The Man Who Rated Every Sunset a 7/10

Nadia noticed the account by accident, scrolling through a local photography hashtag someone who posted a photo of the sunset every single evening, without fail, always accompanied by the same dry, deadpan caption: a score out of ten, rarely above a 7, with a brief, oddly specific critique.

6/10. Adequate orange. Clouds unnecessarily competitive with the main event.

7/10. Solid effort from the sky today. Minor docking for a plane contrail ruining the composition.

4/10. Frankly, embarrassing. The sky should be ashamed.

She found herself checking the account daily, genuinely delighted by the commitment to the bit, until one evening she recognized the exact spot in a photo the pier near her apartment, the same bench she sat on most evenings herself.

I think we might be reviewing the same sunset from twenty feet apart, she commented, only half-expecting a response.

Alarming. Have you been secretly judging my scoring methodology this entire time? came the reply within minutes.

Only slightly. I think tonight's was at least an 8. You were harsh.

The cloud formation was derivative. I stand by the 6.

Derivative of what, exactly? It's a cloud.

Exactly the kind of question that suggests you don't take sunset criticism seriously enough. Perhaps we should discuss this in person, so I can properly educate you on the finer points of atmospheric grading.

Nadia laughed out loud on her own porch, genuinely charmed by the absurd confidence. Are you asking me to critique sunsets together, or is this an elaborate way of asking me out?

Can't it be both? I find multi-purpose invitations considerably more efficient.

Tomorrow evening, then. Same bench. Bring your rating system.

I never leave home without it.

The following evening, Nadia arrived at the pier to find a man already settled on the bench, notebook open, watching the horizon with theatrical seriousness.

"You must be the secretive sunset critic," she said, sitting down beside him.

"Desmond," he said, extending a hand without looking away from the sky. "And you must be the woman who thinks derivative cloud formations deserve extra credit."

"I stand by my generous scoring," Nadia said, grinning. "Someone has to balance out your excessive harshness."

to be continued... 🌅💛