Last evening, I felt frustration build up inside me. Unfounded, until I decided to walk to the coffee shop. I got there partially healed from whatever ailment I had. It began drizzling as I began, but I chose not to turn back to home, which added to the natural medicine. The sip of the hot americano and a bite into the chocolate macaron handled the rest. We ought to do things for the sake of doing things. All busy weeks remind me of this—to do things without an end goal. Life becomes flavourless otherwise.
But today, I took a nap in the evening for a reason. It was because I had not written in the morning. It has been the most recent discovery of mine that the words right after you wake up are the best words you can write all day. The words flow easily and are devoid of flaws that plague bad writing: most arise from a lack of honesty. So, done with everything and back home, I decided to sleep the evening away. At some point, it began to rain. I pulled the blanket over myself.
I woke up to a memory of last night. It was a golden hour at ten in the night. The straight line of light from the yellow neon sign outside the hotel made each drop glow. As I sat, sipping my coffee and relishing the macaron, cars, and with them, people in groups dressed for the weekend entered the driveway to the hotel. They were here for the restaurant for no one entered the cafe. I didn’t want to be bothered, but some people in the cafe always set the ambience right. Through the glass, I stared at the wet patio.
The truth shone in yellow. Most of my friends were busy, some of whom I had left behind in cities and years I had lost track of. I only knew people. I remembered their names and some odd outdated details, which they would correct if I ever ran into them. Perhaps, once, I had been friends with many people. Now, the list was attenuated by the day. We only think of each other in these blanks. On most busier days, life goes on, and we don’t blink twice at the memory of someone we used to know.
I sat there, sipping my coffee, and then, since it was raining, I took a cab back home. The frustration I had left home with had gone away, but we always exchanged a feeling for another.