And There It Was By Amarachi Wachuku

Overheard: Someone working

And there it was. It cascaded its shade upon their wistful brows and concluded that it was daylight still. Even so, they stayed inside. And without stopping, in a never ending cycle of hopeless figuring and work piled up to their knees, they continued clicking, writing, slamming, conversing, debating, yelling waiting for it all to end. Everyone seemed to do this never ending cycle of work. Even when their tired eyes begged for sleep. Even when their hands were tense and shaking from clicking away, or writing away. Even when their hearts ached for something more, something better outside.  Even so, there they sat still flapping their tongues, tensing their bodies over lit screens, and rubbing their eyes, that just kept staring on.  For their day was just too long. But it really wasn’t. The day was at its’ end, and the sunshine seemed to dim with every moment.  And no one seemed to mind, to care, or to stop and dream for even a moment as the sunlight began to vanish behind thick clouds.

But what was wrong with just sitting still and listening for the quiet hum of activity that filled the place? Couldn’t they feel the energy, the vibrancy, that overtook the passion of work?  So much so, that all one could do was sit still and try to think, breathe, and feel the art work of warmth that came from the window. Glass shimmering like never before, cascading shadows like it was almost done reaching its peak below the horizon, saying: “The day is done.”  It kept saying, “Go home all you work, go home all you wish and dream.  Life is more than work. Play and seek your future when the day is young.”

But no one heard this message. None at all. None, except for him. In the middle of the chaos, there he sat on the ground, leaning his head back on the wall; arms crossed and dignified staring out into the glass picture of the world. And there I joined him. Sitting on the other side of the world it seemed, for he and I were in different places. Far from work, from play we sat staring, watching the sun dip behind more shadows. And there we sat waiting and dreaming. Waiting and dreaming. Waiting for our life to start.