Sophia saw the new arrival from her bedroom window on the first floor. She was busy giving shape to her new novel and when an exciting point had come, she found her head jerk up to noise of the moving truck. Her concentration was broken. And she sighed. Now she will have to wait for her mood to be recharged to continue writing. She cursed the truck and the noise.
There were new arrivals everyday. She had seen her community of Coventry Hills in Calgary growing up steadily over the years. Calgary has seen the oil boom in recent years that had set Alberta’s economy, thereby of Canada’s on a firm footing. Not only immigrants but people from other provinces continues to pour in, in search of a good job.
She loved Coventry Hills, away from the hustle-bustle of Downtown and secluded in its single homes in North East. It was all she had ever desired. She had good neighbours and privacy, the last one too essential for her writing. She loved to write. It was an outlet for all she couldn’t do in her real life. What ever she desired, came alive through her words on paper.
She sighed. Now she won’t be able to write anymore for the day. So as well sit back, pour a cup of fresh coffee and see them unloading the furniture. She couldn’t remember how far back she went in her writing, perhaps ten or eleven. Although her job as the Head of the Department of English at the University didn’t leave her with much time, still she managed to key-in parts essential to make a whole.
Now her novel was taking shape. And this novel was so crucial to her. It was almost autobiographical. Almost. For she wanted to keep fiction apart from facts and reel from real. But at this juncture in her life, she felt the need to bring it all before readers. To know their reactions about her life. The reader would read it as fiction but the real story would be central to it.
It was early morning on a Saturday. Calgary hadn’t seen very many sunny and warm days for remained cold and chilly throughout the year. The worst was between -40 and -50. Some summers were warm too with temperatures going up to 34 but that was it. The weather in Calgary was so unpredictable that forecasts are not always accurate. It changes by the hour.
Despite its cold, Sophia preferred Calgary to any other city in Canada. It had everything she could go for. She was almost 42, single, attractive, too independent, and extremely well-to-do. She had traveled all over the world. One more holiday was round the corner. It had been a busy year academically. Each lecture of hers sent a thrill through her. She felt the same excitement that was alive when she did MPhil and PhD. The research work was worth its while when she was conferred with a Doctorate.
There wasn’t any aspect of her life that she didn’t like. She was in love with life itself. There was so much to do that she didn’t feel the need for anyone in her life. She was too filled with the educational and economical part of her life that emotional attachments became secondary. She lived for herself for that was the way to live.
Once she had craved for marriage, husband, children, home and other things. But life was so fast that the most integral part was overtaken by a career. Now she couldn’t care less. She had only one life to live and she lived it according to her will and wish. Let everything come to her. There was time for everything. When something has to happen, it will. She couldn’t let events describe her life.
And the most important part of her life was the world inside her mind. It was a thriving universe of all things she wanted to be but could not be. If she wished to be a kid, a character was created and she transported herself to her childhood phase. If love was part of her writing, she brought alive lovers who sang ditties and swore eternal togetherness. Her mind was the most thriving section in Calgary although Calgarians were aware of their thriving economy alone.
The coffee had gone stale. She got up and went down to the kitchen. There was silence all around except for occasional noises from the truck and the unloaders. This will continue the whole day. She made a fresh pot of coffee and opened a pack of her favourite cookies. Her grey cells worked well when she munched and watched cable. She may as well watch the news on cable. But this didn’t last long for news was as stale as her earlier coffee.
She switched off the TV. Humming a tune, she went back to her bedroom and switched on the Internet. Life came alive on Internet. There was so much variety and spice that she could never give up on it. In her childhood, people used to be awed when someone possessed a radio. And that was in the 60s. Then came black and white TV and the scene of entertainment changed a bit. Vinyl LP records were the rage and she remembered ABBA and Boney M, her then favourite bands.
It was with the arrival of color TV that her perception changed. She could sit before it the entire day but her parents won’t allow it. Then audio cassette players and VCRs almost simultaneously came out. Both audio and video markets thrived. People never had it so good. Then CDs and DVDs brought new excitement to life. And now even MP3s have become passé. Now, HD TV, cable and Internet revolutionised her world. On her weekends, an ipod nano was her idea of music. Technology had made amazing advances.
But she still retained the old world charm for there was nothing to beat it. No matter where science could advance, the roots would remain grounded to earth. And to her, childhood was the most important phase of her life. It was almost magical. She missed it.
Somehow even the Internet couldn’t hold her interest today. What was happening to her. She cursed the new arrival. It was all due to it that her concentration was broken and now she was clueless to her next step.
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