So how old are you?

Like any other day Kamal was passing by the bar on his way back from work. But unlike any other day, he decided to enter this time, for a change. What can hurt, right?

The idea of going to a bar alone had never appealed to him, not really. But today he decided that he was done waiting for someone sensible for company. He figured he might spend a whole lifetime before he finds someone remotely compatible to even call a “friend”, and it is only so long you can stall all your life experiences.

Anyway, he entered the bar, ordered a beer and some fries and decided to not be stuck in his head like usual. He contemplated whether to open his kindle and continue reading The Godfather, his go-to read for situations like these, but he knew that that was exactly the ‘Kamal’ he was trying not to be tonight. It’s a weird situation that he finds himself in, more often than not. He forces himself to step out of his comfort zone and once he is out there he feels stuck, which is quite uncharacteristic of the whole stepping-out-of-the-comfort-zone situation! He could hear his double standards loud as the music playing in the bar when he overheard a guy order a Sangria two tools on his right. He LOVES Sangria, but for some reason he never orders one unless there are some girls in his company. Don’t ask why. He probably feels like it is an emasculating drink to order on your own, but he never addressed that, on purpose. He may have looked at the guy long enough for him to get uncomfortable because he saw that he took off after grabbing his drink, but not before giving him a strange look.

“That’s what you get for stepping out of your head! Why can’t you look at your drink, like a normal person, and think, like a NORMAL PERSON? Why the FUCK do you have to judge the stranger while LOOKING AT THE FUCKING STRANGER?? Why can’t you keep your ‘creep’ inside your FUCKING HEA-“

“Hi, is that seat taken?”

He looked to his left and there he was, talking directly to him holding the Sangria in his hand.

“Um.. umm… No nah, it’s umm.. It’s not taken. You – can - take it – if you want. Or don’t. I mean, yeah, it’s not taken.”- Kamal. “What an IDIOT”

“Alright, cool!”, said the stranger as he took the seat. “You come here often?”

Kamal, “Me?”

“No, your twin.”

Okay, so he has a sense of humour! He chuckled under his breath, which came out as an ugly snort and immediately regretted it. “talk, change the topic, NOW”

“It’s my first time here actually. I cross this bar every day, always plan on coming in but.. I guess I just never made it. Until tonight.”

“Well, I must be really lucky then!”, he winked. “Did he just-" “Cheers to that!”

“To you being lucky?”

“Yeah.. Also to you finally making it!”

“Sure, Cheers!" They both take a sip of their drink. “I am Kamal by the way.”

The guy finishes the drink at a go, orders another one before he responds, “Siqueira. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise”

Two drinks and few awkward conversations later, both started to cosy up a little. Siqueira’s easy demeanour helped Kamal loosen up way faster than he is used to, in the company of a stranger.

“So how old are you?”, Siqueira asked.

“Well, how old do you reckon?”

“Ooh, no I’m not falling for this!”

“Um.. I don’t understand!”

“You cannot twist my question back into me! It’s a simple question! Just answer it!”

“Well, here’s the thing right. I know how this goes. I tell you how old I am, and you are going to make an assumption based on that. It’s quite silly and presumptuous if you ask me. Because I could either tell you that I am 20 and you could say, ‘Wo, you look/don’t look 20 at all! How nice it must be to be so young! No stress blah blah blah’, insert some stereotypical comments about 20 somethings and then go grab another drink; Or I tell you I am late 20s/early 30s and again we talk about some stereotypical assumptions about people that age and ultimately grab another drink after sharing a few laughs. The outcome remains the same. Bottomline, it just doesn’t matter how old anyone is. In the end these are all numbers that help us to put people into our own mind boxes for our own assessment and News Flash! Most of them are wrong anyway! I would rather leave some blank spaces for people to fill in, in there own rather than expect them to behave a certain way that I deem fit for them. I prefer action to speak louder for one’s character than what is expected out of them based on one’s age, gender, religion, etc. Does it make sense?”

Siqueira looked at him intently, finished his drink, stomped the glass onto the counter dramatically and said, “You know you could have just gone with ‘I would rather not say’ and I wouldn’t have asked you again, right?”

“Well, a) There is zero fun in that. And b) You get to learn a different perspective. and c) That’s mundane, I hate that!”

Siqueira sighs, “At least that solves the mystery for Your solo company!” he said looking amused.

“Ouch! Okay, alright! Then what’s your excuse?”