A night in London

It took me some time to find the underground station where I booked a four pound ticket to Balham, south London. The guy at the station said I had to change the tube at Leicester Square, the thing which I did. Yet, I took the wrong alley and the wrong tube finding myself heading to north London. Finally, after some frustration, I found the right tube but then I had to take a cab to my final destination.

Sophie welcomed me warmly, with a big smile and a kind heart. The pasta she cooked me was very delicious, and the cup of Lipton tea was exactly what I needed after a very long and hectic day.

That was something like a blessing, a smile when all other smiles were contorted. A push-up, a sort of you being given the thumb-up, when all other thumbs were going down, questioning what you do, discrediting your intentions, trying to fit you in a strait-jacket, pigeon-holing you, with all the injustices categorization might incur. For some of them the world is a puzzle of their own making, and it is up to them to put the pieces together. You role is just to stand aside and watch them play the big game, do the right thing, and keep the good work; and woe to him he who dares to cross the red line.

I did not sleep immediately. Sophie said that the fickle weather could not be trusted and that I had better shut the windows before I sleep. Nice room, the one she gave me: very well lit and marvelously decorated. A hotchpotch of conflicting images soon overcame me. I woke up a bit early and I could see that some shy light was struggling to find its way through the windows. I tried to do something. The piles of books in the room were very tempting but whether or not it was all right to have a look at them left me undecided. Reading a book that early would require switching on the light, the thing which might disturb Sophie, or Ann, the German student. So, I simply kept to my warm couch; then I started to stretch my legs in the small, yet beautiful room. For a while I was mulling it over but the I could resist no more. I grabbed the nearest book. At around eight A.M, I heard the footsteps of Sophie and Ann. I waited for another half an hour, the time I thought would be enough for them to use the bathroom without being disturbed. When I made my way down the staircase, Sophie was already in the kitchen smiling from ear to ear and offering breakfast. We all had it together, talking about this and that.