After long and lovely ride, the bus finally stopped at Shepard's Bush and you and Freddie got off. It was still midmorning and the air was crisp and fresh. Life boomed all around you. Down the road you could see piles of fairly old buildings slowly being overtaken by twisting ivy. The wet streets glowed as the sun reflected off their surface, illuminating leaves that waltzed across the surface of puddles. Everything was so full of life. Colors seemed to dance, and even dirt had a way of looking new. You weren't even in the heart of London yet, and still it entranced you completely. No wonder Freddie had loved it so much.

Freddie warned you on the buss that it would be a bit of a walk, but he was determined to show you Kensington. He hadn't been in England for too long, only a month or so, everything was just as exciting and new for him as it was for you.

You started to stroll down the street taking in the morning air. All around the streets stood brick buildings, women walking around in their Mary Janes and men in their Doc Martens. It was like looking at a photograph. Not only did you seem mesmerized with it all, but so did Freddie. This was London, and this was the 60s. You couldn't ever imagine wanting to be anywhere else.

Freddie obviously seemed to know where he was going. You turned off of West Cromwell and on to Earls Court. It seemed crazy to think that Freddie's future was all around him. Down the road aways in just thirteen years he'd be playing a gig at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre.

Just as you had turned on to Earls Court, you passed another familiar street, Logan Place. Freddie's future home and where he would take his last breath.

It gave you chills just to think about.

He could never know.

Your attention turned back to Freddie and the world around you. Though all the world bloomed bright, there seemed to be a certain glow around him—a certain sparkle in his eyes. 

"I once went to this lovely little place up ahead. I think you're going to just love it," said Freddie. He glanced at you ever so slightly as you walked. Everything about this moment seemed too unreal. Everything was moving all too fast to be real, wasn't it?

You looked Freddie up and down. He had a confidence about him that even the collar of his shirt couldn't keep in and capture. His presence seemed to proceed the whole of himself entirely. You were surprised by all this confidence. From what you'd heard about him at this age, he had always been more of a shy boy, especially around new people like you. I guess in a way, he already knew you knew him. Figuring you out was up to him, maybe he was excited by the challenge.

You and Freddie both walked into a little café off Earls Court and were seated by the window. The cafe sort of reminded you of some cafés back home, the ones that looked so dated that they lost their original era. Everything here was the epitome of the '60s, the yellowish cushion on the chairs, the way it clashed with the tabletops in a fashion that almost seemed to fit. Except instead of the age of looking dated, it was all new. It was bright, and fresh. It made you smile. 

You ordered a traditional english breakfast and each got a cup of tea. You didn't want to burden Freddie with too heavy of a bill and that was the second cheapest meal on the menu—the first being toast, but Freddie would never allow his guest to get buy on just a bit of sliced bread. 

There were few people in the cafe, as it was already nearing lunch, things were peaceful. They too seemed to fashionably clash with the tabletops and cushions. They made the place feel comfortable and almost serene. You wished you could almost take a photograph of it, to keep it in your mind. It all seemed so unreal. 

"So Freddie, how do you like England?" you asked drumming up a conversation, Freddie had noticed you staring off in thought and you wanted to at least have a bit of human normalcy. 

"Darling, shouldn't you be telling me?" he mused with smile, "What did I think of England where you're from?" He fiddled with the fork on the table, twiddling it around on the end of its handle as he spoke. Not only did conversation have to be amusing to him, but so did every aspect of every moment it seemed. 

"Freddie," you smiled and slightly rolled your eyes, "Come on, I'm trying to make conversation. I want to know what you really think—here and now". The Freddie you knew in the future was on paper and film, this Freddie was real and more complex than any media could possibly capture.

He clicked his tongue on the inside of his mouth and smirked—he sure loved the attention he was getting. When people described Freddie as being very tongue-in-cheek about life, they failed to mention that could sometimes be quite literally. "Oh alright," he smiled, the glimmer was back in his eyes, "Well, I haven't been around too much just yet," he began, "I love to get out when I can, look at all the shops and whatnot". He paused a moment, leaning back to look at the scenery all around you, "London...All my life I wanted to be here," he shook his head in just as much disbelief as you,  "and—ha, here I am!" he said with a flourish, planting his hands on the edge of the table. The dinnerware rattled ever so slightly, startling him a bit, his lips went down to cover his teeth. You smiled, he really was quite a character. 

"I'd always wanted to come to London too, I never thought it would actually happen," you continued on the conversation, "All my life, all I wanted to do was be here. I used to dream about it actually," you paused a moment in reflection and sighed. You then shook your head, "It just seems crazy to think I'm here now—no actually—it's nearly impossible to believe I'm here now, especially with you! All my life I never would've thought..." you trailed off, sinking back into reflection.

There's no way you could've ever imagined being here. You were just waiting for that moment you'd wake up and it would all fall away. But it still hadn't come. Everything was too visceral, too exacting to be something you'd come up with yourself. It bewildered you completely. 

"What was your life like before coming here?" he began, interrupting your thoughts.

"Ordinary," you replied. It was. Nothing in it ever would've suggested you'd end up here.

"Ordinary?" he responded, equally perplexed and intrigued.

"I don't know, just ordinary," you said, you felt so foolish talking about your ordinary life in front of a man who, himself, was extraordinary, "I had dreams and goals in life, I had a passion," you said, as if it were now so small. Everything felt so far away. Talking about yourself felt like a routine chore more than an addition to a conversation, "There were things I loved, hardships I had. Now it all just feels...small". 

It hadn't been too long that you'd been here, but already it felt like your life—your old life— was meaningless and minute, but Freddie seemed to care. His eyes and smile carried a bit of sympathy, like he understood the feeling. Come to think of it, he himself was going through a very similar journey. He left the only world he knew not all that long ago. 

"It's not that far away dear. You mustn't worry," said Freddie, comforting you, "You still have yourself".

"That's true," you agreed.

"And now you've got me too".

That's right, you were with Freddie. Maybe you weren't losing everything you left behind, but instead stepping forward. You decided from now on you wouldn't focus on your past, you would live in the moment. This was your dream, and now it was a reality.

"Thanks Fred," you said with a newfound smile of hope. You and Freddie both finished up the rest of your meal and paid. The two of you left the cafe, all aglow and cheery. Freddie walked by your side ready to help you learn to live in the 60s.