Just a Story
It is a cold and windy Monday morning. The library is already packed with numerous students and freelancers. The place of books invites wisdom and serenity to anyone willing to pursue them. Because the town is but a small community, the local library offers the various townspeople a chance to meet one another. There is a grocery store, but people do not intend to meet each other there! People rarely take the opportunity to talk in the grocery store, where everbody already feels awkward enough.
No, this will not do. The library remains a place of silence and learning. But how does one then meet in this town? Well, if you have a few friends already, there are birthday parties that you could attend. These offer plenty of moments of connection in a dense and private setting. As beautiful and helpful as this may sound, if you experienced a bad childhood or did not seize the opportunity to meet anyone during your schooldays, the chances are pretty slim for meeting people as such.
Kevin is someone who does not have the luxury of friends. He has lived his entire life in this town, which he quite splendidly hates. Throughout his childhood, he could not think about anything else other than leaving this horrid town behind. His parents hear the tale continuously, whenever he sits down with them. During these moments, pessimism quite clearly wins over opportunism. Kevin has become so obsessed with leaving town that little else matters. The days rush by slowly. Yet, his distance from the town drifts apart further with every passing day.
Like many other students, Kevin hopes daily to receive a spot at the town’s library. These spots are so difficult to obtain that some people even fight over them. Naturally, they keep it to such a level that it does not escalate to a real physical fight. This would be something else.
Although he wants to leave town, he secretly holds the hope that one day his silence at the library shall be broken. Is he desperate for it? In a way, you could say that he is. But he is also too proud to let the thought ever get to him. Kevin stands, therefore, at a crossroads, where he wants to have interaction but also yearns to be left alone.
Luckily, the library offers both. It has a café and a little bistro, where individuals could meet. Furthermore, there are countless activities and events happening throughout the library. The people behind the scenes create a lot of fun activities that spread from Dungeons & Dragons to cooking workshops. There are even times when a singer-songwriter could perform. It is, therefore, not only a place to come and pick up your next book; it is, too, a place for finding your next hobby. But even with all these activities, Kevin did not make any friends yet. He partook in as many activities and events as he could. Dungeons & Dragons was a blast, but finding himself in an RPG made him forget about himself. The group was overly active and positive; too much for Kevin’s taste. The cooking workshop ended in an utter disaster, as he burnt and wasted a good cake. Kevin remembers so well the other participants’ faces when it all happened. The singer-songwriter’s performance was so beautiful that it moved Kevin to tears. Yet, one cannot simply converse when someone plays so tremendously. It would be a disgrace if they did! These activities were not helping Kevin, and it made him only feel more isolated.
One could easily see that it is a place where multiple people could either socialise or study for their next big thing. Alas, Kevin’s next big thing is his philosophy exam coming up next week. Unlike the other activities, Kevin actively takes a priority. He has been studying the works of Socrates, Plato and Aristotle to the ‘modern’ works of Hegel and Nietzsche for about two weeks straight now. Kevin spent each day here. Every single morning, there was a new hope resting within his heart that today would be different than yesterday.
This morning was similar to every other morning before. He enjoyed his bowl of cereal and moved towards the local library to study. Kevin studied in the early hours at the library, and he took some liberty to catch a cup of coffee from the café downstairs. One must know that he did not do this all the time, but only during moments that he felt that he earned it. Because of the great work that he delivered, he felt it just right to celebrate it with a special coffee brew.
Normally, Kevin enjoys cappuccinos, and, just like that, he ordered a cappuccino. The barista girl gives him a smile when placing it in front of him.
‘Here you go, sir, one cappuccino!’ She says to him. ‘I hope you enjoy!’
While there was a small moment of connection between the barista girl and him, Kevin felt just for a bitter moment the miracle that is called human connection. He keeps wondering what he could have done better to maintain this unique and uncatchable connection. Kevin sees how the barista girl now strikes up a genuine long conversation with a group of people sitting five tables further away from him. He could not hear anything other than their laughter. The barista girl seems to have a great time with them. Should he throw in more jokes in his talk? Would this resolve his main social anxiety and isolation?
Kevin looks around in the café and does not seem to spot many people about. He drinks his cappuccino in utter solitude. The cappuccino makes up for the buddy that he misses; it warms him from inside. The seat at the window gives him some opportunities and room to watch what is happening outside. Nothing interesting occurs. Another buddy appears to him in the form of his earpods, as he places them in his ears.
‘It is just another day.’ Kevin whispers to himself while letting out a deep desperate sigh, while a melachonic rock ballad blasts from his earpods. He begins to sing along with the lonesome lyrics. His heart beats infrequently, as he sees faces passing by him who attempt to say something, but halt during the moment of letting it out. After two minutes, the cloudy weather finally releases its rain. It matches Kevin’s internal feelings brilliantly.
The weatherman already forecasted this in the late evening show yesterday. Sadly, the weatherman was right today. It is not everyday that he is right though. He occasionally predicts weather that never comes to pass. To Kevin, the universe may tell him that his pessimistic thoughts are valid. The universe must know by now that Kevin was not a big fan of rain. When coming to think about it, who is? Perhaps, this could be his entry point for finding friends!
After finishing his cappuccino, Kevin leaves his thoughts behind and returns upstairs to find himself a place to study. He already expected that his previous spot was taken over by someone else. And, indeed, this is the case. His spot has now been taken over by a group of students. Perhaps, this is for the best, as the spot’s table was made for four people to sit at. It would have come to him eventually to leave it behind. Yet, his perfectionism screams to him that he should not have enjoyed that cappuccino, since all the spots seem to be taken now.
His head spins and wanders aimlessly. It is unfortunate that all seats are now taken. He takes another few rounds around the library to ensure that he did not potentially miss a spot. Nope. It seems to be to no avail. There is not a single spot for him to take. However, to his odd surprise, someone tries to grasp his attention by waving towards him. It came from directly across from him. Kevin walks over to the person and quickly sees that it is a young woman. He approaches her.
‘Hey, did you wave at me per chance?’ Kevin already knew the answer, but he deemed it a good opening. In the world of introverts, any word that comes out of your mouth feels like either a waste of energy or a personal victory. As the lady remained silent in her response, Kevin’s spoken dialogue leans towards a waste of energy. Yet, his hopes restore, when she finally takes her moment to do so.
‘Were you talking to me?’ She looks up from her laptop. After seeing Kevin’s face, she lights up and smiles.
‘Yes!’ She says. ‘I saw you looking around and thought that you were in need of a workplace. You could sit with me?’ She invites Kevin by letting her open hand reveal the empty places beside her.
‘Are you certain that you are cool with that?’ Kevin asks her. His hands are shaking, while his heart beats uncomfortably fast.
Some people begin to look at the two, as Kevin and the girl disrupt the library’s serene peace with their voices. Kevin looks at a group that shushes them by placing a finger to their lips. He does not do much with this warning, as he finally seizes his moment to be socially active.
‘Yes, of course, take a seat!’ She joyfully responds to his uncertainty.
‘Thank you!’ He gives her a warm smile and takes a seat next to her.
‘Is this your first time here? I do not recall that I have seen you before! My name is Kevin.’ He says.
‘Hi, Kevin!’ She returns to him. ‘No, in fact, I have been here for over two months now. My name is Nova, and I literally live and breathe here.’ Nova laughs it off sarcastically.
‘Well, hello, Nova! It seems that fate makes two of us then! I technically have the same privilege as you.’ Kevin lights up after her sarcasm.
‘Oh! And what privilege is that?’
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What was all this?
From this point onward, Kevin made a new friend named Nova. Even when you live in a lonely town with just a local library as a social hub, you should never give up seeking humanity. Life is way better spent when you are with people than flying solo. You should embrace the unknown: wave your arms at somebody, stay open for communication, escape your comfort zone and head outside! There is a world there ready for you to explore.
Background of this story: I wrote this short story out of a writing prompt that I found on the internet. The writing prompt involved: ‘write about an event where two characters share a moment of connection’. This writing prompt brought such an inspiration to me that I kind of figured that it is something that we tend to forget in the real world. We all feel a bit socially excluded. At least, I tend to have this feeling a lot. I thought it would be nice to remind ourselves that connection is not something that is pure magic; we can still make dear connections in this world only if we care to step outside of our little bubble. Life happens when it is shared.