Dull

Jacob finished his cold espresso. Palpitations were not in his vocabulary. He went to the counter and bought another of their signature espresso. He had done this dozens of times before. He did it repeatedly until the effects of the caffeine faded into something that made him slightly sleepy.

He saw the two guys again on the same table where they sat two days ago. But now the other guy was wearing a blue jacket, and the other, whose face Jacob recognized, was with his back to Jacob.

The other guy, whose face Jacob recognized, has a red square on his wrist. Jacob could see it whenever the guy moved his hands and arms while talking. The other guy removed his blue jacket and put it on the chair's top rail. Doing this revealed the green square on his wrist. He must have done it too.

People have done it too, and many will do too. After taking the happy solution, they would be given a day before they would be given another happy solution again to completely dull their ability to process sadness and other negative emotions. The first intake won't cause any changes because it will only prepare the body for the second intake. After the second intake, all that will be left is happiness. The process might not work all the time.

"Please refrain from drinking coffee and smoking," said Dr. Doe. "Stimulants from these substances and other sources reduce the solution's effectiveness by fifty percent. If the solution does fail on the second intake, you will obviously still experience all of your emotions."

This was an initiative by a medical organization. Their goal was to help people manage their emotions easily by distributing that "happy solution" to different clinics in the town. They were being distributed in gallons. Each person had to drink it from a fifty-milliliter cup twice to dull parts of their emotions successfully. It was cheap but very effective if taken properly and with precaution. But to some people, this idea only helps people mask their emotions like some alcoholics do. Some people even protested against this idea. Nevertheless, hundreds of people still gathered at different clinics within the town to eradicate their ability to process a part of their emotions. The happy solution's effect would only last for three weeks, and it is up to the people if they want to take another one over time. 

Jacob looked at those guys again. The guy with a blue jacket had a blank expression on his face, like a blank canvas. He kept looking at his phone, ignoring the guy he was supposed to be talking to. The other guy kept waving his arms like he was about to throw all his emotions away at the person he was talking to. Whatever their conversation was, Jacob thought that things might have been heated up.

Maybe it was too heated up. The guy strode towards the door, blasting the cold air into the coffee shop. He left his blue jacket behind. He almost moved a bit robotic and left like a soldier who was given orders to leave the place immediately. The other guy left behind now has his hands on his face. He let out a loud sigh, loud enough for Jacob to hear faintly, and then hurriedly went outside the shop. He must've decided to follow the other guy. 

The blue jacket was still there. For some reason, Jacob had an intrusive thought that he should follow both guys to return the jacket that was left on the chair. It wasn't common for him to do that to strangers, but he suddenly felt he had to follow them. Jacob stood up, went to the table, grabbed the jacket, and decided to follow the guys outside.

Jacob stopped for a moment. He stopped like an indecisive thief suddenly frozen, for a moment, by the sight of a police car approaching. He stopped as he saw the other guy, who had left his jacket behind, now standing beside Alexander on the opposite side of the street while the other guy was just about to cross the road. But he stopped. He was stopped by the pedestrian traffic light as it turned red. 

The other guy was frozen into place, standing up like watching a spectacular fireworks display. But it wasn't fireworks that he saw. All he saw was a painting of overflowing disappointment. Now, he saw the other guy with Alexander. Alexander's arm around his shoulder. At this distance, the squares on their wrist were no longer visible. But the sight of them together was just enough to tell Jacob that, despite losing a part of their humanity, they still have the boldness to express unquestionable interests that could risk having the emotions they decided to get rid of coming back once again. Or maybe, in the beginning, everything starts joyfully while being blinded by the fact that sadness always has a place in relationships that persists over time. Alex and that other guy surely probably don't know that by now.

The other guy went back inside the coffee shop. Cold air blasting again from the outside. The look on his face was like he lost a huge bet. The disappointment painted a dull color palette on his face. 

"I think your friend left this," Jacob said while holding the blue jacket.

The guy looked at Jacob with his puffy eyes. For a moment, Jacob could tell emotions stemming out of the guy's face.

"Oh yes the jacket," the guy said.

"Do you still want it?" Jacob asked.

"No. I'll have the employees take it. Maybe throw it in the trash...I think," the guy replied.

"So you have done it too?" Jacob asked while pointing at the guy's wrist.

"Yes, but I never came back to them. What about you?" The guy asked while looking at Jacob's wrist.

Jacob looked at his wrist. The red square seemed to have faded just a little bit. "I forgot about it, or, at least, decided not to think about it too much anymore. I'd rather have an espresso than that stuff. Besides, I think it will fail either way."

The guy chuckled.

"I'm Jacob," Jacob said.

"I'm Josh," the guy replied.

Both of them shook their hands.

"You got a nice ring," said Josh.

"Oh," Jacob said while looking at his mood ring. For a moment, he forgot he had it on his ring finger. "Yes, it does look nice. The thing is it turns blue when I'm stressed or anxious."

"But now it is different," said Josh.

"Yeah it is different," Jacob repeated.

Both of them looked at the streets outside. For a moment, they forgot to see that the cloudiness had already faded, and the town was bathed in the warm, amber light of the setting sun. It was amber, just like the color of Jacob's ring. Two people came inside the shop, opening the door wide open. Josh and Jacob were expecting warmer air to blast into the coffee shop, but it was still cold. Maybe, in a day or two, it will warm up. They were hoping that day would come. It doesn't hurt to hope for the best, even if you are hurt deep down. The sun was setting, but it will burn brighter tomorrow.