Everyone Needs a Space

The city was alive, its heart pumping through iron and steel arteries and veins where a million people wove their lives into the fabric of the urban experience. Street lights came on while the sun set casting the shadows over the crowded city streets. Among the swirling families, there was a small flat on the tenth floor of an old house, where its own plot was being unwritten.

Amara was sitting on the windowsill and gazing at the raindrops that fell slowly and made the outside world a colorful blur. She loved the rain, not for the sound it made or the fragrance it gave, but for the privacy, it gave her in a ‘world-full’ world. Here, in this small space, she could at last let her voice be heard. It was a voice that has been masked by the clamor of the city, by the pressure from those around them, and by the sounds of the world that refused to fade to black.

Tonight, rain uttered her name like it usually did, while filling her with a sense of serenity. Yet, the calm was not to last for long. The door of the house made that usual sound it always made and she was quite certain before he entered the room that their usual night ordeal was imminent.

“You’re late,” Amara said, not bothering to face the others.

“Traffic,” Jaden echoed without enthusiasm, he removed his coat and tossed it over the back of the chair near the door. He walked to the kitchen area, almost stomping on the wooden floor.

They had been cohabiting for two years and the house had become this tiny room that they both occupied but none of them existed. They spoke to each other as they have two lines of unenthusiastic drama of a play that is not interesting to either of them.

“Did you eat?” he pulled out a chair and sat at the small table which could only seat two.

‘Not hungry,’ she said coldly looking out the window.

Jaden sighed, stroking a droplet of water off his face with the back of his hand. “You should eat something.”

Amara shut her eyes, the burdens of the day’s debates weighing down on her. ‘Can we not do this tonight?’

"Do what?"

“This… whatever it is. I just want some peace.”

Jaden then stared deep into her eyes waiting for any sign on her face that would indicate what she was thinking. But Amara was like the rain – beautiful but elusive and just out of reach.

‘We can’t go on like this’, he whispered to her.

She then brought her body round to face him and their eyes locked. "I know".

They remained silent for a while, and the sound of the raindrops was the only thing they had to communicate with. It was the same old tune, sung with the same passionate fervor, time and again, like a record playing over and over. She would disagree, he would agree. She would roll her eyes and dismiss what he had said with a whatever, and he would come back with an acidic remark. It was a dance they had rehearsed countless of times, but now, neither of them could even go through the motions.

“Jaden, do you ever feel like being all by yourself?” she asked me in a rather low tone.

He stared at her, clearly taken aback by the sadness in her voice. “Sometimes- but it’s not from you.”

Amara smiled sadly. At times, I imagine that is what I require – some air; a time when I hear myself and nothing else.

Jaden sat down in his chair and looked at her deeply. “I understand I truly do We all do don’t we? Need for that, the space to just be.”

She nodded, relieved that for once he got it. ” I understand your personal space, Jaden. Can you understand mine?”

He let out the breath that he had been holding and the look of disappointment melted away from his face as he nodded. “Yes I can do that.…”

It began to rain incessantly and the sound of the rain tapping gently against the window pane filled the room. The debate that once ensued has been omitted by something else, maybe comprehension or simply toleration. They weren't perfect, and their relationship had its cracks, but tonight, they had found something precious: It is remarkable that both of them understood that they require time apart, personal time, and time to sit, breathe, and reflect.

And as she sits down looking at the rain drops racing on the glass she had realized that this was a peace that they found while not speaking to each other. The noisy city still went on outside, while in the small flat, which they rented, everything was quiet.

And as she sat there, she thought to herself: They forecasted that it would rain today. But for the first time in a long while, it did not feel like a bad thing at all. Not at all.