here and there

I was sitting in a room, surrounded by classic movie posters with my favorite people in Doha. Taking a break from cooking dinner, one of them was strumming a guitar. He had his head down, eyes closed, fingers gliding along the chords. He started to sing and his accent faded away. The three of us in the room closed our eyes and felt the music.

Dinner followed, a tangy, sweet, chili-infused escape from reality, and we were only pushed further into the clouds by the comfort of soft, warm, freshly baked cookies that followed.

It seems that I have finally found my old self somewhere in the new me and my new context. The core never changes.

But heading home tomorrow makes me long for the comfort of familiarity... while also evoking fear and hesitation, thinking that once I get back there or here, things will never be the same.