It was a chilly evening. Ava was clenching her umbrella like a sword as she walked down Cockburn street. 'Oh please, for christ's sake don't you ever rain!' she thought as she looked up at the skies that were getting darker than a burnt pizza.
Ava's life was blah. She was pursuing her favourite course in her dream university but the daily routine bored her to death. Her dating life wasn't that great, she was facing a writer's block which was definitely not helping and the monotonous life felt like the end. Her bag was heavy AF because she had just borrowed three books from the library. As she pulled the corners of her bag to lighten its weight, she sees a couple kissing and sharing a moment of love. 'How do people get this lucky?' she thought as she walked past Haggis and Whiskey House. 'Ok maybe, I should go in and chug down a bottle of whiskey?' she thought. She was about to step in when she felt some cold breeze stopping her. 'Nope, not today. Gotta finish this paper ' she thought as she pulled herself away.
Droplets of rain started falling on her. It first fell on her head, then forehead and then her hands. It started drizzling. 'Oh no no no, the librarian would kill me!' she thought as she started running towards the closest Starbucks at the end of the same road. She walked in and took the corner most seat. She took her espresso and started going through her assignment. The boredom struck back. But now, she was not just bored but also annoyed because everybody looked happy around her.
She saw a couple happily sharing a piece of a gooey chocolate cake, an Instagram model was trying to take the best picture of the large cup of coffee, a nerd immersed in his book, a group of friends who were catching up after a long time and a family of four tried cozying up to a plate of hot food. Everybody seemed happy, everybody seemed contented with life. 'Ok, so am I the only depressed soul here?' she thought as she looked around. She tried to take a sip of her espresso and concentrate on her assignment, 'Fine, today is not the day' she thought as she shut down her laptop. 'Man, how am I unhappy at Edinburgh?' she thought as she watched the skies get dark and more people 'happy' people walk in.
'Duh, how is everybody happy?' she thought and looked down. Her shoes looked so good in the cafe lights. She turned around and saw her reflection on a rain stained mirror. 'Oh wow, I look perfect. Hair seem to look too good for a day like this' she thought. In her reflection, she could also see how switching to Charlotte Tilbury is helping her. Although everything looked perfect, she wasn't happy. She was lost in this thought for a few seconds which made her realise something.
To anyone who looks at Ava, she would be 'that girl at the coffee shop'. That beautiful grad school girl, clad in funky attire, looking like she is enjoying her life. 'Right, so this this how it looks on the outside. Everybody looks happy or we assume everybody is happy but, they all have their own share of problems that are not out in the public.' She could sense her nervous system calm down a bit. With a mischievous smile she took her espresso and walked out.
As she opened the door, she could feel the breeze on her face and also the smell of the rain and her espresso. She stood under the shade, sipping her espresso. 'Fine, not gonna lie. This feels slightly good' she thought. Her phone buzzed with a mail from her professor. 'Bah, I will deal with this later' she thought and smiled at the city that was starting a rainy beautiful night.
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