The life of a normal boy

I'm a normal boy and I live a normal life. An uneventful life, a life surrounded by nothing but normal people, peacefulness, and quietness. That is what I would like to say, but...

"What's wrong with you, blasting lame music at a time like this?"

"Huh? What did you say?"

"Are you deaf? Is that why your taste in music sucks?"

"Who do you think you are? If you're gonna keep on talking to me like that I'll kill you!"

"Yeah yeah, I'm sure you will...But before you do that though, you should first kill the loud music that sounds more like a screaming donkey than anything."..."Wait! Is that 'music' actually just a recording of you screaming? That's hilarious!"

"You just called me a donk...That's it! Come here I'll kill you!!"

Even though rules were prohibiting this kind of behavior I could still hear screaming in the hallways. They're always so loud... Sigh

It's a rainy night and, I am, as per usual, alone in my room, pondering about matters that I would guess most normal boys ponder about. Things such as: "Why do we question the meaning behind being equal without first defining what constitutes equality?" or "Is there really a point in trying to find things that are objectively good or bad if once we find them, we'll completely disregard the good and choose only the bad, justifying our choices by saying that the objectively good things are only social constructs when they have served as guidelines for our civilization for thousands of years?" and "Why is it that the Avatar, the highest-grossing film of all time, seems to have made zero impact in our culture? There aren't any references to the movie anywhere, because no one really talks about it since it was released 13 years ago, so what was it that made so many people buy tickets to watch it?". I think all these questions can be answered in the same way, it's because we are human beings. We are living, thinking creatures but we make almost all of our important decisions using everything but our ability to think.

A long time ago, in a bygone era, a great man said that the happiness of one's life depends on the quality of his thoughts. However, he didn't necessarily adhere to the idea that in all and every situation only thinking matters. There is actually more to his famous passages, the rest goes like this: The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts. And it continues: To live a good life: We have the potential for it. If we learn to be indifferent to what makes no difference. So then to lead a happy life, whatever you're about to think, say, or do needs to be relevant in some meaningful way or it's just not worth it.

The point's spelled out there, in the incredibly famous work of Marcus Aurelius. Even though this is the year 2021, nothing about his teachings has changed. The situation has only grown more complex and fraught.

As I was reflecting upon these things I found myself, not too long after, spacing out as I looked out of my bedroom window contemplating the raindrops and the sound they made. Along with Beethoven, Chopin and Mozart, it's one of my favorite things to listen to. There's a strange sense of comfort that can only be found in the "pitter-patter" sound raindrops make, a sort of melancholic feeling I can't quite explain. It's like the constant... predictable nature of drizzling rain brings in me a very relaxed mood. The "white noise" effect makes dashing thoughts less frequent and sets the tempo for the kind of thoughts I'm having right now. I get a similar effect from calm classical music, that is why they are my favorite things to listen to.

The room itself isn't much bigger than that of a normal boy, it's approximately 9 square meters and so, as to be expected it didn't have many things. Only the bed I'm laying on, a desk with a computer and some notebooks on top, a small wardrobe, and a bookshelf, so it was only natural that if I were to be distracted, it would be from something from outside the room rather than inside of it. After a while, the loud music that was coming from my neighbor's room had stopped and I started to doze off. But before I could completely fall asleep I heard another outside the room distraction coming.

"Do you have a moment?" I heard a knock which was then followed by a familiar voice. I instantly knew whose voice it was.

She came. She was here. It was terrifying. I had almost fallen asleep, pondering human actions' true purpose while gazing at the star-filled, night sky, when she knocked on my door. Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C minor played in my head, it's the type of music that captured the sense of prey fleeing from predator and the desperation that comes with those types of scary situations. Maybe it's actually playing in my other neighbor's room. Anyway right then and there, it was the perfect accompaniment.

Despite having my eyes closed, I understood. I could feel the predator's presence as she waited for her prey to respond. So, as prey, how exactly could I flee from this situation?

My supercomputer-like brain instantly executed all calculations to arrive at the only viable answer.

Conclusion Reached: "Sleeping Beauty Strategy" it's a simple plan but quite unbreakable, I'd just pretend not to hear her and let the raindrops' "pitter-patter" sounds lullaby me back to dreamland.

"If you do not respond within five seconds, I will prove myself to be to be a major hindrance to the ordinary life you have been striving for." The icy sound of her voice broke my indecision. She seemed kind of angry, and it was a little scary.

"What do you mean, 'major hindrance'?" In an instant, I'd abandoned my "Sleeping Beauty Strategy" and yielded to her threats.

"See, you did hear me after all, didn't you?"

"I know enough that I'm afraid to make you angry."

"I'm glad to hear that. Now then, may I have a little of your time?" I was stuck with her unreasonable request. It appeared she would not accept 'No' for an answer. Though it was a mistake to simply do what she asked, I gave up and obeyed.

"Fine. I'll let you in." I said, my voice filled with annoyance. Her requests no longer surprised me. I certainly didn't like how this situation had turned out, but it was inevitable I guess. As I hardened my will and summoned all the strength I had to get up I lowered my gaze towards the window and my eyes started reflecting the light coming from the light poles that lit the part of the street that led to the entrance to my apartment. As I looked at the window glass I noticed the light my eyes were reflecting, those same eyes that up until the moment I meet this girl had known nothing but darkness. I thought back to when I met this girl a month ago.