I recline in one of the big comfy chairs in the corner at the local Internet café, reading a novel, immersed in conflict, challenge, adventure. She curls up in the other chair, across from mine, her feet tucked under her legs, and stares out the window. The sight pulls me from my book.
Quiet, pretty, young, she rarely smiles, even when serving customers their coffee and muffins. Each morning, I make it a point to grin long and broad, with “please” and “thanks.” But in return I rarely receive more than a rote, “Café Americano, two sixty-five.”
Then, at about 10 o’clock, she takes a break, to sit and stare. The sun peeks around the edge of a cloud overhead, now gleaming through her tender blue eyes and warming her luxurious, dark hair. Her face softens, and my heart melts, and I wonder what she thinks about.
At that moment, she raises her hand to her chin, and the sleeve of her black uniform slides down enough to reveal pieces of blue and red scribbled into her arm.
“What’s your tattoo?” I ask.
I myself have never mustered the will and courage to subject myself to the tattooist’s needle.
A frown etches its way across her face. “Nothing,” she mutters, her eyes still transfixed on the outside scene.
I shrug my eyebrows, as if to shrug off the hurt I feel. I return to the joyful fantasy of my book– Or rather, I am just about to return to it, when the girl silently unbuttons her sleeve, rolls it up, holds out her wrist, revealing a half a butterfly, its intricate wings painted in dazzling blue. The half-butterfly sits on the stem of a rose blossom, deep green and red.
“Wow,” I say. “That’s really beautiful.” Then, “Why only half a butterfly?”
“The other half– flew away,” she says, returns to her window view, her frown now more pronounced than ever.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“Not your fault,” she mumbles.
I try pull my eyes from hers. And fail.
I imagine her smiling, laughing, bonding with friends, close to her loved ones. Her desolate sadness stabs through my gut.
I could argue with her. True, it’s not my fault that her best friend died, or moved away, or whatever happened. But I can still feel sorry. I’m allowed to feel sorry, not just with pity, but out of human kindness. In some societies, the community would rally around, sit, mourn with her. How can I sit here next to her and feel nothing? Or worse, feel only discomfort and dread, wanting only to escape from her presence, back into the safety of my novel.
But arguing with would accomplish nothing.
She sees me staring, I’m sure. If I were she, if our positions were reversed, I’d notice her staring. I’d wonder what kind of kook she was. I’d worry what kind of mess I’d gotten myself into.
“I hope,” I squeak– I swallow. “I hope that you can hang out with some friends after your shift, at least.”
She grunts.
“I wish there were something I could do,” I admit.
She glares at me. “Well, there isn’t. Haley was the only real friend I had. And now she’s gone. She was the only one who knew how to love everyone as they were. There will never be another person like her, ever. So don’t even try!”
She runs to the ladies room, and I can feel numerous pairs of eyes throwing glances in our direction.
I gulp down the rest of my now-tepid coffee, place the cup and saucer in the dish-return. Carrying my book, I stroll toward the exit, already having decided to return tomorrow morning to see how she’s getting along.
Запоя лечение в клинике Сочи: вывод из запоя на дому, помощь нарколога, капельница, детоксикация, стационар, кодирование алкоголизма и реабилитация.
Углубиться в тему – вывод из запоя на дому сочи
If I had to defend the time I spend reading independent blogs this site would feature in the defence, and a look at creativefindsmarket reinforced that defensive utility, the ongoing case for non algorithmic reading is one I make to myself periodically and sites like this one provide the actual evidence that supports the case clearly.
Врач нарколог проводит первичный осмотр пациента, уточняет, сколько дней длится запой, какие напитки употреблялись, есть ли боль, рвотные позывы, бессонница, панические атаки, судороги, галлюцинации, повышенная тревожность или признаки белой горячки. После этого врач определяет, можно ли проводить вывод запоя на дому или лучше организовать лечение в стационаре.
Детальнее – вывод из запоя на дому казань
Honestly slowed down to read this carefully which is not my default, and a look at flareinlet kept me in that careful reading mode, the kind of writing that demands attention by being worth attention is rare in a media environment full of content engineered to be skimmed not read with any real focus today.
I loved your idea there, I tell you blogs are so exciting sometimes like looking into people’s private life’s and work. Every new remark wonderful in its own right.
Decided after reading this that I would check this site weekly going forward, and a stop at uniquegiftoutlet reinforced that commitment, deciding to add a site to a regular rotation requires meeting a quality bar that very few places clear and this one cleared it cleanly without any noticeable effort or marketing push behind it.
Decided not to comment because the post said what needed saying, and a stop at dazzquay continued that complete feel, content that does not invite obvious additions or corrections from readers is content that has been carefully considered and this site appears to consistently produce pieces that satisfy rather than provoke unnecessary follow ups.
Worth saying this site reads better than most paid newsletters I have tried, and a stop at isleprairie confirmed that comparison, the bar for free content is often lower than for paid but this site clears the paid bar consistently and that says something about the editorial approach behind the work being published here regularly.
Picked up something useful for a side project, and a look at sunsetpinecorner added another piece I will incorporate, content that connects to specific projects I am working on is content with practical utility and the practical utility of this site is showing up across multiple posts I have read in the last hour or so.
Now adding this to a short list of sites I would defend in a conversation about the modern web, and a look at urbanmeadowboutique reinforced that defence list, the few sites that serve as evidence the web can still produce good things are precious and this one has clearly joined that small list of exemplary sites.
Этот текст посвящён сложным аспектам зависимости и её влиянию на жизнь человека. Мы обсудим психологические, физические и социальные последствия зависимого поведения, а также важность своевременного обращения за помощью.
Это стоит прочитать полностью – стоп алко
Appreciate how nothing here feels copied or pieced together from other places, the voice is consistent and the tone stays human, and after I checked lunarbranchstore I noticed the same style holds, which is a small detail but it makes the whole experience feel personal rather than like another generic site.
Yesterday I was complaining about the state of online writing and today this site has temporarily fixed that complaint, and a look at briskolive extended that mood reversal, the short term mood improvement that comes from finding good content is real and this site has produced that improvement for me at a useful moment.