The ringing of my alarm clock awoke me from sleep. I opened my eyes groggily to see the time on the digital screen, 6 AM. My bed sheets were still warm and comfortable so I decided to stay there for a minute, staring at the ceiling, the warm air gently flowed through the room.
“Ugh…”
I turn to my side, pressing the stop button of my alarm. It was rather rough and boring last night. Dad me and headed home; ate dinner, had mundane conversations with him about random stuff, watched Television, went to bed early, woke up this morning. Just another normal day for us with any repetitive daily routine. As I get out of bed, my body feels stiff from lying down too long in one position while my muscles feel like they are made of rubber. I stretch and rub my hands together as I make my way to the bathroom.
“Damn…I feel like I am getting old,” I mumbled to myself, staring at the mirror. The reflection showed a pale face with dull eyes that were tired from lack of sleep. “Oh well, better start the day then,” I sighed, adjusting my tie and brushing my hair.
After a quick splash of water on my face, I grabbed the toothpaste and brushed my teeth before heading downstairs. The smell of breakfast greeted me as I walked into the kitchen. Dad is making his usual breakfast of eggs, toast and coffee.
“Good morning son,” He said happily, setting the plate of food down in front of me. I nodded back to him, thanking him, taking a bite of my egg. It was hardy but good enough to fill my stomach after such an early wake up call.
“Good morning dad, ready to start our boring work today?” I asked with some sarcasm.
Dad chuckled lightly with a look of confusion on his face, “you realize that today is Saturday, right?” He responded with a smile. The whole week has been busy for us both, working long hours during the day and sleeping at night.
“Yeah, yeah…” I said, waving him off. “So what do we have planned for today? Any plans to go somewhere or anything fun,” I continued. My father is not one to be spontaneous about things. He took a sip of his coffee and thought it over before responding, “not really, we can just relax at home all day if you want.”
No, that would be too boring and a waste of our time. So instead, I said, “let us go to a restaurant, perhaps invite some friends with us?” My dad looked surprised by this suggestion, “hmm, you are right. Do you wish to have Richard and Claire come with us? I shall give them a call if you like.”
I smiled back at him, “sure, they are great company,” I replied, finishing up my breakfast. Dad then picked up the phone and dialed their numbers. After a few rings, he spoke into the receiver, “Richard? Yes…Yes. That is correct, yes. Oh and Claire…right, okay, thank you.” He hung up the phone and placed it down on the table before smiling back at me, “they will be here soon son,” dad said.
“So what restaurant are we going to?” I asked in our conversation while waiting for them to arrive. My father shrugged his shoulders, “it is a surprise.” Dad gave me a sly smile from seeing my confused look, so I quickly decided to let him have his way with this while I present to be dumb in front of him.
I undeniably know what restaurant we are going to. With my keen eyes and perceptive mind, I silently studied his body language and facial features to identify the specific restaurant that he wanted to go to without him saying anything explicitly about it, because it was a ‘surprise’ from him.
However, I now know what place we are going from merely analyzing him with my heightened senses as well as reading through his body language. I closed my eyes as I conjured visualizations from my mind palace, trying to find the perfect location where he wants to take us today for lunch or dinner. The right image came into view after a few seconds, which was a fast food restaurant in this city known for its attraction and popularity.
McSmiling, a multinational fast food chain that still existed after the world was hit with global cooling. I am surprised that they still exist, let alone alive to begin. Suffice to say, I used to love going there when he adopted me, my favorite burger joint and the place I would always visit whenever dad took me out for family day.
“Son? You okay?”
My eyelids opened in swiftness, feeling the concern coming from my father. “No need to worry about me dad, I was just, uh, using my mind palace,” I answered with honesty in my words, having no reason not to lie around him.
Dad’s surprised face showed that he had never heard of the term ‘mind palace’ before and only nodded his head while asking another question, “what is this mind palace?” He asked curiously, sitting on the opposite side of mine, but he did not appear bothered by the idea at all.
Right, dad never really engaged nor studied psychology techniques like this since he mainly focused on antidepressants and mental disorders rather than learning more about human psychology itself.
“How do I put it dad…” I started to explain, “It is a technique that is used for strategy in memory enhancement.” My dad gave me an intrigued, his hands placed firmly onto the table with both palms facing each other.
I continued, “The method of loci, also known as the memory journey, memory palace, journey method, memory spaces, or mind palace technique is using visualizations of familiar spatial environments to enhance the recall of information I have experienced from past encounters. Like I said before, it is a strategy in memory enhancement that uses images to help one remember things easily.”
“So, that is what you have been doing when your eyes where closed?” Dad’s voice appeared to be skeptical of the whole concept, but he did not bother asking further questions because he knew he would get an honest answer out of me.
“Yes, dad. That is exactly what I have been doing. It helps me focus my thoughts on something tangible so that I can better understand and process them, allowing me to think more of the bigger picture instead of getting lost in the details.”
Dad nodded once again in understanding before continuing, “Well, maintain the good work. This is a useful skill to have son, especially if we ever end up in some dangerous situation in the future, but however…” he paused for dramatic effect, raising his eyebrow in curiosity as he stared at me intently, “…you found out my surprise.”
His statement made me smirk with a hint of remorse in my voice, “sorry dad, cannot help myself, you know? I like solving mysteries and figuring things out, that is just how my mind works. So, McSmiling huh. It has been while since I visited that place when I was kid, but it is rather nice to visit that again, isn’t it?”
My dad gave a little smile, “it sure is son,” he agreed, “you remind of-” the loud doorbell rang, interrupting us as we both looked towards the entrance, “that must be Claire and Richard. Let us get ready, son,” my father said, standing up from his chair as he gave me a quick light pats on my shoulder before heading to the front door. I followed him down the hallway, walking side by side until dad opened the door, revealing the two invited friends; Claire and Richard who were wearing thick jackets over their casual clothes due to the cold weather outside.
“How is it going Doctor Sol!” Richard greeted him as he shook his hand firmly. He had a strong grip which felt robust and manly. His handshake was also accompanied with a genuine smile on his face, making us feel like we were meeting an old friend for the first time.
Claire embraced me with a hug, “Adam! How are you doing?” she asked in her friendly tone of voice. She appeared genuinely happy to see me after work, unlike some people I have met at the mental asylum. The fact that she was smiling made me smile back. We then exchanged pleasantries and talked about our work.
Dad was standing next to us listening intently, “Hello Claire, Richard. It is good to see both of you here,” he said politely, shaking her hand as well before turning towards me, “and Adam, are we ready to begin our day?”
I nodded in response. My dad was one of the few who would actually listen to what I said when I talked to them. That was why he always treated me with respect and care, especially since he knew how hard it was for someone like me to live my life.
“Sure dad, lets go.”
Dad, Claire and Richard hopped into our parked car in the garage while talking mundanely about work and our boring lives, Claire and Richard entered in the back passengers sits while dad and I were seated at the front passenger seats. As we drove out of the open garage, I looked outside through the windshield and saw the city skyline from distance in our neighborhood. The bright lights of all the buildings lit up the morning sky as they reflected on its surface. It was a clear and sunny day with no clouds, which meant it will be a nice and warm day today despite constantly snowing.
He maneuvered the car towards the highway until we reached the freeway where cars and trucks are traveling at high speeds, “Looks like everyone is having fun this weekend,” Sol breaking the silence as he glanced back to see if I am listening or not, but I was not really paying attention to him anymore. I was looking around the surroundings instead of focusing on anything inside the vehicle.
“Richard, how did your application go? Did they accept you into our field?” Dad asked him.
“It went fine Sol. They offered me a job as an intern. I should be able to start after tomorrow.” Richard replied, his voice filled with excitement. He had been wanting to get hired by them after graduating college with several needed degrees to apply to become a Psychiatrist. “I will finally be working at a place that can help people like how you helped me when I was mentally sick,” he said with sincere gratitude.
My father’s sparkled eyes with hope and happiness upon hearing Richard’s words made him smile, “That is great news. You will be doing something useful and meaningful in helping others,” he added, before turning back to look at me, “You should also think about what you want to do for your future son. Having a job is good and all, but there are times when you need to look for something that makes you happy or gives meaning to your existence.”
Meaning and happiness…since when do I feel happy? Sure, dad adopted me and I found at least some purpose in living and I am happy, and grateful for him being considerate of my feelings. But there is always a hole in my heart that is missing, a void left behind since the deaths of my childhood friends and the betrayal of my mother. Why did I even continue to exist then? I was nothing more than just a useless, soulless thing that lacks any right to live.
“Whatever dad,” I responded curtly as he turned towards Claire who appeared to be paying attention to our conversation, intrigued by what we were talking about.
“Claire, what about you? Did you do anything fun this weekend?” Dad asked her.
I looked over to see if she was going to answer him, but instead, I noticed the way she was looking at me. It felt like she was sizing up my every move and trying to identify how I was feeling at that moment. The corner of her lips curved into a flustered smile, “Yeah, actually…”
She glanced at me as she said that, making sure I was not listening or following us while her eyes lingered on mine. Dad was taking glances on the road just to ensure we did not cause a car accident from our constant conversations.
“…may I date your son?”
