Liner Notes

Number Three — “I’ll Gamble Away My Time”

Photo: sixeyes

The day has just begun; I can hear it through the window. Groaning, I searched for my mobile and squinted at the tiny display: “Fuck, it’s not even 7a.m! Why is it so noisy outside!?” I tossed and turned a little trying to get comfortable but the noise is just too overwhelming. I guess this is the price you pay to get a hotel room in the centre of town. I sighed and slowly sat up in bed; there’s no sleep to be had now.

I got up slowly trying not to wake the others but I figured they were probably dead to the world if the noise hadn’t woke them already. After a quick shower, I paced around the room for the water to boil. What is there to do at 7 in the morning? Breakfast is not for another 2 hours. The whistling broke my reverie and I absentmindedly made a cup of tea and climbed onto the window ledge overlooking the street, all the time balancing the cup of tea and a cigarette. It’s still early but there’s plenty of activities in the streets. Throngs of people are briskly walking in the drizzle that’s just started. From where I sit, I can see the cobbled streets from afar as trucks come in to deliver their goods, stores are opened and wares are displayed. A line is beginning to form outside the bakery takeout window right opposite my hotel. People sure look weird when you can only see the tops of brightly-coloured umbrellas from a window ledge on the third floor. As sudden as it had began, the rain stopped as the sun begins to peek out of the clouds, no doubt awoken by all the ruckus. And I knew, at the moment, that it’s going to be a great day ahead.