Laundry tale
Konstantin Starodetskii
It was hot and humid Sunday morning on the streets of Manhattan. I exited a hostel on the Upper Westside and headed to the JFK airport where I would take a plane to Chicago. I was wearing only swimming shorts and a tank top — the rest of the clothes I had dropped off at the laundromat the night before.
The following day, when I returned to pick the laundry, the building was closed, which meant I would never see my favorite clothes again, and it was a week's worth. After a few moments of frustration, I started to laugh at myself. It was so ridiculous and cartoonish that I wasn't sure whether it actually happened. It did, of course, but it felt odd.
Then I was contemplating my life while listening to the "Space Oddity" by David Bowie on loop. There was something in that morning. I was alone in NYC without anyone knowing I was visiting. An incredible sense of freedom was fulfilling my soul until it put me in a Zen state.
A presence of destiny seemed to be all-around as if I was meant to be in that moment - a very mystical feeling. A fountain of creativity and endless possibilities was opening for me, and I was feeling grateful for that.
The song was still in my earphones, and with a coffee cup in my hand, I was watching people through the shop window. The morning lights were painting the streets of Manhattan. It is my favorite time of the day — an opportunity for a new start.
I observed pedestrians hurrying along the sidewalk. Everybody had a defined purpose in life. Or so it seemed. What is our purpose in life? That's the question that won't have a definite answer. In that morning, I felt the joy of beginning something new and great. I could say that I was in sync with my life mission. I was on the right path.
