I'm tired. I've been doing quite a few things lately, so today, while I should have had a lecture, I just couldn't wake up. Hmm... Also, today it rained (^-^). I'm currently left on my own, and all these things put together really are the perfect conditions to just relax, aren't they?
Enjoying warm tea with rain outside, a cloudy sky letting just a grey light. What a nice start to the day. Honestly, I feel like skipping the entire day...
I know, I shouldn't, but it's so tempting. Hmm, what could I talk about? I guess we've made quite a bit of progress lately, in writing I mean. Well, it's not so much that as it is the fact that Friday, I had a lot of fun. I came back from a very tiring week, so when I opened up the computer to write, I expected that at some point I'd stop out of sleepiness and go to bed. I started writing at around 23:37. I had to stop writing at a little bit past 4am, because I half-forced myself to stop and because I was hesitating as to what to write next. Also, I've continued a bit on that story yesterday, and when I begun (at around 23:00), I actually planned to stay up as long as I wanted even though I have classes at 8 today.
In other words, I'm prioritizing some things over others. It's really no surprise that I woke up tired.
Since I can, I want to put that story here too, so you can enjoy reading it, because I'm not sure it's actually gonna end up in TCTW. In fact, I began writing it on a whim, it was jusst supposed to be a free-thought exercise, where I gave free reins to my imaginations. My head just had different ideas I guess. In any case, here it is:
Oh, the title is "Bubble Tea" by the way, see ya
“Let there be bubbles,” and she blew soap bubbles to the sky. The weather was nice today, the sky was clear and the sun was pleasant. Truly, what a nice day. She sat on the roof of a tower overlooking the city, it was her favourite spot when all she wanted was to relax. Well, it was her favourite spot at all times, it was just especially more favourite on days like these. Looking at the bustling crowds from afar had a strangely calming effect, she’d noticed.
Apparently there is a festival today: over the colourful roofs of the city, an even more colourful cloud of balloons was rising. It was a huge cloud, and from the sheer size of it she guessed that it was made of more than a couple hundreds of balloons. She wanted in too, so she blew more bubbles to accompany the procession’s rise to the sky.
“Take care,” she told the bubbles. Unexpectedly, she got an answer. Unfortunately, it didn’t come from the bubbles.
“Meooow,” the cat said. Hmm, what could it possibly be saying? She looked hard at it, but all it did was look back with bored eyes as it sat beside her, and then it went back to cleaning itself. Was it just a meow of boredom? Or maybe a declaration of hunger? That wasn’t unlikely at all given how much it loves eating. How did it manage to stay so fit with that unholy daily intake of calories? Maybe god knows. And so, it was decided: the next time she meets god she’ll ask him that question.
“When would that be? Hmm... This evening, if I have nothing better to do, I guess.”
Still, there’s a lot of time left until evening comes. There’s plenty of time to do whatever she wants. In fact, there’s probably too much time, but that’s a discussion for another day. The current problem was how to pass the time until she’d barge into god’s domain. The festival? Not in the mood. Sleep was an option, but right now she was more interested in the world in front of her than the world of dreams. As such, she’d be doing some more looking around, and then play a game of cat and mouse with that strange child she befriended. She was a very peculiar child, strange in a good way, and she’d yet to find someone like her. Not that she was searching.
“Oh, I almost forgot.”
What did the cat say earlier? Since she couldn’t figure it out, she’d just have to ask.
“Hey, Mr. Cat, what did you say earlier?”
The cat in question interrupted its toilette to look at her. Its bored expression had been replaced by a slightly less bored and slightly more interested one. They locked eyes for a second. Then, it turned its head and finished cleaning itself.
“Huhh... Is that so?”
Apparently Mr. Cat is starting to get hungry. Not surprising. Is there ever a time when Mr. Cat isn’t getting hungry? When it’s eating, that’s pretty much the only time. Well, whatever, there was a drink she wanted to try anyway, she might as well get him something too. It was time to get down and navigate through the great crowds below. Sigh, it’s always difficult to stop doing one of your favourite activities, but it is necessary. Making herself do what she believes is right, so as to grow up into who she wants to be. The term “right” isn’t really the correct one. It was more like, doing what she thinks she should do, whether it’s objectively right or not. This doesn’t mean that she always does what she believes she should, of course. In fact, no living entity, past or present, has ever achieved that, not even by chance.
“Do you want to come with me?” she asked the cat. Unfortunately, it was now too busy taking a nap to hear her question.
“I guess that’s a no. Now then, time to go.”
As she said that, she got up and walked closer to the edge of the roof, and then jumped. It would be quite a long fall, but the thrill was fun and it was definitely faster than walking all the way down. No one would notice the falling girl as she slowed down and landed safely in the middle of the busy main street, she made sure of that. People were a curious thing to observe. Sometimes, they’d do exactly what you predicted them to, and others they surprise you. They also told of how their days were going so far, whether they wanted to or not. It was in their expressions, in their behaviour. Now, however, she didn’t have time to be studying them, she had to go and buy food for Mr. Cat. Furthermore, she had to go and buy bubble tea. This one, for herself. She simply always wanted to try one.
With that in mind, she pulled up the panda-eared hood of her favourite outfit, because it looked cute, and she began weaving through the crowd. The first stop would be a pet shop. Surprisingly, Mr. Cat was quite picky about the food he eats. His voracious appetite didn’t give him that image at all. Also, she didn’t bring any money with her, so she’d have to cheat and create some. Cheating was acceptable in this case, since it wasn’t for her, and she’d create just the right sum and nothing more. The rest she has to earn herself, she knows it; only in this way can she grow.
She spotted a few interesting persons on her way to the shop. One lady, dressed all in red, had grown very tired from all the work she was doing, and yet she still had the will to keep going. She could see it in her eyes.
“I wonder, what is it that gives her that strength?”
Probably someone very dear to her. Her son maybe? Whatever it was, the way she was handling herself was admirable. An old man sitting at a café had quite the interesting story to tell, so she stopped by and had a talk with him. It would seem that he used to serve in the army in his younger days, and he’d lived through all three recent monarchies that reigned over the city. He had a lot to say, so much so that she had to excuse herself in order to get to the pet shop and back before Mr. Cat actually went hungry. She’d also spotted a young man who looked troubled by something, but she didn’t have time to speak with him. Instead, she headed straight for her destination.
“Oh, a panda. It’s you again Shiiro, welcome back!” said a voice behind a computer screen.
“Yo.”
She raised her hand to greet Hannah back, and then went to look for what she came for: the Silver Silina croquettes for cats. Only the salmon-flavoured ones though, Mr. Cat wouldn’t even touch anything else. Truly, what a picky eater, couldn’t he like something cheaper? Not that money is a problem anyway. She counted the coins again as she arrived at the counter.
“The same as usual, huh?”
Now that Hannah mentioned it, it was true that Mr. Cat has been on a diet of only salmon-flavoured croquettes for quite a while now.
“Yes, I wonder if that’s healthy for him though, I always give him the same food.”
“You mean your cat? Let me think... If I remember correctly, he’s already an adult, right? As such, Silver Silina is a good choice for him. It’s a good source of carbohydrates and proteins, but from time to time you should give him something else too, something fresh, like salmon meat. He’d probably eat that.”
That last part was said with quite a bit of confidence, in fact it was even accompanied by a thumbs up from the one who said it.
“Hmm, I wouldn’t be so sure. Last time I bought him salmon croquettes, just of a different brand, and that picky furball wouldn’t even grace them with a taste. Apparently that was below royalty like him.”
This new piece of information made Hannah chuckle a bit.
“What a troublesome kitten you’ve picked up, he seems like quite the gourmet. Maybe croquette companies should hire him to test-taste their products?”
“Yeah, for some reason I am under the impression that he wouldn’t mind that at all, eating for a living.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
In response to this question, Shiiro brought her index finger to her lips. She had a habit of doing that when she was thinking.
“I guess for now I’ll give him croquettes, then I’ll try salmon meat. No, actually I’ll go buy salmon meat right away and put it alongside the croquettes. Knowing his appetite he’ll be more inclined to try it if I limit the amount of croquettes.”
“That sounds like a good idea. Alright, I have something to do so I’ll see you next time then, have a nice day!”
Having said that, Hannah turned back to resume whatever she’d been doing. She did so with a smile though, that’s a very important detail.
“Thanks, you too.”
As usual, Shiiro put the money on the counter and went on her way.
Now then, what to do? Mr. Cat’s naps can be very short at lunch time, so she decided to hurry with the salmon and go back immediately. The bubble tea would have to wait. On her way to the tower though, she noticed a certain someone: a child. Not just any child, it was the strange one. What a nice coincidence. She was about to call out to her, when she heard Mr. Cat meowing out to her. He was still on the roof of the tower. How come he knew that she’d be able to hear him? What a strange cat itself. It seems that most of her friends are weirdos. She then remembered a saying about how we’re the average of the people we spend most time with. Could it be that she’s a weirdo too? She already knew the answer, and she found it quite funny.
She would talk to the child later, for now her priority was feeding a hungry feline. Once again making sure no one could see her, she started walking and rising through the air. She’d climb imaginary stairs all the way to the top of the roof, and only then allow others to notice her. Well, she also allowed Mr. Cat to see her the entire time. Despite all his flaws, he is a trustworthy feline after all, and she knows he won’t be saying a word of this to anyone, ever. Thinking about it, she immediately understood how Mr. Cat guessed that if anyone could hear him meow from such a distance, it would be her.
Luckily, things went as planned and for once, the little furball decided to eat more than just croquettes.
“This day is shaping up to be a good day, huh? I like that.”
She was once again sitting on the roof of the tower overlooking the city, this time with her feet dangling over the edge. Despite the current absence of the balloons, the city really looked colourful, with each house painted with a different, bright colour, and the many yellow and white walls that separated each district made the whole thing look like one, gigantic, messy cheerful puzzle that extended as far as the eye could see. It really is a beautiful sight. Even at night it was magnificent, although it shone with a different kind of beauty.
Shiiro wondered if the child was still down there somewhere so she looked around, and thankfully, there she was. It seems she came here for some sweets, and as such was waiting in line at the ice cream shop. That means that there’s no need to come down just yet, so Shiiro stayed up some more to enjoy the view. She also picked up her plastic pipe and started blowing soap bubbles again.
“Oh, that reminds me, bubble tea.”
Since she wanted to try it out and play a game of cat and mouse with the strange child, she decided that she’d just invite her for bubble tea together first. Children like sweets, yup, so ice cream plus bubble tea is perfectly fine. Alternatively, bubble tea after the game sounded like a good idea too. No, it was definitely the better idea, so that’s what she’ll do. This time, she wouldn’t forget to bring her wallet either. As she resolved to do that, the trustworthy cat called out to her.
“Meoow”
“What’s up?”
“Meoooow!”
She’d gotten quite good at figuring him out without reading his mind, but she still found herself at a loss from time to time. This was one of these times, but before doing anything else, she asked him to repeat himself.
“Meoooow!!”
Ah, this time she understood.
“So you want to get down, right?”
The cat answered with his eyes.
“I guess it is quite cold up here. Alright, do you want to jump down or walk?”
Mr. Cat jumped once as an answer.
“Fair enough, come here then.”
She extended her arms, and Mr. Cat climbed into them. After that, she got up and, as requested, jumped down on the busy streets, just like she’d done earlier.
“Alright, here you go Mr. Cat, see you again tomorrow then.”
“Meoow”
“Oh, a meow of gratitude, that’s quite rare. I’m flattered.”
Still wearing the panda hoodie, she bowed to Mr. Cat like an actress to their spectators at the end of a play. And on that, the cat left the panda in order to complete his feline duties, and the panda, albeit a very cute panda, once again found itself in the middle of a crowded street. As unfortunate as this was, there weren’t many other pandas roaming the streets, so this particular one was garnering a bit of attention from passer bys.
“If only pandas took to the streets more...”
Then would the world feel less lonely? For some reason, the answer that came to her was “Yes”. In fact, not only that, it seemed that “No” just couldn’t be an answer here. Why was that? She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but to put it simply, it felt wrong.
What was she to do now? Somewhere beyond these streets lies an ice cream shop. Somewhere inside that ice cream shop, she could probably find that strange child. In her mind, she had already decided what she’d do this afternoon. The plans were laid out, all she had to do was follow them... and yet.
She pulled out her plastic pipe and blew into it again: the bubbles were going a different direction from earlier. The wind had changed, and so had her wishes.
“What is it that you truly want?”
This is a difficult question to answer, so much so that some go their whole lives without ever answering it. And yet, it still stood there. What is it that she wants? She could search beyond her current whims, she could look within her heart for a hint, but there is a time and place for everything. And so, for now, the answer to that question was only one: bubble tea. Sometimes, what our past self wanted us to do and what we want now don’t match. Whether it’s for better or for worse, she thought that recognising these instances was important, and it was even more important to not be afraid of erasing all past plans. This is how she’d find her answer to that question. When she’ll find something she wants, and that feeling stays the same no matter how much time passes, she’ll probably have stumbled upon something nice, something she truly wants.
Thus, everything was discarded in favour of bubble tea. There was only one problem that had been ignored up ‘till now: she didn’t know a single place that sold it. Whatever, this was the single largest city humanity had ever built, someone, somewhere will have it one their menu. To blindly and randomly browse stores in a city this size in hopes of finding that exotic drink was probably a very stupid and very inefficient tactic, but it had one aspect that made it shine in Shiiro’s eyes: it sounded fun.