A random question pops up out of the blue on Thursday night during a group call on an online platform. The voice on the phone belongs to a friend who lives farther away. The phone owner is sitting on the purple foldable chair, looking out the window at a white, empty landscape with a couple of buildings set apart. A window frost appears in a long stretch from one side to the other, signifying how long the storm had been raging over town. A young woman listened to her friends for a while, trying to understand how each other’s lives had become, as if she were the one who got away, not them.
“Girl, being a woman means that you have to work harder and be well-aware of those bad guys, especially if you’re pretty.”
One woman speaks up in the call to another. It was morning at their home, and the crackling sound of the television drifted in through the phone.
“I know it’s just so hard living and often being criticized for the same thing a man did.”
The woman with a question replied in a sad tone, then sighed loudly. A high-pitched noise pass though as if she leaned back on the unbalanced wooden chair
They are high school friends and still catch up from time to time.
It was fun, wild, comedic, and a 3-year journey as they progress to learn more in life, and it appears that life draws them apart as one of them moves further away from the homeland. That person is the woman in her second year of grade school, listening to her friends complain about their lives.
“I know, but have you started working on something properly that you could make a living off?”
The woman speaks into the phone as she sips cold water from a water bottle.
“I did, it is a competitive market to be honest. I might have to shift toward something that guarantees to make a profit sooner.”
The woman on the other end said with a soft tone, her voice cracking a bit. She had been (unsuccessfully) trying to put herself into an uncomfortable situation; at least she succeeded in traveling on her own. She prefers quiet moments with her art, which sometimes result into supporting gigs from time to time.
“You have said that a couple time now. You might want to start taking things seriously and stop being a perfectionist, or you will go broke before then.”
Another woman in the call replied to her. She is currently a working woman in pursuit of a proper job with reasonable benefits. Because she learn things the hard way, she became the consultant for her friends.
“You told me that numerous times already. I still didn’t know what to do. You know what I decided in another life? I want to be a cat.”
A chilling artistic woman replies jokingly in a cheeky voice.
The woman, her phone in hand, was giggling hard. She realized what she meant by that.
”Maybe if we had already known what was coming, then we wouldn’t be worried like this. I didn’t see myself older than 25, either.”
She tells her friend, as a cheer-up message, that despite the progress they've made in life, people can feel lost, too.
“Thanks mate, I will try work things around. By the way, do you have any plans to come back?”
The artistic woman on the other end asks with curiosity.
The screen light in her hand brightened against the woman in front of her, her face dull with her U-shape smile getting flatter across her face.
She hasn’t been able to answer that question ever since she came to a foreign country for grade school. It seems easy yet difficult to answer for someone who appears lost in the fast-paced transition, amid the uncertainty of employment.
Whenever you go, from or arrive, you will always feel as if you are a foreigner. That is what she thinks, perhaps.
“I am not exactly sure when, but I will let you know.”
A monotone voice echoes through the microphone. The other end knows exactly what she meant by that.
“We talked about this back at Christmas, remember? As long as both of you know what you want and write it out, you will get to it.”
The working woman friend replies to her friend in a serious tone, reminding them both of the importance of having a purpose to live on, which also means rewarding yourself sometimes.
“Understand, mother, hehehe.”
A cheeky woman replies jokingly. They continue to catch up further before finishing the conversation for the day.
The grade student sits on the chair after she hangs up, reflecting on what she has learnt from her friends today. She has come to terms with how lucky she is to have companions, with whom she can talk and laugh, despite the distance between them, and how mature they have become.
She wonders how their path would cross again and what will become of her as spring arrives.
