Confused atoms

I love watching weirdos do their weirdo things. There was this girl on my usual train, maybe on her late twenties. She occupied a window seat, with her hands pressed around her ankles, and her head against the window. She had this look of pure wonder on her face. She spent the entire journey like that, without once checking her phone or anything like that. Eventually she fell asleep, her messy brown hair cascading slightly on the seat behind her. She got off at Rabat, walking like a cat trying not to be seen. A secretive, almost half shy smile on her face, as she sneaked off with the train wonders in her heart. I instinctively recognized her as a fellow weirdo and loved her for it. I don’t meet many of those these days. -- Speaking of cats, let me talk to you about Sphinx, an old cat adopted by my old building complex. He was calm, quiet and detached, the way old cats often are, with spotless white fur and deep, lazy emerald eyes. There was this older gentleman who happen...

- “Really nice view, huh?” He wasn’t wrong. A dim moonlight watched over the two teenagers as they lazily lay on the wet grass. - “It’s very pretty.” Maria agreed. - “Right? Look at all these stars. Did you know we were made of them?” In the horizon, Maria could make out the distant fire from the camp they had snuck away from. She knew they had to get back before the teachers noticed their absence, but one does not turn away from an audience granted by the heavens. Thousands upon thousands of tiny celestial white dots demanded her attention, and she happily gave it to them. It turns out, the boy lying next to her also needed her attention. - “You know; this reminds me a lot of this Nietzsche book I read.” He added. She turned on her side to look at him. She knew he was full of shit. There was no way in hell this guy had ever been within a kilometre radius of a book. But, he had a warm smile and cute eyes, so she humoured him. - “Go on.” - “Well, he is a very interesti...

I wish I could say that I wasn’t afraid of the dark. I was a grown woman. Independent, college educated and all that. But you know what? You try sitting in the dark in a huge Bulgarian mansion at night, where your only company is an old senile man. I tried to distract myself as best as I could. I listened to a couple of podcasts, texted some friends, and played some dumb games on my phone. But eventually, the battery reached 10%, and I had to find other sources of entertainment. Did I mention that this place has no working electricity? It’s weird, right? Surely this guy was loaded, or at the very least, had a rich relative taking care of his expenses. Not everyone has the luxury to retire in such a place.  So, why no electricity? Maybe he forgot to pay his bills. He’s been doing a lot of that lately. Yeah okay, that was a little cruel. I sighed and pocketed my phone, using my flashlight to navigate to the kitchen, where I retrieved one of the gas lanterns. It was al...

“Would you care to have some tea before you leave, young man?" "Uh… yeah for sure Mr. Edwards. Let me just grab a couple of cups.” I replied absentmindly as I picked up my coat and got ready to leave. The old man nodded, satisfied, then closed his eyes and started snoring. It was difficult to look at this tired, frail husk of a man and imagine him as anybody else. You could call it folly of youth if you’d like, but for me, Mr. Edwards was Mr. Edwards. The fact that he had once been my age was unfathomable. I huddled inside my coat as I grabbed my keys, making sure I left everything in order for my relief. I spared one last look at Mr. Edwards. Old men usually looked like old men, which made it difficult for me to estimate his age. But, he hardly ever left that sofa he was lying on nowadays. He was thin, tired, and very fragile. His hearing was catastrophic, he could only see from one eye, and he couldn’t even walk without help. Of course, his body wasn’t the only ...

Part 1 --   Part 2--  Part 3--   - “Hell no. You can do that on your own time. I’m not going to be responsible for ruining your innocence. - That’s kind of rude. - Well, I never pretended to be nice, did I?” She smirked at me as she pulled another puff from her joint. The streets were empty, and the snow had quieted down. We walked around aimlessly until we found a couple of benches. She sat down as mist escaped from her lips, her long hair falling in cascades around her face as she settled. I relaxed into the bench next to hers. - “Really. It’s hard to explain. I don’t even know if I can articulate it.” She muttered - “Oh come on. You’re just making me more curious at this point." - "Fuck.” She pondered for a minute, completely ignoring me as she collected her thoughts. - “Okay. So I … Hmm.” I chuckled. She was fidgeting with her hair, probably trying to put into words an intimate feeling that wasn’t meant to be expressed that way. Still, she tried: ...

Part 1 --   Part 2-- Am I boring you? Do you regret coming here with me? Do I smell weird? I’ve been outside the whole day; I must smell weird. You keep glancing at your phone. Do you have somewhere to be? Am I keeping you? I’m sorry. I wish I were more interesting. Anxiety was a strange beast. Even back then, when I remembered myself as a “better version” of whatever it is I am today, She never left my side. She has been an eternal companion throughout my life. Sometimes She’ d be quiet, watching timidly from the shadows, but more often than not, She was loud, relentless , and horribly oppressive. More importantly, there was no getting rid of Her.  She was a part of me. I cleared my throat and forced myself to speak, nursing the hot coffee between my hands: -"So, uh, what do you do for a living?" She glanced up from her phone with a little grin, and stared at me with those eyes. Time halted for a split second, and even She stopped talking, probably just a...

Part 1 -- Nothing is permanent. That is an  immutable  fact about the universe. Entropy will continue to creep forward. Mountains will collapse, stars will die, and the worst day of your life will eventually come to an end. So too, will the best day of your life. --- I found myself sitting under the stars, dazed, a look of blank wonder in my eyes. The music was still ringing in my ears, despite the concert having ended a couple of hours earlier. The cold crept up under my jacket, and tiny snowflakes settled on my hair and arms. I had been a child the last time I’d seen snow. Magnificent was the term that came to mind. I felt the wet grass beneath my feet, and the wind playfully ruffling my hair . There was nowhere else in the universe I would’ve rather been. Most of the crowd had dispersed by then, with only a few groups remaining here and there. I didn’t want the moment to end, so I stayed, trying to prolong it, as if attempting to defy entropy itself. Maybe i...

  Part 4 : Mourad Ah, it’s no use. Mourad got up from his desk, trying to stretch his sore legs. He had been working on the report for the whole morning, and so far his efforts had yielded a modest paragraph of three sentences. He glanced at the empty desk next to him, wondering not for the first time when Amina would be coming back. He had been surprised by how badly she had taken the news of Allal’s death. She never really struck him as the emotional type, and yet, he had rarely seen a human being turn as pale as she had. Like she was seeing ghosts. -- The company had generously offered free counselling sessions and a couple of paid time-off days for anyone “distraught” by the incident. Mourad thought really hard about it, then decided he wasn’t particularly affected by the whole thing. Sure, he had known Allal for years, and the thought of never seeing him again was a little uncomfortable, but he didn’t feel the grief the others around him seemed to be consumed w...