志异 Draft by Drama box July 2014 (english) | Page 60

channel 180712
I am currently on the Trenitalia, a train that
takes us across states in Italy. The train
travels at 163 km/h. That is fast, like how time
passes. At the ticket counter, I repeat the exact
instructions given to me by the ticket master on
how to validate a ticket. He says I should be a
tour guide, I smile and disagree in my head.
Florence is pretty. It is the kind of pretty that
puts you at ease. I thought the only amazing
thing was climbing the Duomo, because it felt
like an accomplishment. As I was climbing
the Duomo, I was only thinking about the
amazing view on top. Needless to say, I wasn’t
disappointed. I thought it was worth the 10
euros and the tiring climb in a dress. Perhaps
happiness is something you have to work hard
for, or is it something to distract so that you
continue to work?

channel 151112
I am back in Singapore at Starbucks. Opposite
me sits a man and a woman. I would call them
a couple. The woman grazes the insides of her
calf, leaning into the man’s words. He drifts off
into the words of his phone. As she desperately
tries to latch on to him with her attentive
eyes, he falls deeper into the entrapment of
his phone. One, two, three, and she has lost
an inch of hope. I wonder what shapes the
sadness and emptiness of his eyes. Perhaps it
is boredom. I hope it is not, becaus H[