I’m at the cafe, and although these powerpoint slides are in front of me, I can’t help but be fascinated by the couple sitting at the corner. They’ve been sitting there for the past three hours. I swear it looks straight out of a Wong Kar Wai film. Here’s my narration:
She sat across from him, watching his mouth form shapes but hearing only the background jazz intertwine itself with the city traffic behind her, weaving into amorphous patterns. He looked happy, satisfied, and anxious to accept every smile she offered. She didn’t mind; whoever said that happiness had to be defined by truth, or that deceit can’t be beautiful? The truth lay in what they both didn’t have to say – she sat with him to forget the feel of someone else, he chatted with her to rekindle his own forgotten nostalgia. They were content with the solace they found in mutual pretense. That clarity in silence – isn’t it beautiful?
