another journal

another side quest

nantes, france

it was a quiet saturday morning,

maendi mayddar,

i went to a coffeeshop to work for the first time since getting here

it was tucked in this small, almost-forgotten street

urban, a little raw,

but something about the vibe felt right

like the kind of place where people come to think

i ordered an espresso

sat down

opened my laptop

tried to lock in

then a lady in her twenties came and sat next to me

she had this lightness in her. like she enjoyed being here, being alive

first thing she did was pull out her phone

started filming one of those day-in-the-life stories

and something about it didn’t feel cringey or performative

it felt like it made her happy

like it was hers

and i can relate :)

she caught me looking

smiled

and motioned for me to wave at the camera

i did

we laughed

it was warm and instant and easy

no thinking, no overanalyzing

just two strangers who somehow made space for each other for a second

she got her coffee

sat down again

phone still out

but this time she was moving too much

she was speaking to the camera, but in sign language

and i paused

because it suddenly made sense

she looked over

typed something on her phone

showed it to me

and that’s how we talked: typing on our phones, back and forth

i was surprised again when she told me she was moroccan

and that hit in a whole different way

same roots, same country

but a whole different language i never learned

and then it really hit me:

why don’t we learn sign language?

not as an optional cute thing

but seriously. why isn’t it in schools?

why do we grow up without it, like it’s this niche, invisible thing?

this moment worked because she could type

because i happened to listen

but not everyone gets that lucky

and it made me think about all the people we miss

not because we don’t care

but because we were never taught how to connect

this felt like a side quest

a quiet one

but one that cracked something open

i didn’t go there looking for anything deep

but sometimes meaning sneaks up on you

like it’s been waiting for you to slow down

not every side quest has treasure

some just give you a new question

a shift in how you move through the world

and those are the ones you carry.


my espresso got cold btw.

-- i wrote this while listening to this masterpiece.