Isn’t it funny how such a long word as ‘monosyllable’ is meant to explain such a small thing as a tiny word of one syllable? Somehow I managed to make it even longer by writing it down. I’m usually rather laconical when it comes to these things; I simply accept them without any reflection.
I was thinking of the word ‘gap’, a very short word with a both broad and profound meaning. When pronounced, it sounds just like a huge hole trying to explain its existence. It’s harder to explain its appearance, although I can see it clearer with every moment that passes. During my daily rides on the city thoroughfare tracks I hear a lot. I can’t say I see as much, partly because my vision is moderate and blurry, and partly because I’m not even looking. However, a few days ago I overheard a vexed girl yelling at a quiet boy, who, I suppose, was her boyfriend. He was agitated as well, but at least he kept his voice low. “You don’t love me”, – she was crying. It was as simple as that, but yet so difficult to understand how she found out that he didn’t love her or if he had ever loved her at all; for if he hadn’t, what was she expecting from him? I thought it was peculiar that she showed her emotions so openly and loudly. Most people would think twice before doing so, even in a big city, where one gets the illusion of being anonymous. I wouldn’t say her behavior is inappropriate, but it seems to me that she is distancing herself from others by being emotion in public. Not that you can talk to a stranger; only foreigners do that here. And that adds another gap to my growing collection.
The very same day, but on the way home from work, I was reading my book. Suddenly a man and a woman boarded the train with their daughter, and they were both in such a rage, that I felt sorry for the poor little girl. Again the same story about one not loving the other. The child was trying to get her parents attention, but they told her to shut up. Their row was much more important to them. They simply couldn’t bridge the gap of differences between each other – why else would they fight?
Enough about gaps, there are too many of them on this small planet which we all must share. Being a too much of a thinker I tend to focus on the negative characteristics of others, instead of the positive ones; I also see the differences before the similarities. What brings people together is particularly hard to define, because both opposites and likenesses attract.
