Today is Easter Sunday. It's one of my favourite holidays. But it's my favourite holiday for reasons that have been stripped from me this year. Family, seawall walks, an abundance of chocolate, a big roast dinner, curling up on the couch with a cup of tea and my favourite people in the world. Nevertheless, this easter proved to be amazing in its own way. Thank you for giving me that, April.
I awoke to a glorious 10 am after early morning shifts all week, and tore the brown paper from the package sent to me by my mum through my aunt. This is what was inside:
Brunch was a vegetarian croque madame (avocado, brie, and a bunch of other melty goodness wrapped in a chewy pastry), with a salad and the tastiest baked beans, and a pineapple and mint frappe from Tuck. April, I am learning how to go to cafes alone. I am learning how to be wedged between strangers wrapped up in their individual conversations, english on my left and french on my right. I am getting used to overhanging the lovers who twist their fingers around each other's, like the vines that crawl around the doorway. I am becoming accustomed to sipping drinks in solitude between lines of prose, between paragraphs scratched in my notebook.
The canal was lovely today.
I saw Divergent after the canal, my next lesson in solitude. I've never seen a movie by myself before. It was a strange and wonderful experience. I had a faltering moment of crushing love for this city as I walked home. Paris, you will be sorely missed.
April, another skill I am learning is how to cook for myself. The fan blew the scent of curry out my open window as I simmered veggies and created a sort of alchemy in my tiny kitchen. There is a calming ritual in the preparation, in the consumption at my desk, staring out my tiny window into the parisian sky, my sixth floor view unobstructed, tegan and sara playing in the background as the notes of spice and aubergine dance on my tongue.
All in all, it was a pretty successful Easter, my family hundreds of miles away, my friends all dispersed around Europe on holiday. I am happy I have learned how to be okay with myself, by myself, but it is definitely a work in progress.
Love always,
Coral
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