Scrolling through her feed, she subconsciously felt gloomy and subdued as she read so many posts about heartbreak, self-harm, depression and so much more. The lines went right through her heart. She felt bad. “Life sucks,” she thought to herself. She had a serious kinda look with drooping lips, ugly frowns. She looked more ugly wearing that sad mask all over her lively face.
As she put her phone down and stared at the beautiful night sky, she fell. She fell into a repertoire of her own thoughts. Rush of memories tingled inside her mind. First, she remembered how everyone cheered for her when the teacher announced that she had topped the exam. It is such a small thing, topping an internal exam which probably won’t matter after a month, yet her friends wholeheartedly clapped for her. “They’re crazy,” she chuckled. She was happy too.
Then, her thoughts drifted to the old lady who she made eye contact with while crossing paths. An unknown old lady, but she looked sweet. The old lady simply smiled at her while crossing paths. She returned the smile. That ephemeral interaction actually made her feel extremely good. The power of a smile is unprecedented, she perceived.
Next, her thoughts diverted back to a couple of hours ago, when she got home. It was a tiring day. Exhausted, she plopped herself on the sofa. After a few minutes, the scent of hot dumplings approached her nostrils. As she looked up, her mother had brought a plate of cheese dumplings along with a glass full of guava juice. Together, they enjoyed their dumplings and spent half an hour talking. Gossiping, to be more precise.
She got up and went for a walk. She loved hearing the laughter of the kids in the park. She admired the couple jogging together. She strolled through the garden and saw the wet clothes dancing in the soft breeze. The cloth clips remained hanging. Some were firmly holding the clean cloth pieces. Some were slouching from the string. Some were lonely just like the introverts. Comparing and thinking, she chuckled to herself.
Soon she walked past the supermarket. She enjoyed strolling around every nook and cranny. She pitied the child whose mother refused to buy him a gun toy. She inhaled the scent of the mouth-watering food being cooked in the neighboring house, and at the same time heard the nozzle of the pressure cooker shoot up in the opposite house. She looked up at the beautiful night sky. For a few minutes, she was completely lost. The atmosphere was vibrant. She could faintly hear the cars honking on the main road. She was still. Her breathing was slow. Her mind was empty. She didn’t think of anything.
A small drop of water slowly bounced on her face and she was back to reality. The clouds thundered. Time to go back home.