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.