The train was leaving in two minutes, yet she was nowhere to be seen. I kept taking small steps forward hoping to see her, then back towards the train in an attempt to keep it from leaving. Was she gonna show up? It was the third time I was seeing this girl and we had planned a short trip together. We were supposed to be leaving for Eze where Chemin de Nietzsche was waiting for us.

Just as I started thinking she would bail on me, I saw her slowly making her way through the crowd. There was no rush in her gracious steps. Her long brown hair was running over her small shoulders and she had a feint smile on her lips. She was obviously still waking up, but her green eyes were as full of life as always. For a moment I forgot about the train. We could stay right there as far as I was concerned. Then her little pink backpack reminded me we need to go, and quick.

We jumped on-board and took off. Neither of us said much while looking for our seats. It was hard to tell if we were anxious or sleepy, but I felt good regardless. I poked her a bit about being late, she tried to have some comeback but was clearly too tired for that. I didn’t mind her being tired. I could see she was happy to be there. That was enough. Her, me and a train. I really like trains.

I had also liked this girl for a while now. She was calm yet full of life. She was sweet and attentive, really smart and unexpectedly funny. I’d find myself smiling whenever we talked and she would make my already energetic self fire on all cilinders. I was beyond happy to be going with her on this trip, but still wondered how she really felt about me. Did she even know? As if reading my thoughts, she put her head on my shoulder, just as a cat would snuggle right next to you unexpectedly. It felt right. I put my arm around her and forgot I was anxious a moment before.

We arrived in no time and went looking for the start of the hike. The sun was up, defying the cold autum weather and she had properly woken up by now. We were really chatty at this point, making little jokes and laughing harder than usually appropriate. There was nobody else around so it didn’t matter. The hike had started steeply and all of a sudden we were surrounded by trees, small stubborn flowers and rocks. I could see why Nietzsche would walk this path often. It’s a good place to think and work up an appetite. The imposing rocky terrain calls for big, powerfull thoughts, yet the scenery is far from austere. The sea makes its presence felt all the way up there, fueling an abundance of life. “Beyond Good and Evil”, I thought.

We walked, talked and laughed. It was all coming so easy and I couldn’t remember the last time I felt so good. Some poeople make you become funnier than usual, and we did that to each other. We stopped from time to time to admire the view and share a hug. I stole some kisses and she didn’t mind one bit, she even stole some herself. Our feelings took both ouf us by surprise that day, but we didn’t lose ourselves in them. She was really composed, and that helped. I liked that about her, but also dreaded it half the time. Every now and then I wished she would open up more and let her feelings run free. But then again, we were still strangers.

As we were walking I couldn’t help but wonder if Nietzsche ever shared this walk with Lou Salomé. How would he have felt on such a trip? That made me think of how blessed I was to be walking there alongside my Lou. I looked at her again and felt proud. She really was something. Thinking of them gave me a strong feeling of deja-vu, or rather, the strange permanence of experience we share as humans. There was one important difference between us and them however: back then, he had asked her to marry him and was rejected, twice! (Nietzsche had the first rejection coming though, how does one propose through a friend?). The thought amused me, then it made me wonder: “What would happen if I proposed right now? What would she say? What would I want her to say? Is that what he did?” I stepped off the spiral of thoughts and laughed to myself.

“What?” she asked “You don’t want to know, Lou” I said, still laughing.

She kept asking, but eventually gave up. “I’m not crazy enough to ask her to marry me, but if I will ever do it, this would be a great place for it”, I thought.

We finished the hike just in time to visit Le Jardin Exotique and enjoy the view from up there. On one side we could see the sea with its hypnotic azzure waves breaking right next to the train station. On the other side was the viaduct of Eze, also known as the Bridge of the Devil. The legend says a peasant made a deal with the Devil to build a bridge over the ravine, and, in exchange, he had to give up the soul of the first living creature that crossed it. After a sleepless night of torments, the peasant woke up to see the stone bridge standing, with the Devil on the other side. Just then he had the idea to pick up a stick and throw it across the bridge. His dog followed the stick, thus losing it’s soul. The furious devil felt cheated and swore to never make a deal with humans again. “Poor dog”, I thought. But beautiful bridge.

We talked up there about everything, that’s how it felt at least. That day, the world had agreed to put on a beautiful show just for the two of us. I found a patch of grass still warmed by the sun, laid down and looked at the sky. She laid down next to me, resting her head on my chest. The sun watched as we talked and kissed like teenagers.

Eventually we noticed it getting darker and we remembered we were starving. We found a cozy little restaurand where we ordered too much food. The lasagna burnt my tongue, as it always does, but it was worth it, as it always is. We told stories as we ate and made up tales about the people around us. We had been alone for most of the day and seeing other people grounded the experience. It was indeed real. For desert we shared some really tasty papanași. Restaurants in Eze don’t usually serve papanași - but in my dreams, they do.