Skip to main content

Strangers

You see him at a distance waiting at the bus stop. He appears not to have noticed you, which is quite a relief. It would have been impolite to not approach him had he seen you. However, if you did approach him, you would have had to make conversation, not just for the duration at the bus stop, but also in the bus, on the walk to the MRT and then on the MRT for a few stops until he alighted. The mind seemed to cringe at the idea. Yes he was a nice person but making small talk seemed such a hassle when you could be on your phone or book immersed in a world more pleasurable and friendly to you.

But why? To be honest I do not know him that well. He has family, kids, opinions and life stories, all if explored could be more interesting than the cute cat video on Youtube. Why do we shy away from conversation with most people while we have a lot to say to others? Is it a lack of trust? Is it a lack of curiosity in someone else's life? Is he just a boring person? Or are we just conforming to societal expectations that does not allow us to dip below certain depths of familiarity with most people lest we invade their private space? Probably a bit of everything.

I take a strategic position behind the pillar from where I can feign ignorance of not having seen him. Yet another day gone and along with it the chance to truly connect with someone.

So much time spent together and yet strangers still.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Journey to the West : Mind Your Language

"Lettuce, tomatoes, onions and spinach", I pointed out to the lady wearing the apron behind the counter. She looked at me questioningly. "LET-USE, TOE-MAT-OH, OH-NION, SPEA-NATCH", I repeated with better enunciation. She looked back down at the the multiple compartments of colourful mix of vegetables, leaves and fruits and methodically grabbed some from each, while repeating the names of the ones she grabbed. "Let-us, Toe-mado, Ah-nion, Spee-Nuch", she clarified. I shrank a bit in embarrassment. With every passing day in the country, my belief that the English education that I received in a former British Colony, that set high and rarely achieved standards in English for its students, was of substandard quality, strengthens. In a well intentioned effort to assimilate, I have over the past couple of months tried to mimic the pronunciation of the Texans. "Howz'it goin man?" "Ye'no"   "Can I ha...

Life in the Time of Corona

I can't remember the last time I felt I had this much time. Not that I was never the beneficiary of a balanced life within socialist Europe, but I had squandered much of it away, jumping from the consumption of ever immersive electronic devices, forgetful routines and the maintenance of social relationships. A digital detox felt timely. Faced with a swath of unfilled time, here I was blogging again after ages (does creative pursuits such as writing does not fall within digital detox?  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ). Time had flown. 2020 is a year that will live in all our memories till the end of our lives, not so much because of what happened, but because of what did not happen. A year that started promisingly with two memorable marriages of family and friend came to a halt as a tiny microorganism proved how vulnerable we humans still were. I remember when colleagues in the office laughed as a Chinese friend hoarded masks so she could send them back home. A month later they were asking her where the...

An Eye for an Eye

"Something that three or four years ago you told me was one of the touchstones of maturity: being nice to people even when they’re not nice to you…" - William Styron It was an plan that came out of nowhere. Perhaps half depressed by the winter and half depressed by the inactivity at work, there was sufficient turmoil in the mind to create these type of plans and then let it fester, until something that started off with a what-if turned into a why-not. It would have been the perfect revenge for the past hurt and humiliation that was yet to completely heal.  The circumstances were similar. On one side, an eager visitor who had traveled far to say "Hello" and on the other side, a host, bewildered and surprised by this visit. In the first case, the host would not receive the visitor, who would turn back humiliated and vowing never again. Now the roles were reversed and I was the host. What if I agreed to receive? What if in reality I did not plan to receive? ...