Some days you might as well cross off the calendar. Our writer recalls what was actually a lonely day that took a pleasant turn. A surprise visit during which a sense of intimacy gradually develops between two people.
There’s a sense of boredom in the air
It was one of those rainy, grey November days when the city looks as though it has wrapped itself in a thick veil of mist and weariness. I was sitting in my flat, listening to the monotonous patter of raindrops against the window. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with myself. Boredom hung in the air. I tried to take my mind off things. My gaze wandered aimlessly around the room.
I picked up the phone and rang a few friends. Some wanted to go to bed early; others already had plans or weren’t in the mood to do anything. So I was left on my own, feeling that this day really deserved better than simply being slept through. I lit a cigarette, leaned back and stared at the ceiling for a while as the smoke slowly curled upwards.
The ringing of the telephone breaks the silence
In the end, I switched on the telly without really knowing what I was looking for. I flicked through the channels, paused briefly on one, then moved on. Nothing held my attention. I was just about to resign myself to the lethargy of the evening when suddenly the phone rang. I jumped.
A familiar voice spoke up. It was Dennis.
We’d known each other from our school days, but hadn’t seen each other for years. He was now just as grown-up as I was, and yet his voice immediately stirred up a mixture of nostalgia, surprise and curiosity in me. He asked if I was free that evening.
„Sure,“ I said. „Come round if you like. I'm home on my own.“ We agreed to meet at 10 pm.
Preparations
To pass the time, I got dressed and popped out for a quick shop. A few drinks, some snacks, bits and bobs for a relaxing evening. Nothing special, but enough to make me feel prepared. Back home, I ran a bath. The warm water, the bubbles, the silence — all of it helped me shake off the day and get in the mood for the evening. Perhaps it was also a touch of nervousness that I didn’t quite want to admit to.
It wasn’t long before the doorbell rang. I took a deep breath and opened the door.
A gradual approach
There he was. Familiar, yet different. More mature, calmer, with a presence I hadn’t noticed in him before. For a moment, I didn’t know what to say, so I just managed to say, „Hey, it’s good to see you.“.
He grinned slightly, as if that was exactly what he’d expected.
We sat down in the living room; the telly was still on in the background. We talked about the old days. At first we were a bit cautious, but then we became more and more relaxed. I noticed that I kept glancing over at him. Not intrusively, more out of curiosity. He had changed — not just on the outside, but also in the way he moved, spoke and laughed.
At some point, he noticed me looking at him and raised an eyebrow. „Are you all right?“ he asked with a slight smile.
„Yes,“ I said. „I'm just amazed at how much you've changed.“
Feelings you can’t put into words
He smiled, that warm, calm smile that instantly filled the room with a pleasant sense of anticipation. No words, no hints — just that subtle spark that arises when two people meet again after years apart and realise that there might be more to it than just memories.
We sat back and just let the evening unfold. The telly was flickering away, but really it was just background noise. The conversations became more personal, the pauses between words longer, but not awkward. There was this feeling that something was in the air, without it needing to be said out loud.
As the rain outside grew heavier and heavier, the world around us faded into the background. The evening felt like a small, self-contained space in which only the two of us existed. No pressure, no expectations — just two adults who had met again and sensed that this evening might mean more than they’d first thought.
„Intimacy is a form of closeness in which we are free to be ourselves – without pressure and without control. Intimacy arises “when two people come together in such a way that their inner worlds are allowed to be revealed: feelings, thoughts, longings, insecurities." Link:
https://frankfurt-psychotherapie.org/intimitaet-wenn-naehe-mehr-ist-als-koerperliche-anziehung/
Intimacy:
https://www.vincera-kliniken.de/glossar/intimitaet
to be alone:
Feelings:
