Diary of a Void

by Emi Yagi

When clients visited, I prepared the coffee and brought it over on a tray. It was instant coffee. Anybody could have done it. I frequently saw people making coffee for themselves. But the task seemed somehow beyond them when we had visitors. They’d just stare dolefully in my direction.

People seemed to be under the impression, at least in my section, that if they made coffee for somebody else, it would signify some deep personal inadequacy.

I just hope you managed to live your life the way you wanted, to take naps when you felt like it, to know yourself by a name that made sense to you. . . .

The internet’s a great place for finding out about stuff you’re kind of interested in, but it can’t really help with the things you really want to know. It’s even worse for things you don’t know anything about.