Observations from some time ago. I wrote this for a writing blog I started a while back, but never maintained. I came across it again while sifting through some older writing; though it’s a bit on the flowery side, I like that I can still conjure this scene in my imagination, and some of the serenity of that place.
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Today I’m sitting in the waiting room of the naturopath’s clinic while she’s putting together my remedies. It’s a quiet place. Classical music trickles from a docked iPod, an incongruous sight against the neatly varnished timber decor and verdant backdrop of trees outside. Natural light is well used in this room; full-height windows look out into a bushy patio, and a large skylight invites the sun through the glass floor of the reading space nestled into the alcove above me. The one cracked glass tile floats apologetically, flanked by its pristine mates. A crooked tree grows beside the wooden deck, its branches sprouting through a carefully cut square in the translucent covering overhead.
Everything about this place works with nature. The deck curls around the house with minimal disturbance to the plants; the large, native trees sprawl happily, oblivious to their human companions; the water feature ensconced among the ferns gurgles cheekily at the frog grinding a melody at the water’s edge. I can hear nothing else besides the frog and the wind rustling the tree leaves and the classical notes drifting in the background.
On the drive home, I hear nothing but the rumbling of trucks and the beeping of horns. Motorcycles buzz in and out of lanes while a rainbow of cars tries to avoid them. Endless queues roll along past the traffic lights, sometimes not stopping to consider that amber means ‘slow down’ and not ‘speed up’, while people bustle about on the footpath, no doubt on their way to lunch. I grew up in the suburbs, and I’ve worked in the city. I’m used to it, until I’m somewhere else. And I’m thankful, then, for the few moments of peace.
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Check out some more of my creative writing by hovering over the “Whimsies” menu.
Do you recall a place that made you feel as though you were really somewhere else? I’d love to see you re-create it in the comments below!
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