Since my room has no windows, I sat at my desk chair, just staring at the wall. After a sufficiently long period of resetting, different colored and wildly moving patterns started to wave. My thoughts had been wandering for a long time before this. Nothing specific was going through my mind, just scattered fragments here and there. The optical illusions crisscrossing on the mental silver screen were familiar from previous years. But even after such a short period of training, I was able to view them as a completely different phenomenon. Although some excitement rushed to my veins, the boredom still deepened. The visual input reduced the noise between my ears. That moment was almost euphoric, and it’s understandable why others meditate actively.
The colorful wall ballet continued, and soon patterns emerged. They bulged on one side, shrunk on the other—a quick glimpse of something like a wing, another of a thin leg branching into sharp-clawed toes. Suddenly, a sharp-beaked head appeared, popped out, and disappeared like ashes in the wind. When my mind gathered enough observations, they formed what looked like a caricature of a bird—just for a split second.
That feeling when you are just falling asleep and your mind begins to wander through a maze of random images and words is hypnotically peaceful. This is that brief moment when consciousness teeters on the edge between wakefulness and sleep. If something brings you back to awake, the feeling is sharp and unpleasant. Sometimes even distressing. Reality can be a cold place. I felt exactly that in front of my wall - awake but sunken into some kind of trance. When one of the bird-like creatures fluttering on my wall jumped out from vision to reality, I nearly jumped out of my chair. For a blink of an eye it was on my laps and then gone. Something caused that bubbling creature soup to take physical form.
Even though the mental voyage was over, and I was back in my room, it took a moment to shake off the trance. The creature had already disappeared from view, but as proof of existence, it had left behind a few purple-colored feathers. Café Stardust had proven to be so strange, the surprise didn’t bash me. The fear that had previously washed over me like a tidal wave was now just a light summer breeze on the surface of a calm lake. However, the sudden awakening was so powerful that my bladder was overcome by an urgent need to empty itself.
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Despite the urgency, the bathroom upstairs was worth running for. On my way there, I hoped the facilities would be at least somewhat suitable for my needs. And they were, even though I had to relieve myself at a 45-degree angle, leaning on a strange, slightly jelly-like cushion. Thankfully, everything was clean.
Winston must have sensed something was wrong as soon as he saw me running upstairs, slamming doors behind me. When I walked unsteadily from the bathroom toward the bar, he was waiting there with cold iced tea and a friendly but questioning look on his face. My explanation of what had happened received a simple answer. The Twirppies had slowly begun to arrive to bathe. Those who arrived first and in slightly unusual ways didn’t yet know the previous tub was given for my use. Behind the second door in the downstairs hallway was a new place built for these galactic oddities. There was a small swimming pool large enough for several individuals at once.
Life here continues to surprise me. That certainly won't change anytime soon. Nor would I want it to, for that matter. Life here is so rich that even idling can be interesting. I wish my fellow humans on Earth wouldn’t lose this beautiful ability completely. Idling gives the brain room to be creative. It also cleanses the overloaded subconscious and removes waste. This has forced me to tolerate myself and my own thoughts. Being by yourself can feel a bit scary for starters. But in the end, it is quite healing.
The front door's not the only way to get into this café. Hopefully, no more customers will come through my room. I've already had some unexpected visitors under my bed, and now Twirppie suddenly popped out of the wall. Neither of these was scary or dangerous in any way. I've heard some rumors about multi-limbed Obireek. I'd rather welcome them alongside many other species in the upstairs café.
Once I get to know twirppies better, there will be stories to tell. Judging by the commotion going on in the neighboring apartment, it may already be slowly filling up. That would explain the sweet smell of red wine seeping into my home despite all the pressurization and ventilation control.
Till next time.
- Johnny