Midstep

I would've imagined that the pub located below my flat would be blaring their usual instrumental folk artistry, accompanied by the heavy clanking of dishware and beer bottles. It goes on further where the chatter among hearty, boisterous patrons would overwhelm the atmosphere of a promising Saturday night and at each seating, stories of potential joys and heartaches are exchanged, almost fulfilling the rather wishy-washy notion of what you would usually call a typical pub night out. But then, I am instead enveloped by a rather strange type of silence that fills the perimeters of my room. It leaves a good amount of space for some reality to sink in, prompting me to realise that some part of the fun is actually over, and that people have their serious lives to retreat to. Including me. It's been quite a ride leading up to this point, but soon I find myself welcomed by the incessant flooding of deadlines and responsibilities, exacerbated by the thought of needing to get over some torn pavement that still breaks my stride every now and then. I don't quite know how to put the past few months into succinctness, but time and again I am comforted by the fact that I am not alone in facing life's mischief, and that not many people in this world have this same divine comfort that I can identify with, a revelation that I find hard to accept. But again, people may choose to respond to their heartaches in many different ways, relying on the reality of their circumstances and the extent of their physical or emotional loss. If anything, the recent weeks have made me appreciate the importance of recovery, and how it remains a necessity that in such a maelstrom, we don't lose faith when we find ourselves losing the people we love. The beauty of loss pierces us right through the vessels of our hearts, reminding ourselves that healing itself is a gift that secures our comfort in what God has decided to take away from us, of which He is absolutely entitled to do so. Surely there are some questions that I still carry and weigh upon the impact of a life experience, but in His time, the puzzles will fit perfectly as a whole.