The alarm goes off before you are ready. A payment has left your account overnight. Somewhere between getting dressed and leaving the house, you hear a piece of news you will carry around longer than you wanted to.
Outside, everyone seems to be on the way to something. You cannot tell who is excited to get there and who has spent the morning finding reasons to go at all.
Then a song comes on.
Someone has found the exact joke hiding inside the thing that has been making you angry. You laugh, and for a moment the frustration has company. Later, a rhythm catches your steps. You take the longer way home because the track has not finished, and you want to hear where it goes.
By evening, the same room feels different. The obligations are still there. So is a small part of you that has not been occupied by them yet. A quiet voice comes through your headphones, and you give it a little of your attention.
Nothing extraordinary had to happen for the day to contain all of this.
