I believe in the consonance and dissonance of life.
In music, consonance is a harmony, or chord. It is what sounds good to the ear. Dissonance, on the other hand, is an unstable harmony or chord. It is what turns you wondering if the musician read the wrong note. It is these two opposing principles that create the most beautiful and esoteric color.
I woke up from a deep sleep. Cotton sheets wilted beneath my body and salt. I could hear the Indonesian wood creak beneath. It’s sound as calming and exhilarating as a lover’s voice waking you to the morning.
I jumped from my bunk and thudded to the floor. It was coffee I smelt as it asked me to dance. Its earthy character gave tribute to the land that bred it.
Yeni came in with a plate of papaya. Her smile. My God…her smile.
“Salamak Pagi”, she said.
Good morning.
“Salamak Pagi”, I replied.
I have a fondness for papaya and coffee. It is the nostalgic memories of those two that keep me dreaming, and the taste that keeps me going.
The light grazed the horizon. It was early and the color was a bitter blue. The morning was running from the bully of the night. The day woke and wrapped me in its covers. I could see far and wide. Small islands. Large islands. Green with an outline of black. Reef lined the edges like a scab, protecting the skin of the isle.
I sat on the deck where we had class everyday and listened to the sound system play a soft “Sparrows Over Birmingham”.
I have dreamed about moments like these. But this was real.
I can say my life has been a strained muscle. Painful moments. Dissonance. The beauty. The music. The smell. The color. It was everything until now. The beauty around me continually massages the muscle of my life. A child’s laughter, the hope of spring and the morning light. The taste of a strawberry still warm from the sun. Endorphins in my blood dance to such feelings. It is this that I call life’s consonance. It is the most euphoric feeling and why I wake everyday.
It’s why I know when I go to bed. It’s when I know that the darkness has set all around. It is why I know that the morning will come. He will come. The mentawais will continue to nurture and scar adreline junkies. The light will come and the darkness will go away. The balance of opposites. The dissonance and the consonance of life.