Um encontro em Lisboa

Twenty-eight-year-old art teacher Ana sits nervously in a Lisbon café. Her friend Rita has arranged a blind date for her with Miguel, a thirty-something who works in a bookstore and, like her, loves books and cats. With her red lucky scarf on, Ana mentally rehearses what she's going to say.

Miguel arrives and immediately bumps into a chair, breaking the ice in a hilarious way. They order coffee and food from an absurdly slow waiter who moves as if he's underwater. What starts as awkward small talk quickly turns into a lively conversation about their shared interests.

They discover their cats are equally crazy: Ana's Picasso only eats expensive food and exclusively fetches blue pens (why on earth only blue ones?), while Miguel's Hemingway sleeps on his keyboard and sends weird emails when he's not paying attention. The cat stories lead to lots of laughter and an instant connection.

Ana tells hilarious stories about her teenage students who have creative theories about art, like Mona Lisa smiling because she forgot her homework. Miguel confesses that this morning he almost drank cat food because he'd accidentally put coffee in Hemingway's bowl.

Time flies as they chat over a glass of vinho verde. Two and a half hours pass as if they were minutes. When it's time to leave, they happily exchange numbers and arrange to meet next Saturday at Feira da Ladra, with Miguel joking he'll try not to trip over the Padrão dos Descobrimentos.

The story ends with both thanking Rita for the perfect match. Even though their cats have no interest in their romantic adventures, Ana and Miguel know they've found something special. Lisbon becomes even more beautiful when you meet someone who makes time disappear.