it was late in the afternoon, the harsh sun had started its descent into the early evening sky. a cool breeze followed me as i wandered aimlessly through the halls. eventually i found that my feet had taken me outside. the world was bustling, cars were whizzing by with complete disregard for me or my shadow.

i walked along the road, following it to see where it would go. i had no agenda, no purpose, but still found myself driven to my yet unknown destination.

my feet followed each other taking one step after the other. my body followed the feet and as i walked under the overpass i heard cars, trucks, and buses speeding by trying to get to their destination.

something in my soul felt like it had been lost and i felt like i was blindly grasping at straws hoping that one of them would find purpose in my life.

one straw came within reach and as i grabbed for it, it quickly fell out of view, like a dream that you had just woken up from. another straw seemed to be coming into focus, but it left as quickly as it came, just a vague blur of ideas.

somehow while in thought i had found myself in familiar surroundings. there was a calmness around me that eased itself gently into my soul. though i was not sure where i was or what i was doing there, i knew that a little bit of me had found inner peace. i could hear the songs of joy distantly in the background and a voice of serenity seemed to be speaking to me.

i remember saying something vaguely, but my memory fails me now as to what i said and what was said to me.

but then, suddenly, everything snapped into place, reality came crashing down upon me and i found what had set this inner happiness within me. the voice boomed again and this time i heard it clearly.

“a venti java chip frappucchino. that’ll be $4.20, please.” it said.

ah, yes, thank you, starbucks.