The sun bade goodbye after the bright toil. The speechless, lifeless lamp posts, the signage of the establishments that endured the wrath of the sun, rose to the glory as the evening progressed. That was the cheerful pronouncement – the daybreak had rolled off.

I was drenched in exhaustion after bearing a high voltage workload at my office. I desperately required a change, an adventure, a thrill, where I would engage into the tete-a-tete with my feelings, suppressed and unheard.

With a countable buck in my creasy pocket, I sped on my eco friendly two wheeled Ferrari aka a traditional bicycle through a busy street, aiming towards my target, a newly launched cafeteria.

I sighed deep after reaching the cafeteria brightly illuminated with crafty hanging lights. Upon stepping in, I found the visitors assorted in pairs, exchanging gossips, and creating delightful moments on tables. I felt the heaven after a smoky aroma, layered with buttery fumes made a foray through my tired nostrils.

Unable to hold further, I landed on to the ordering counter and browsed my eyes through the lip smacking menu card. I ordered a three storied vegetarian sandwich, while putting a cordial smile on my face. I was asked to take a seat.

Fine! I will definitely choose a table to engage into self talks. Beforehand, I inquired about the serving time. The head waiter informed me that the dish would arrive at the table within 10 minutes.

I choose a two-seater table stationed at a corner of the dining area. To avoid visual distractions, I closed my eyes to think of a rocking plot for my new story. The head banging acts of the Rammstein band members performing the blockbuster song Du Hast sequenced in my mind. I was unaware of the fact that I too reeled under the head bang fever.

I felt a jerk when someone patted on my right shoulder, once, twice, and thrice. The trance broke into a surprising meet when my colleague Abhi Hajra drove his smiling face towards me. “Hey big brother, what a sheer surprise I see? You, in this café?” uttered Abhi. I too smiled back and asked him to take the vacant seat. I poked on my watch, and I found 20 minutes passed. I said to Abhi, “Just wait. I will join you after a short while,” “Rock on” reciprocated my colleague.

I approached the ordering counter again, and inquired about my order. I was told that the processing hadn’t started as the previous orders were in the queue. The head waiter revealed while showing his loyalty towards me, “Sir, you know, the current LPG crisis has escalated manifolds. That’s why we are forced to cook foods on induction stovetops. Kindly bear with us a little bit. Your food will be delivered fresh and hot!” “Okay” I said while returning to my table.

Abhi was scribbling over his Apple. He was busy producing a Bengali romantic audio story. He stopped, and looked at me. I asked him, “How is your romance with the ink going on?”

He felt the elation and expressed his excitement. It was an elaboration with mood shift. While elaborating in dramatic style, voice somewhat choked, Abhi opined, “Writing a romantic story requires loneliness. The lonesomeness is your fiancée. It’s best you take an empty chair, and order two cups of coffee. While you sip yours, observe the smoke oozing from the another cup, and note how that dies. This way you can express your patience required to wait for her arrival, but she won’t arrive anyway. Sometimes, love happens in absence”

I was about to interrupt, the dining area was packed with multi frequency claps. One of the ladies commented, “You two guys are genius. One was banging his head like a rockstar while lost in a dream, and other was dramatic. Great to meet you guys”

A young chap added, “The big bro is not only a rockstar in dreams, he is also a nu-age writer. I have read some of his stories on popular platforms. It’s great he inks small, real life issues with captive touch”

“Wow, we are meeting with the writers sans shedding a penny. Please put your autographs here” requested the lady while placing a notepad in front of us.

While signing the autograph, I pronounced, “We, the writers live to die to write, write, and write. You practice to read, feel, and share,”

Abhi added, “It’s absolutely right, right, and right,”

Then, claps, claps, and claps.

Conclusion: Loneliness initiated adventure. Adventure delivered words. Words created sharable moment. What about the order placed? The order became the food for thought.

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