Chapter 2023 Page 8

I was sitting at a coffee bar the other day. An elderly couple approached and sat next to me. We greeted with a slight smile. He went back getting their food. It was quite chilly in the room, so she decided to put on her jacket. Though, she has shaky hands, I could feel the struggle as she slowly moved her hands into the sleeves. I wanted to help but got held back by “what if she didn’t want to be helped?” or “would that make her look more vulnerable?”, so I stayed quiet. Soon he returned, with some warm soup and salad. He helped her with the other sleeve and fixed her collar, but the zipper seems to be difficult to slide up even for him. “Can I help?” I finally spoke, he smiled and offered me some space, I zipped it up quickly and sat back. They thanked me and asked where I’m from, so we chi-chatted a little. I always enjoyed chatting with the elders because they could give me different perspectives about life and a vibe of “nothing matters in the end, so just be grateful for what you have and be happy”, which was exactly what I needed during some downtime. She tried lifting the spoon with those unsteady hands, but it was impossible to reach back to her mouth without spilling the soup, so he took over the spoon, scooped again, and fed her slowly one bite after another patiently… Perhaps that’s the meaning behind “The beauty is always around us, all you need is the eyes to discover”.

Continue reading Chapter 2023 Page 8