Void

There aren't many feelings more distressing, painful and unsettling than the void in my heart when I hear, from the lips of my flatmate, the dreaded words "there's no gas left". No gas left. His stoic composure deeply contrasts with the sinking of my spirit, that falls into a pit of anxiety and despair.

Why do we keep letting this happen to us? Not running out of gas seems as easy as buying a replacement cylinder, but that would mean taking the empty one from under the table -too much effort for two people whose job is to go to classes for 4h a day and keep a 50 square meters house decent.

After his warning, begins my oddysey. Waking up at 8AM is already a pretty traumatic experience, but it turns even worse when I have to shower... with cold water. I put it off for as long as I can: I stay in bed overtime, play with my phone, drink my morning coffee... But I know I must face my destiny. Locked in the bathroom, I optimistically open the hot water tap. As expected, out of the hose we use as a shower head comes a jet of liquid ice, to which I unsuccessfully try to get used. 

Soon after breaking the Guinness record for fastest shower, I make the effort to go out and perform my grown adult duties. At midday, I have an epiphany: without any gas, I can't cook. This brings me to a new ordeal: I have to go to the mall and return home burdened with huge bags of frozen microwaveable food.

And at lunch time, while eating ham and cheese crèpes and drinking Mediterranean juice, I wonder how I will face the coming days, while waiting for my beloved butane to arrive.