Quiet Time

I was outside the Chinese Gardens.

I was sitting by the lake.

I was journaling.

Behind me was a vast field. Really wide.

There was literally nothing behind me for a long way.

Yet twice I was creeped up on by different people who just appeared behind me rather suddenly. I only turned around when they were near enough for the rustling of the grass to alert me of their presence, which was quite close. I had no clue where they were coming from. There was nothing on my left and right either for quite a distance.


But what I wanted to blog about today was not what went on behind me.

Let me tell you a story of what unfolded before me instead...



Random girl in a Temesek shirt walked by with her dog on a leash.

She was in slippers, using her phone, and strolling along.

The dog was trailing behind and stopped in front of me.

It sat down and refused to budge.

She stood there and continued using her phone.

And so the waiting game began.

Here I was sitting alone and minding my own business.

It was a long stretch of at least 200 meters with only one set of benches.

The dog had chosen to stop right here in front of me.

And I could not ignore the scene unfolding.


He was not going to go any further.

She was not moving till he was ready to go.

I felt the tension building in every passing moment.

It was like watching waiting for Godot on mute.


The silence was deafening.

Both of them were not giving in.

And after more than 5 minutes... the tension proved too much.


"Does he need some water or something?" I shouted to her.

"No," she replied, "he's just lazy."


The standoff continued.


I noticed that the dog she was walking had one blue eye and one black eye.

I wondered who was the one walking who.

Finally, something did give.


She walked back to the dog, picked it up, and walked on.