Are you more of a night or morning person?
Over the table covered with a crimson coloured tablecloth, a right hand appeared in view and it placed a pair of half-rimmed glasses on the table. The rim and the rest of the frame were of stainless steel and the temples of the eyeglasses were opened.
I had started working early in the morning, typing away my time into a short story. I had started with the right kind of energy and my mind was almost completely awake, regardless of the fact that I had woken up two hours prior to the time that I usually do.
Earlier, as I stood brushing my teeth and thinking about the beautiful movie that I had seen the previous night, a thought occurred into my mind and then there was another and then there were several more. I wouldn’t say they were in exact alignment with each other, but then what are we writers there for, if not for aligning these thoughts into our writings.
So, I cleaned my eyeglasses and wore them, took out my laptop from the laptop bag and sat down to write. A thought flew by, of preparing a cup of coffee beforehand, but I didn’t want to risk it. Interruptions such as these almost always shrink the quality of the thought that is being held on to with a certain kind of inspiration lurking behind.
I kept on typing, the sound of the keys being pushed filled the room which was lacking the sound of the ceiling fan due to the cold of the winter. But, I realised something later though, I was aware of it in some sense, it was that just because you wake up earlier than usual does not mean that it would have no effect.
The cup of coffee would have actually been a good idea, because the realisation of not having had those two whole hours of sleep slowly spread like drops of water accumulating on a surface and then when enough water collects it starts spreading fast and that’s when you realise that the motivation has started to waver and the words being written could no longer adequately produce the intended meaning.
The thought of pending sleep converted into sleep itself and became more heavier than what the mind could contain and thus it started to flow over the edges and falling over the eyes. I would have gone to prepare coffee, but some time back I had the thought of switching from instant coffee to coffee beans in an attempt to enjoy the ‘in-depth flavour’.
So, earlier, what adding little less than a spoon of instant coffee would do to boiling water had been converted into several steps. Now I had to grind the beans, heat the water and put both into the French press and let it brew for five minutes before pouring it out, and also clean all the utensils involved.
I closed the laptop, I guess if your state of mind isn’t right then there is not a lot that you can write. I have written late at night; but mornings, I don’t think I have a good hang of coexisting with them, especially not the early ones.
Written by Anuran Chatterji
Early Morning Memories 