Celebrating Life

Without having to say a single word to each other, we simultaneously sit down on the hard concrete at the edge of the lake. She pulls out a cigarette, I take a bite of my apple and minutes go by without either of us saying a word. We just sit there, peacefully gazing at the powerful mountains reflected by the calm water. We don’t have to talk; there is no need to try and fill the silence with artificial discussions over the latest school gossip or weekend plans. We both understand each other and never feel the need to hide our true identity, which is why we can both sit there and take in the beauty that surrounds us.

The time passes as we dip our feet in the chilled water, fumble with tiny pebbles on the ground and aimlessly light matches to watch the sticks burn before dispensing them into the water. It feels like we’re in a picture that has been tainted yellow, like those indie music videos they show on Viva Zwei. Everything around us seems to be moving in slow motion, and reality seems to be covered with a glossy vagueness.

I tell her about my parents’ fight the night before. She shows me the scars on her arms. We both agree that we hate our school. It’s comforting to know that I have someone I can relate to. It somehow seems to conceal reality. I think of the other people I know who don’t have a close friend to turn to, and wonder how they can manage through the day. I glance at the watch hanging loosely from my wrist, 12:15. German class would be ending right about now, and, had we actually been at the school participating in the uniform schedule set up for the uncongenial and identical students of MIS, we would be heading to an arid history lecture where we would waste an hour of our lives sitting on stiff chairs, half droning out Mr. Joshi’s views of the Middle Eastern crisis.

History, math, English, biology; they all have a way of blending into each other and becoming one huge, stressful pile of tedious work, but laying by the edge of the lake, forgetting about school, parents and unwanted responsibilities, is our way of escape from all of the confusion and chaos of the world. As we lay isolated in our own world that we created for ourselves, facing the vast lake, taking in the fresh air and absorbing the warm rays of the sun, reality transforms into a vague blur and the German class that we just missed becomes irrelevant, as do today’s other classes.

In the background, the harmonious rhythms of Sublime lightly seep from my Discman’s speakers. We hum along softly, as if the sole purpose of the lyrics is to capture and portray our own lives. There is no other thing we would rather be doing as we lay there, disregarding futile nonsense, and celebrating life.

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