How I Learned to Give In and Love My Phone
Traffic jam muffles. Honks, in an attempt to regain control of their idle situation; laughter that followed the school bell in the distance. Sounds whizzed past his ears and became his eyes.
He looked into bright screens that dazzled his eyes.
3 new messages. 2 unread emails. Red lights blinking.
‘In regards to your previous ema-‘
‘Excuse me’ he looked up to see her peering at him askingly and was surprised by his inability to comprehend a human interaction. As if his brain only knew how to send him error signals. Invalid personnel. Does not compute.
‘Could you repeat that’ he asked, pocketing his phone.
‘I was just wondering where the nearest bus stop was’ she peered. Her eyes were intricate. It wasn’t a female infatuation or a testosterone driven agenda. He was encompassed by features that didn’t include buttons. Features he forgot he had.
When he found the words, he told her in inaudible mumbles. She laughed and thanked him. His phone interrupted the phenomenon. Commanding him back, like Hera to Zeus. But it was too late; the soft sunset, the café lights, invisible strings that made him look at every passerby- a new reality now captured him.
Conversations by the Window Seat is an ongoing creative collaboration between Adrian Seah and Romila Barryman, with photos and writing themed around a common love of travel and discovery.
View other Conversations by the Window Seat or read more of Romila’s writing at her blog Daydreamsonlooseleafpaper
