The fact that the planet was nothing more than a zombie-infested wasteland, a harsh and unforgiving place, didn't mean that true love didn't exist but was it deserved? Should a pallid-green monster be allowed to pine for the tender softness of a soulmate? Were monsters allowed any joy?

I asked myself these questions every morning as I pulled my mind from the stupor of fading dreams. I wasn't always like this; the world wasn't always like this. I once was a healthy 23-year old bachelor embarking on a career in cyber-security. My days were filled with virtual vulnerabilities and hacker threats, while my evenings were spent at a dive bar half a block from my apartment. My college buddies and I would lament on the monotony of working eight to five, our lack of girlfriends, and the good ol' days of college. I still smile when I look back on those moments, the laughter, the tan skin, the cravings for nachos instead of human brains.

Then my whole world changed. No, it was not the change of the world as a whole; it was the change of my world: Sarah. She breezed into the bar with her blond hair knotted in a small bun at the nape of her neck, which flowed to a billowy white shirt that made her look like an angel. My eyes clung to her as she glided to the bar while glancing around for the lucky person she was meeting. My heart pounded in my ears as her gentle blue eyes paused on me. In all the delusions of a young man, I convince myself they lingered on me because of interest and not because I was staring. I let it fill me with confidence and draw me to her.

"Hello," I gave her one of my stifled smiles to conveyed that I had a secret she wanted to know.

It had the desired effect as she let out a "hello" of her own on the edge of a floating laugh.

Her laugh, I could get lost in memories of her laughter for hours. The peaks and valleys reminded me of the rolling hills of Ireland, velvety and full of life. The peals would waft over me like a summer breeze tickling the leaves of the trees.

"May I buy you a drink?" Still to this day, I am uncertain of how I managed the confidence that saturated my voice.

"Well, I'm waiting for a friend, but she appears to be running late," she glanced at her phone to accent the point.

"I am happy to keep you company until she arrives. You know, ward off the rabble," I smiled as I threw in a ballsy wink.

"And how do I know you aren't a part of the rabble," she teased with a smile.

I was in; I slid onto the stool next to her as the bartender approached. I had always enjoyed playing a small game with myself when I offered to buy a lady a drink; what would she order? Was she boisterous and outgoing, destined for a sweet mixed cocktail? Was she tentative and unsure, playing it safe with a beer? Or was she relaxed, gravitating toward a simple glass of wine? My mind whirled through the possibilities but leaned towards a glass of wine.

"May I have a Wild Turkey Old Fashioned, extra sweet, with a lemon twist?" The order spilled from her lips as easily as the receding wave of a calming lake.

The bartender nodded and turned to me. I had no words; she had stolen them with her confident order. "Uh," I stuttered as the cool I had mustered evaporated somewhere around 'extra sweet.' "I'll take a..." My mind clamored for a drink... any drink... "Cosmo." It slipped past my lips with an odd tone. Part of my mind pushed forth triumph that I had successfully conjured a drink from the jumble, but another, far more angry part of my mind, lamented that Cosmo was where I landed. I hated Cosmopolitans; hell, I hated vodka.

The bartender gave another nod, but as he turned, I could see the smile of a chuckle cross his lips.

"Interesting drink choice," her words lingered in the air as I responded with a simple shrug.

Why couldn't I have just said 'I'll have what she's having'? It would have been so easy and provided an instant connection, but no, I went with the official drink of Sex in the City. My hopes of making any inroads to connecting with the beautiful creature before me were dissolving with each shake of the cocktail shaker. I felt my eyes dip to the edge of my thumbnail as all my bravado drained from me.

"Do you live around here?" Her voice came in a pleasing mix of apology and humor.

The least I could do to salvage what was left of my meager poise was to lift my eyes, manage something that resembled a conversation, and choke down my vile Cosmo until her friend arrived.

"Yeah, just around the block. You?"

"Yeah, I just moved into the neighborhood from New York City," she offered.

New York City, the ultimate conversation softball, even if you had never been there, you had some connection, some impression of the city to discuss. I opted for self-deprecation, "Ah, I believe the Cosmo is the official city drink."

It worked. I was rewarded with a trill of laughter. It was memorizing and intoxicating. A surged of additional confidence erupted in me.

"What prompted the trek from New York to Los Angeles?" I prodded.

"I would love to say it was for a job, and that would not be untrue, but it was really to get away from my last relationship."

"That bad?" It was all I could manage while my mind clung to the fact that she was single. Clearly not ready to date, but she was single.

A sigh escaped her as she pondered her words thoughtfully. "It was not bad. He was a great guy, but he wasn't the one. Still, when we broke up, the city reminded me of him, of what the relationship was missing, and made me lonely."

My arm twitched at the overwhelming desire to touch her, just a gentle movement to tuck a tendril of hair behind her ear or warm her hand with mine. Any indication that would offer her something that resembled solace for the somber loneliness that accompanied her admission.

"I am sorry to hear that," was all I could offer, though.

She gave me a weak smile that stabbed far too deep into me for someone that I had just barely met. The moment was shattered by the bartender presenting our drinks. She took a long pull from her's as she eyed me.

"Aren't you going to drink it?" There was a knowing twinkle in her eye.

"I'd rather not," I admitted.

A full laugh burst from deep within her. If possible, it was even more alive than the soft chorus of her previous laughter. This was genuine and robust, like the brilliant sun of a July day. It was also infectious and pulled a laugh from me as well.

"You didn't strike me as a Cosmo man," she added.

"Yeah, what kind of man am I?" I managed a bit of a tease to my tone as I lifted my gaze back to the sparkle of her clear-blue eyes.

"I would have pegged you as a classic gin martini type," she assessed accurately. "But never dirty," she added with a wink.

"I don't like my drinks dirty," I agreed in an overly flirty tone that immediately embarrassed me. The flush to my face pulled another laugh from her.

"Sarah," a brunette entering the bar called out as she bobbed and weaved through the post-work bar crowd.

Her name, I had her name, Sarah. Did it count even if she did not share it with me? I would have preferred her to offer it to me versus stealing it from the air of the room.

"Hey, Lisa," she gave a wave back before returning to me. "Thank you for keeping me company..."

Her words trailed off as a request for me to offer my name, which I was happy to supply, "Seth."

"Thank you, Seth," I was rewarded with one last flicker of a smile before her friend arrived.

"Who is your friend?" Lisa asked as she slid onto the stool on the far side of Sarah.

"This is my friend Seth. And," she slid the Cosmo over to Lisa, "he was nice enough to order you your favorite drink."

"Aw, thanks, Seth," Lisa took a long sip and allowed her shoulders to relax as the drink flowed into her.

"My pleasure," I nodded quietly. "I will leave you two to your drinks," I added as I stood. "Sarah, it was a pleasure. I hope to see you around." I smiled before heading back to the booth where my friends were playing finger football with a folded napkin. They were all completely unaware that my entire life had just changed.

I had expected to see Sarah again at the neighborhood bar. I was there every day anyway; she was bound to return. But as the days slipped to weeks, I stopped glancing around as frequently. I was completely unsuspecting of the turn my day was about to take as I trudge through the farmers market on the way to my favorite running trail. I was not set up for success in even noticing her. I was in a heads-down, bad mood at having to manage my way through the overcrowded market in the first place, and I had blasted my music to accent my displeasure. But something, a change in the breeze or a subconscious yearning, made me pivot my head to one of the many flower stands, and there she was, holding a bundle of white daisies. I stopped dead in my tracks and killed my music.

"Hello," I said in a genuine mix of surprise, excitement, and false confidence.

"Hey, there," her smile was so effortless as though she had been expecting me.

"How have you been?" I desperately hoped for her answer to push the conversation forward because that was the only coherent sentence my mind could conjure in her presence.

"Good, getting acclimated. I love this market," she added as she smelled the flowers in her hands.

I let out a laugh and dropped my eyes.

"What's funny?" There was a subtle grin on her face that was filled with a desire to join the laughter.

"I hate this thing. It gets in the way of my run," I shrugged.

"Did you ever think of running in a different direction?"

"No, if I had done that, I would have been running away from you." I tried to hide the cringe from my pick-up line.

She gave a pleasant smile that didn't reveal utter disdain for my flirting.

"I had hoped to see you at the bar again," I continued.

"I haven't been much of anywhere. My new job has been a bit taxing."

I just gave her a nod accepting the focus on work excuse as a reason for no interest in seeing more of me.

"And I don't know my way around," she offered at my thinly veiled wince of rejection. "Perhaps you could show me around?"

My eyes shot up to meet her cool blue pools. A few loose pieces of hair fluttered around her face in the Spring breeze. Her expression was serene and open. She carried herself with a confident strength that no one could take from her. If I declined her invitation, it would be barely a blip. It was alluring and slightly terrifying.

"Yeah, sure. When are you free?"

"How about tonight?"

My heart pounded in my chest as I tried to steady my voice. "Sounds good. How about we meet here at 4 pm?

"I look forward to it, Seth," my name leaving her lips was like a drug.

We were together for two years. Every moment made me fall deeper in love with her, each tiny breath that filled her lungs, each beat of her heart, each frustrating argument, and each tender moment of care clung to me and recreated me as the person I had always wanted to be. Then the entire world changed. Perhaps not the whole world, the trees still swayed in the breeze, the birds continued to sing from the tops of streetlights, and the sun came up every day, but the sun was now rising on a new horror. Monsters had crawled off the screens and into real life. Zombies, the infliction spread so quickly that most of us were infected before we even knew it was a threat. At least, that's what happened to Sarah and me, one leisurely stroll through the same farmer's market she had loved so much, and we were suddenly stumbling apart in search of brains.