'No, it's not.' I replied, turning my eyes back to the view in front of me. Things happen very fast in the sky at this time of the day. Blinking for a second too long is enough to make you lose precious details, and even though I had already seen that scene at least a hundred times, I still didn't want to lose anything.

'I couldn't help but notice that you are always here at this time of the day,' said the man next to me. It was a statement, not a question.

'Yes,' I replied distractedly, eyes not bothering to leave the sight in front of me to look at him. 'You are always here at this time of the day, too. I've seen you around before.' I added.

'I'm glad you did,' he said, and the soft tone of his voice pulled my eyes to his face for a brief moment. He had a sincere smile gracing his features, just like someone who is genuinely happy. 'You always look very focused. I'm sure people assume that you don't even know what's happening around you while you are watching the sunset.'

'That's the idea,' I said simply, letting my eyes return, yet again, to the hues of yellow and orange painting the horizon.

'If you don't mind my curiosity,' the man asked, 'why do you stare so intently at the sunset? What do you see that holds your attention like there's nothing else happening in the world around you?'

'The end,' I said.

'The end?' he repeated my words, sounding confused, 'The end of what?'

'The end of the day,' I replied. 'When the last golden ray vanishes under the horizon, the day is over.''

My eyes met his then, attentive and holding to my every word.

Maybe it was that intense, undivided attention that made me say what I did next.

Maybe it was something else.

'I used to walk by this place when I was coming home from work but, for a long time, I never bothered looking at anything around me. One day, a couple of months ago, I glanced at the horizon and, when I figured what I had missed for so long, I decided that I would stop here every single day when coming home, only to watch the day's last breath of life.'

I made a small pause, my eyes returning to the sky, and noticed that now the sun was lower than it had been just a couple of moments ago. It was okay; at least I hadn't lost the final moments. 'When the sun sets, I can go back home knowing that it's over.'

'I understand,' said the stranger by my side, his face turning to the horizon just like mine. 'You walk by this place when you go home but you don't do it when you are going to work, right?'

'No, I don't,' I answered, 'when I'm going to work, I take the subway.'

'You miss the sunrise,' he said with a smile, 'it's just as beautiful a scene as the one we are watching right now. Another item you can add to the list of things you missed for not looking around for so long.'

'It's not that,' I interrupted with a humorless quirk of lips. 'It's not about the beauty of the sunset. That's not what catches my attention,' I explained. 'What matters is that the day comes to an end.'

'Huh? But that's not good,' he said with a slight worried tone, and I wondered for a second if I would see him frowning disapprovingly at me in case I decided to look at his face. 'No one should want the day to end quite this badly.'

'Why not?' I answered sincerely despite my earlier trepidation. 'The sunset is like...the last chance the day gives you. If there wasn't anything good about it, at least you get the chance of watching it end.'

'I understand,' he said again, this time with a little sigh, and I doubted he really did understand it.

'But I think...', he continued, surprising me for still trying to make sense out of my bitter words, 'that you need a bit of optimism.'

I looked at him, not really seeing what he was trying to get at.

'Do you want to know why I come to watch the sunset?' he asked, not really waiting for an answer, 'Because it's the beginning. It's a brand new chance.'

'Beginning?' I asked confused.

'Yes,' he said enthusiastically, his eyes shinning, making me realize that he had complete and unabashed faith on what he was saying. 'It's a new opportunity, falling right into your hands. Maybe today you will find something wonderfully unexpected while you are watching the sunset. Maybe today, you will take one step ahead into reaching for that thing. Maybe, just maybe, with a little bit of luck, today will be the day when you will gather your courage and do something you've wanted to do for days.'

I just kept looking at him, entranced, watching as a beautiful smile opened up in his face, brilliant, quite like the last golden line shining on the bottom of the horizon before vanishing completely.

'Every end is a new beginning, don't you agree?' he said with a wink, and I found myself unconsciously mirroring his smile.

'I'm Duo Maxwell', he offered his hand and I gladly shook it.

'I am Heero Yuy.'

'It's a pleasure to watch the end of the day with you today, Heero,' he said, and in that moment I felt like his words held something very true to them.

We watched together in silence as the last ray vanished and signalized the end of another day.

And a new beginning for us.