes out of focus staring off into space. The guy at the gym was admiring his own muscles. On the street, I look back to see a baby in a stroller. In the aisle, I see the item they were buying was on sale.
All of them smiling... yet none of their smiles were meant for me. Still, I take them, trying to act like that was my intention all along.
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