Thursday, April 26, 2018

Short Social Fiction: Adventures of Tupi 43

Tupi got in the car and after crossing the bridge, the nice sunshine and the wind blowing on Tupi's face helped him to relax and Tupi was able to recognize some of the roads and guided the driver to Justin's house.

When the car pulled up, Justin ran out and saw Tupi. "Where did you go? What happened to you?" Justin asked.

"I don't know what happened, I could not sleep, went out and got lost." Tupi said. "And I was saved by the people who lost their homes."

"Thank you sir, for bringing my friend back." Justin said to the man, shook his hands. "Do you want to come in for a drink?"

"Got to go now!" The man said and waved good bye. "Some packing to do."

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Tupi went in the house and felt ashamed. "I seem to be a lot of trouble."

"Its just stress." Justin replied. "You are not used to be in this situation."

"But I did not even lose anything..." Tupi said. "I'm now being a burden."

"You have too much empathy." Justin said. "You are feeling the shared painful experiences of everyone, and you are taking it all it. Perhaps we should talk more, eat healthy and rest well. I've been through a phase of depression before, and trust me, you don't want to have it especially when you're just here to help."

"Ok, I'll take it easy." Tupi said. "Did not know that I can develop stress by just volunteering."


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Tupi took a nap and woke up in the evening to go for dinner with Justin at a nice restaurant. They went to the hospital to get Jake. "Lets go get some Southern Seafood!" Justin said and brought Jake along for dinner.

"Have you tried Jambalaya?" Justin asked.

"Is it like Paella" Tupi asked.

"I don't know. To me, Gumbo, Paella, Jambalaya and etouffee is almost the same thing." Justin said. "Gumbo and etouffee are wetter, almost like soup with rice inside, but pretty much similar"

"Wow, so many different names?" Tupi said. "All the rice dish with meat, seafood and vegetables inside?"

"Yup..." Justin said.

"Hey Jake, do you like Jambalaya?" Justin asked.

"Love it!" Jake said.

"Then its set!" Justin said. "Lets go!"

Everyone seems to be in a much better mood. Jake started talking about his mother's recovery and the mood was rather uplifting.

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The smell of good food, fried seafood and spicy Cajun sauce fills the air. Tupi immediately looked at the spicy Jambalaya and was all set. "What goes well with this?" Tupi asked the waiter.

"Sauvignon Blanc" The waiter said.

"Really?" Tupi asked.

"The spiciness of the Jambalaya actually goes really well with a medium bodied white." The waiter replied. "Not too over powering and brings out the flavor of the other ingredients inside."

"Sounds really good." Tupi said. "I'll have that and the wine."

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It seem like good food and good company can fix everything. Tupi felt much better when they got back to the house. Tupi looked at his schedule and decided to book a flight home in 2 days. Then he went and inform Justin.

Tupi chatted with Justin into the night, talking about his recent experience and near breakdown. Justin listened and was very encouraging. Tupi felt a big relief after the chat and slept well for the night.

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