The Coffee Cools, The World Moves On

The coffee has been sitting there too long. Not cold enough to be undrinkable, not hot enough to be satisfying. Just a lukewarm liquid, forgotten next to a pack of cigarettes I never smoke and a phone that won’t stop vibrating.

I should answer. But not now. Maybe never.

Outside, the world moves on, indifferent. Cars honk. A mother is crying in a parked car. People cross streets without looking. Somewhere, someone is falling in love. Somewhere else, someone is realizing love was never enough. A man is staring at a text he knows he won’t answer. The cycle repeats. The world turns, turns, turns—indifferent. Time waits for no one.

And me?

I’m here. Alive. Breathing. Watching my coffee slowly lose its reason to exist.

Life often feels like a waiting room. You sit there, holding a ticket, watching the numbers change on the screen, waiting to be called for something that was never clearly explained.

When you're a kid, they tell you life starts when you grow up. When you grow up, they say it starts when you find love. When you find love, they say it starts when you settle down. When you settle down, they say it starts when you finally have time to enjoy it.

And then, before you know it, you’ve spent the whole time waiting—without ever stepping through the door.

The coffee is still on the table. Still lukewarm. Still useless.

I pick up my phone. The notifications blink, demanding attention. Messages from people who care, who try, who ask how I’m doing, how life is, if everything is okay.

What do I even say?

"I’m fine."

It’s a lie. But an acceptable one.

Maybe it’s just a phase. Maybe it’s just one of those moments where existence feels heavier than usual. Like when you adjust your backpack and, for a second, feel every ounce of weight you’ve been carrying. But then it fades. You get used to it. The weight dissolves into routine, and suddenly, you don’t feel it anymore.

But just because you don’t feel it doesn’t mean it’s not there.

I take a sip of the coffee. It’s bitter. I should’ve added sugar. I should’ve drunk it while it was still warm. I should’ve done so many things differently.

But now, it’s too late.

I stand up. The world moves on. And somehow, so do I.