April's Fool.

...for my future 30 year old self, who will probably only remember vague sketches of her brief European stay and its life-altering events, but not the little memories that form a life. For my current 25 year old self, who is busy trying to draw the map and sometimes forgets to be an explorer.


1. Seeing Zoe smiling brightly at the sight of two 1.5l Coke Light bottles, as she knew that they were for her. Having gotten up very early for a 7 am Skype meeting, I was still not fully awake when I stopped by a Louis Delhaize to pick up the drinks on the way to work. The bottles were not heavy, but neither were they a delight to carry, what with my lack of sleep and the typically-Brussels rainy weather. Nevertheless, I would gladly do it all over again, just for her instantaneous smile.

2. "Ich bin kein Knoblauch!", said I.

"Germangibberish Knoblauch Germangibberish!", responded Zoe.

"Did you say I smelled like garlic?"

"No, I said you looked like garlic today."

"Like, the whole bulb? Or just a clove?"

"Is one way better than another?", questioned Charlie.

3. Friday evening. I'm chopping through mushrooms, onions and garlic to add to the bottled pasta sauce that we picked up from a convenience store. Supermarkets had already been closed by the time we left work. Audi is cleaning up his room, which probably means that he is moving his collection of 128 guitars off the ground to make space for a second person. I add into the sauce some basil leaves from the small plant that he apparently has been keeping alive for the past three weeks, and we have ourselves a little dinner. There is no starter, no wine and no dessert, but I'm thankful for the simple dinner and the familiarity of being in the company of a good friend.

And so it is, just like you said it would be. Life goes easy on me, most of the time. [Damien Rice, The blower's daughter.]