We were sitting on the couch.
Not specifically next to each other.
You can say we were sitting a bit apart.
There were a few people in the room.
I believe we were with about 5 people.
One girl was sitting opposite of where I was.
I was sitting in something close to a chesterfield.
A guy was playing guitar and sat on a stool to entertain us.
He could also sing and it was nice to listen to.
The other people were sitting on the other couch.
But it changed a couple of times.
People walking in and out.
Sometimes we were with 2, other times with 4.
I believe in total we were with 8, that night.
We had a good time, for sure.
There was music and drinks.
Wine, beer and something stronger, close to Jagermeister.
However the drink was called Becherovka, the national spirit from the Czech Republic.
According to Google it is described as either tasting like Christmas or something less complimentary, depending on whom you’re speaking to.
We were drinking this special drink, since some of the people in the room were leaving early the next morning. Too early to wave at them, when they would part from us.
Drinking the spirit of their country was for us to say goodbye to them.
To honor their presence and close the time they spend with us.
We were talking and laughing.
Serious things were said and some of the people in that room didn’t say much.
Some smoked a little bit and I don’t mean just cigarettes.
It was just how it was.
Oh, and there were a few dogs as well.
2 big ones and 2 smaller ones.
They were running around, chasing each other.
Playing and barking or just drinking some water.
Then they went outside again to run after something.
And when the night started to fall, us still having a good time, the dogs layed on the couch next to each other.
This is where the magic started to happen.
I don’t know if it was the alcohol that went to our head, the spirit of that drink that made us feel like Christmas.
To have that special feeling that was making things happen, that normally wouldn’t.
Or just something that I believe Christmas packed in this bottle is doing to us.
Specific and in general.
However it could also just be the night that was calling us.
Perhaps even a time of the day that I feel comfortable with.
The silence that comes when the sun sets.
Which makes way for words that we are not able to pronounce, due to daylight.
Or it could be just my imagination.
But whatever it was, it didn’t matter much.
At least not for me.
I didn’t ask the others, actually.
Two of them also went back to their home country the next day, early in the morning.
But I think they would agree about this.
It was this sentence that stayed in my mind.
Something we talked about in one of the conversations we were having.
When the sun was already set.
‘What is a successful relationship?’
I believe this is something we just take for granted.
We just go with what the day provides us, not thinking too much about anything.
That is just my opinion, at least.
Correct me if I am wrong.
I would appreciate it if you did that, so we can continue this conversation.
To understand better what a successful relationship is.
Because I don’t think we know what that actually is.
Or maybe I am the only one that doesn’t know.
The reason that I am still single.
It could also be.
What do you think?
Many reasons can happen for that.
But let’s not go there today.
Perhaps it is better to speak about this during the night, when the sun is set and I feel more comfortable in the framework of the twilight zone.
Where the atmosphere is the same as that feeling of Christmas, where nothing from the daily routine is interfering my mind.
To come back to that question I asked, I did give an answer of what I believe society thinks what a successful relationship is.
‘Having children’, ‘Being married’.
Those were the two answers I gave to that question I asked out loud.
‘What is a successful relationship?’
If you would ask me, it is a bit from the past.
A little bit poor even, not from this day.
Perhaps not even for the night.
Or any other part of 24 hours.
Just to say that a successful relationship is not a fulfillment when we reach that kind of destination.
Having children or being married. Just as examples.
I still believe this is outdated, perhaps even an outdated mindset.
To say that these examples can be a block of love for the ones out there looking for any kind of commitment.
I am leaving in the middle if that is actually love related.
What a successful relationship is, I can’t really say.
The fact is that I am still single.
Maybe I will let you know when I am in a love commitment.
I hope that happens soon, so I can continue this conversation.
But for now it is just to know that success in relationships is not always measured in marriage or children.
To leave the options open for so many more that relationship entails, perhaps something we don’t even know about.
And that sounds already like a success in love to me.