On Being Expired

It was a gloomy morning today when I came into the office. The sky had been shedding tears since dawn, and the streets were empty because most people have gone out for a long vacation.

I walked in half expecting the new elevator to (finally) be installed, but sadly I was relying on yet another false hope. It has been more than a month since they worked on revamping the elevator and since then, we had to climb the stairs everyday to 5th floor -- a few times a day of course -- and sometimes with loads of baggage in our hands.

As I was reaching the 5th floor (which is the top floor, by the way), my eyes were drawn to the foremost newspaper which was hanged on the newspaper rack in the mini lobby area. Which was rather unusual since it never happened before as I'm not a newspaper person -- I barely touched them. But on this particular morning, it just happened. It was The Jakarta Post and on it was this headline: Benazir Bhutto Assassinated.

I was stunned. I walked closer, picked it up, and read the news right then and there.

[Coelho's] Convention of Those Wounded in Love

General provisions:

A – Whereas the saying “all is fair in love and war” is absolutely correct;

B – Whereas for war we have the Geneva Convention, approved on 22 August 1864, which provides for those wounded in the battle field, but until now no convention has been signed concerning those wounded in love, who are far greater in number;

It is hereby decreed that:

Article 1 – All lovers, of any sex, are alerted that love, besides being a blessing, is also something extremely dangerous, unpredictable and capable of causing serious damage. Consequently, anyone planning to love should be aware that they are exposing their body and soul to various types of wounds, and that they shall not be able to blame their partner at any moment, since the risk is the same for both.