A special dinner

  I'm at a Thai restaurant on Hillsborough road. I have been here several times, and every time I had had crispy duck with white rice. It is no different this time, it has become my usual. But tonight is different, and special.

  The restaurant wall is adorned with paintings, they remind me of Hindu mythological figures - slender, and longish faces with layers of gold ornaments, unlike the more muscular, and rounded Greek and Roman mythological figures. From the high ceiling, a thin yellow light fall on the white table clothes in front of me, ice is melting in a large bottomed wine glass on the round table.I'm waiting for the crispy duck to arrive.

   An east Asian lady wearing a wide smile in a silk dress placed the crispy duck with a bowl of rice on my table. A slow melodic Thai tune is playing in the background, and for the special part of the day - I'm alone. I'm eating alone; there is no one at my table, there is no one else in the entire restaurant. I ate for a long time, nibbling and enjoying every morsel of my dinner. My mind was blank, in the moment, so much like the definition of 'Flow' by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. I was alone with the ducks, rice and broccoli in front of me, moments away from becoming one.

  The old lady came back with the check and a fortune cookie - an expensive dinner. I opened the cookie to see my fortune, " Your winsome smile will be your sure protection" I didn't have a good week, but I realized I like myself, I like to be with myself for a change. I should do this more often.