Today I Lost a Battle Against My Own Confidence.
Attended today’s reading room session at Third Wave Coffee and walked away with a very specific regret.
I reached almost 30 minutes early, so the café was still pretty empty. I quietly started reading my book while people slowly started filling the place for the session. Then this girl sat exactly opposite me, and she was reading Norwegian Wood by Murakami.
Now here’s the painful part — I was THIS close to bringing the same book today. I literally picked it up before leaving but decided to finish my current read instead.
And somehow that tiny coincidence completely distracted me for the rest of the session.
I kept telling myself, “Bro, this is the easiest conversation starter you’ll ever get. Just say hi. Talk about Murakami. Ask what she thinks about the book.” But instead, I sat there pretending to focus on reading while internally losing my mind.
After the session ended, everyone started interacting with each other. I thought okay, this is the moment. But she got busy talking with other people… and honestly, so did I.
Then came the final cinematic opportunity.
Outside the café, her scooty was parked right next to mine.
I genuinely thought, “Okay, universe is literally spoon-feeding you a chance now.” I was about to wave and say hi… and then she pulled out sunglasses, wore them, looked impossibly cool, and my confidence just evaporated on the spot.
I quietly started my vehicle and left.
Now I’m sitting here thinking about a conversation that never even happened.