Subdued silence

In our neverending pursuit of pleasure, gratification and fulfillment, we, or at least myself, may somehow forget that the troubles that we have may not be so major after all.

0259 hrs.

Closing time at an anonymous wine bar. The phone rings incessantly and the usually cheerful head waitress looks with utter disdain at the source of constant ringing. "We are closed for the day!" she mutters in exasperation. The manager and I exchange wary looks. We all knew there was no one else in the right mind, and indeed he was far from being sane after the head waitress told him that she had to end the physically abusive relationship, absolutely no one else in the right mind calls a restaurant/wine bar at 3 in the morning. We knew, he was lurking outside the shophouse, waiting for her. So we locked up the premises, and he appeared, hurling vulgarities and grabbing her towards the back alley to talk. I stood, powerless, as the manager went to confront the guy, who turned increasingly violent. Escalation ensued and grab became manhandling. He called the cops, while the stalker took possession of her bag and forced her into the cab in his attempt to take her away. I am glad the 3 taxi drivers (he tried multiple times) had the sense to not drive off, and I desperately tried to stop them from leaving until the police finally arrived and took control of the situation.

Postlude.

I sometimes secretly begrudged my work because of the perhaps unfounded thought that, unlike medicine, what I do does not directly benefit the lives of the people around me. Tonight perhaps, the research that I did this week on how to lodge a magistrate's complaint against a person may have some application somehow. Tomorrow, we shall see if we have to go to the crime registry.

Thunder. The change in the air is apparent. It's time to head back.