Sometimes Fiction Is Better

When I'm out and about I see people and I wonder what is going on in their lives.  I see one person sitting in a coffee shop.  She just sits there.  Doesn't read a magazine or newspaper.  Doesn't order a drink or food.  Doesn't pull out a phone or a music player.  What is she doing?

Is she homeless?  She's nicely dressed, so that's pretty impossible.  Well, maybe not.  There was a comedian who talked about how somebody thought he was homeless, despite being nicely dressed.  "What if he thought this was my first day of homelessness?"  This woman could be homeless on her first day.  There's nothing to do, nowhere to go, but there's air conditioning and nice music.  I wonder how long she can stay there before a worker asks her to buy something or get out.

Maybe she's stalking somebody.  Following somebody around all day is too obvious, but if she knows her target's daily activities, she can wait for him to walk by, then casually leave and follow him a little further undetected.  Maybe it's not a he.  Maybe she's stalking a roommate or a coworker who wronged her.

An hour later, a man walks into the coffee house and the woman stands up to greet him.  It was her boyfriend.  She came here when she was done at her work and waited for him to be done with his work so they could have a meal together.  She didn't call him because she knew it would be a while and she didn't order anything because she didn't want to spoil her appetite.  No idea why she didn't read anything or entertain herself by doing anything but stare out the window, but I doubt it would be any exciting.

Sometimes fiction is better.  Real life is boring and making stuff up is exciting.

Real life can give you some good ideas for fiction, though.  Next time you hear somebody on the phone, try to make up he craziest story for what the person on the other line is saying.