Living alone - II

I turn out the lights and sit on the low chair in my balcony. The warm cup of steaming hot coffee is a godsent. For the first time in two weeks, I am able to take some advantage of the outrageous rent I pay. The lights in the million dollar homes on the hill to the north-east are going off one-by-one. Above one of them I see a new set of lights flashing in the sky. I look up, and as the two-seater aircraft drones into and then away from my interest, I catch a lone star with a dull shine in its own little niche in the evening sky. Unimportant, yet embellishing the scene in some way. In a while, it will be right above me, in the center of things. Then it will pass into the dawn.... Life reflects the cosmos.

All around the lawn below, an army of crickets whistles away like drunken drill sergeants. The sprinklers come on, to add to the calming din of the night. Ever so slightly, the fog is setting in, and this still-life will be smudged off the canvas in a bit. To my left, a bat flits in and out of the walkway light, having a hearty meal of gnats. My eyes change focus from the bat to that girl in the balcony across. She sits all drawn up and cocooned in her hippy quilt. Her glasses fog up and clear as she breathes into her own cup. They fog up and clear and fog up again. This time she smiles when they clear.... I smile back and raise a toast. She does the same. Done with the coffee, I get up for one last look at the sky. The lone star is still a ways from the center. A little below it, another twinkles brightly and falls in slow motion -a dying star to die for...I go back in, and another weekend draws to a close.

Living alone lets one stand aside on the platform, sipping coffee and hop back on when the train moves again.