To be found

Artem - A warming day, Part 2

As he returned with two glasses of water, he started. "Artem, listen. You know I'm not a young sprout anymore. My memory gets worse every day and with this age of mine, I just can't handle all of this anymore." We looked in each other's eyes, he had a serious face. Is it true? He still appears pretty good, I don't see any major problems. Well, if he starts telling me this now, it seems to be kind of urgent. He has never complained  about his own health. After giving so much, Mr. Shiberson sure deserves a rest. "So Artem, when I'm too old and too weak for this, I need someone to replace me, you know? And for that, the world needs people like you." What? Does he want me to keep learning this? But for what results? "But Mr. Shiberson, I-" He interrupted me. "Yes Artem, I've listend to your concerns. Promise me, finish your psychology exams, keep learning, don't give up. When I was your age, I had concerns, too. But time will pass, and if you're still sure of not becoming a psychiatrist, you can still switch. Believe me." Now he seems relaxed, looks like he's pretty sure about my future. To be honest, I knew from the beginning he'd say something like that. Maybe I just needed some motivational speech. "Wow, thank you. Okay, I'll promise. I just don't know how to go on." My major problem from the beginning. How to start. How to keep going. "Do you read books? I can recommend you this here." As out of nowhere, he grabbed a big book and gave it to me, the title was BIG IDEAS - by Nigel Benson. "Uhm, I'm no reader, but I can give it a try..." I tried to smile. "Well, this book, it looks like it was written hundreds of years ago. Isn't todays science a bit more... how do I say... advanced?" Trying to be friendly and honest at the same time can sure be rough. But he just laughed. "Haha, yeah. I used to read it when I was studding, too. But age and progress are not the most important things when learning new themes. It's important that you understand why people feel the way they feel. And feelings are no invention of the 19th century. Taking a look at different times and ages in an easy way helps you to realize a lot more about the modern world than you might think." He chuckled, me just sitting confused in front of him. "Oh, that's odd, didn't know that. As you say, there is still a lot to learn. Thanks then. I gotta go then, Mr. Shiberson, thanks for your time." "You're welcome."

As I was about to go, he asked me one last thing. "Artem, do you still sleep that bad?" I was surprised, I've never told him about that. "Uh, no, it's getting better. How do you know?" "Watch yourself in the mirror, then you'll know. You should see a doctor, my boy." Always concerned, always a professional. "Of course, I'm looking forward to. Bye then!"

Half an our later, I was sitting in the park on a bench, taking a deep breath. I took out my mobile phone and switched to selfie mode. "Oh god..." Okay, this is too obvious. My rings under the eyes are as black as raven feathers, I appear so exhausted. And my brown hair has lost its complete form, I should start using some spray. No, no good idea. "Oh holy sleep, yes, tonight, we finally meet again." I took a selfie and send it to Chris, hoping he'll be quiet about that. "Uhh..." Even my blue eyes won't persuade him. Never mind. Let's take a look at this big bear. "BIG IDEAS... sure." What? I thought this was supposed to be a book about psychology, half of the chapters are about romance! Oh no... Really Mr. Shiberson?

After reading some chapters, I took a break. I'm really surprised. Well, romance and stuff is the heading, but I'm glad there is more behind it then that. "Looks like it's gonna rain." A big black cloud started hiding the sun. "Okay, goodbye sun, hello apartment." After a sleepless night, this still was a warming day. I changed and put my suite on the bed. Now I do have some free time, so this nasty thing can sure stay in the wardrobe for a while. Comfy clothes on, taking a nap now.

But my sleep recovery didn't last very long, a loud thunderstorm dominated the whole city. "Okay then, it seems this book just wants to be read." The earlier I'll finish it, the earlier I will now how to go on with my life. Funny, this kind of information in such a book. I haven't read that much, but for this old thing there, it's sure standing out of most books. In a few pages, it explaines how to influence people with your own actions. Would be nice if some other books would explain things that fast, too. Could save a lot of time for people. Yes, time. One of the big headings. Suddenly, my mobile phone started ringing and I nearly fell out of bed. Chris. "Uh, hello? What's up?" I asked, trying not to sound surprised. "Wanna hang out?" Was the only sentence coming from the other end. "Now?" Why in the world does he wanna hang out now? "It's stormy, Chris. Not now." And I am finally able to relax after a long time, he won't get me out of bed. "Arti, I'm sure you really need a coffee right now. Let's meet at a cafe I found." Oh, come on. "And I want to talk with you about something, you now, I have a new girlfriend." Not this again. "Hmpf. Okay. Send me the address." "Already done. See ya!" I threw the phone back on my pillow. How many relationships does he wanna have in this month? This guy is crazy. Someday, he'll learn the truth about real love, I just hope so. Such relationships won't make him happy. Another reason to keep learning, maybe I'll be able to change  his mindset about that when I give him some reasonable, psychology-ish advice.

Sitting in my car, the rain still flashed on earth. Meeting in a cafe during a thunderstorm. Great. But at least, after talking to Mr. Shiberson, I feel kinda relived. Today, no one can take away this warmth of me.