The Almost Perfect Day

It started as a holiday. Nay, it started as a rainy day. The weather has been acting up, these last few weeks. And the day was not an exception. Yet, it was a holiday for it was time for the long-awaited friendship to be once again reignited. The thing about reunions, though, is that one cannot expect or predict how they would be. 

In rushed pacing, while trying to forget the missing pieces during the last few months, she (Ti) arrived at the venue. She is not nervous, per se. It is just the exhilaration of reconnecting the dots. And the guilt for being late. All was forgotten as soon as they met. And the day has officially begun.

At lunch, the reminiscence of the past began. Some memories have been forgotten now. Some are still funnier than ever. And most are truly valuable for whomever they both have become today. Lo, the friend, asked, “do you think love is painful?”. “Why should you ask?”, she replied. “I cannot say. If love is truly painful, one must avoid it for all its causes. If it cannot be helped and if one is doomed to have fallen in love, then, the true sign is if s/he feels pain. And that’s…that’s just not right.” 

“I think love is painful, yes. But I don’t think pain is the litmus paper to decide whether one is in love or not. Most certainly, many have written and sung about it as if it’s a rare occurrence of happiness. Deep ecstasy. A full brightness at once. A fair share might have connoted that love is, in fact, pain. But pain is usually the aftermath. Not the basic form of it. Anyway, why are you fretting about it? Are you in love? Or are you in pain?” Her eyes were full of smiles ready to burst into laughter. 

Lo rolled her eyes and went on. “I think I am just in pain. Or maybe I am in love, but I am not feeling this overwhelming happiness you preach about. All I know is …all I think I know is, I am choosing not to feel this pain wherever it is being shot from. I live in selective denial. I deliberately choose to ignore the painstaking parts of my life to find a serene.” The conversation couldn’t be helped to go on further. But both went on to think about it in silence. 

Since Lo was enthused to visit the city further, the tour around the town started. The unending chatters and the cool, cloudy weather were powerful enough to make them forget the crowd. While cruising the main roads, they found a little cozy coffee shop. Lo was undecided whether she wants her caffeine shot or not. In the meantime, Ti was enjoying her coffee.

Lo, again, asked. Or wondered out loud. “I think I am all over the place.” She sighed.

“What do you mean?” Ti looked at her briefly and went on sipping her coffee. 

“I mean…look at me, I am more than halfway to finishing school. But I am not even sure whether I will work with it. I am finding, yet, other interests of my own. But how can I be sure whether these newly found interests would remain or not? If you were to look inside my head, you would see how my thoughts are haphazardly placed. Half the time, I don’t even  know what I am thinking. I want to be composed. I wish I could see myself sorted. Oh, I need a drink.” She finally decided.

“You know what they say.” Ti went on smiling a little. “As you get older, nothing seems to differ. Except the days are longer. Yet, your age flies faster.”

“But I want it to differ!”Lo cut her off. “What is the point of getting older, then?”

“I don’t know. If it makes you feel any better, I, too, am all over the place. I choose to believe most are. There is a console in thinking some other people are going through the same thing you are experiencing. Collectiveness is not a mere coincidence. It is, rather, a true source of comfort in times like this.”

“But I wish to know. I would like to know at least one thing about myself for sure. How can I not know anything?” Lo whined loudly. 

“You do know. You are just too scared to start afresh. Change is the one thing we never get used to. And it shows.” Ti is no longer laughing. The rain is starting to tickle again. Nevertheless, both seem not to care. 

“True. I never do well through change. Nor during transitions. It always takes me a while to settle. And now, I just…ahhh…all I need is navigation through my head. Maybe that could help.” 

Both are quiet, now. But this is not an awkward silence. It was just a momentary lapse into a world of their own. 

In front of the city, then, they sat. The streetlights made the night, beautiful. The city looks quite different. The bright light from the big screen fades on and off by the minute. After taking too many candid pictures, they finally set on to listening to music. The cold breath of the night, the quiet melody of the music, and the comfort of having someone nearby made a truly grand combination. 

“Oh, I love this day!” Ti slightly whispered. “I wish we could live at this moment forever. Or perhaps we can freeze this moment longer.” She almost whined for this was beyond anyone’s power. “One can only wish for the things he cannot have.” She resolved. 

The spontaneity. The unplanned compliance of the moments made an almost perfect day. Why almost, you ask? Because there might always be a better one!