The room

I got into the room with another three people. I had an appointment at 4 pm, and the clock marked a solid 3.55 pm. I made it on time. I thought there is only one professional working, besides the receptionist. Therefore, I found it weird that we all got in at the same time, but I took my seat and waited. There was something different in the room since the last time I went. The receptionist was still the same, the furniture set up was also the same but, there was a colourful yellow wall to contrast with the remaining white walls, characteristic of 99% of waiting rooms nowadays. We all sat in a row, facing the yellow wall. It was 4 pm and, instead of being called in (as you would ever get called on time for most appointments), a picture got projected on the yellow wall. It was a picture of a sandy beach. One of my companions, a middle-aged man, sprinkled with grey hair in his beard, lacking some hair and, consequently, coming closer to a bald state of life, decided to break the silence and said out loud:
-” What a beautiful picture, it quite resembles my hometown. I am sure it is my hometown! My favourite piece of land in the whole world. I am starting my holidays tomorrow, and I am going there. I still have so many chores to do before I go, what a great reminder!”
He talked to the receptionist, to inform her that she should cancel the appointment, and left the room. His projection on the wall went off and, once again, the yellow wall was empty. We were now only three people inside the room plus the receptionist. It was already past 4 pm, and the girl next to me started to be slightly impatient. She moaned and, in a whispering tone, she mentioned her time was precious. No reaction was performed by the receptionist though. She was probably the same age as me, somewhere under the thirties zone. She had dark skin, green eyes, messy hair and a smile that radiated confidence — although that smile vanished while time passed-by. She immersed herself into her cell phone, waiting for her name to get called, I assumed. There was another woman, perhaps in her sixties, seated by her side. She had light skin, brown eyes and quite short brown hair. She seemed peaceful about the waiting time, that was getting closer to an additional half an hour from my original appointment time. She had a notebook with her and was writing a few notes. Perhaps she was even a writer. I could see her smile while she was writing. My romantic side assumed she was writing about something that makes her happy and excited in life, living through words in a parallel universe, where the waiting time would be a nonexistent problem. A noise captured our attention, and a second image got projected on the yellow wall. It was a picture of two women smiling and kissing each other at the hospital, one in bed and, most likely, losing some hair and not having the healthiest look, making you assume she was going through a disease like cancer. The other one looked like the woman with a notebook, with whom I was sharing the room. I was going soon to find out that it was indeed herself. Not explaining the nature of the picture, she started crying. Suddenly, she talked out loud:
-“ Today is our tenth marriage anniversary. My wife has been through a lot, and she is the most beautiful and strongest person I had the pleasure to meet. I was preparing a surprise for tomorrow, but it just cannot wait. “
Following the steps of the former gentleman leaving the room, she went to talk to the receptionist, cancelled her appointment and left the room. It was already after 4.30 pm and only the impatient woman with her cellphone and I remained inside the room. I started wondering when we would be called to the appointment myself. The second projection went off after the woman with the notebook left the room. The girl was still impatient but slightly distracted by her cell phone. I had a book with me. It was unopened since I got immersed in the environmental distractions of the room with the yellow wall and the people waiting with me. Suddenly, another projection showed up on the yellow wall. It was a picture of the impatient girl, smiling with her flute at, what seemed to be, a full auditorium or event space. She stood up and shouted:
- “ I must have a rehearsal. I have this big concert tomorrow, I cannot wait anymore. It is the most important moment in my career, and I am here, just waiting. “
As the other people in the room, she cancelled the appointment at the reception and left the room. It had been almost one hour since my original appointment, I was not sure when I would get called, but suddenly I was alone in the room. I started wondering if I should take any step, giving up on the appointment as the remaining people or just let the time flow and wait for my name to get potentially called. I did not want to make any change, neither thought I had many pendent things to do, so I waited. To my surprise, a fourth light came from the beamer, and another projection got shown on the wall. Would it be about me this time? The image was just a black square. There were no pictures of me, my best moments, my interests, my friends, family, loved ones neither anything I love to do. I started wondering:
-” Would this black picture be about me as well or just a coincidence? Does it mean there is something I have to do now because tomorrow might be too late? Does it mean that I have no plans, no goals, no future? Does it mean that my future is uncertain and that I should not wait for tomorrow to start drawing a path before it gets too dark? Does it mean I need to make a decision and stop waiting for a change or just for my name to get called? Did I get trapped into people’s lives, leaving mine in total darkness? Does it mean I forgot my aims, my passions, my real essence to embrace a certain numbness and darkness in life?”
Finally, looking at my book, where I usually read the stories of other humans immersed in the potential fear of creating my own, I decided to take a step and stood up. I went to the receptionist, cancelled my appointment and started my journey of shaping the black square into a more colourful and beautiful picture. And, wherever that journey would lead me, at this moment, I made the first step and left the room.