I shall refer to the protagonist as “he” for if I assign a name you shall conjure up a mental image of his personality and mannerisms while my description of his state is independent of this visual imagery. Still if you need a placeholder, visualise a man in his late 20s tired from the banalities of life.
He booked an Uber and went to a restaurant to have dinner. Living away from family in a rented accommodation, subscribing to a Tiffin service , doing his own laundry and putting up a fake smile for the world had been normalised by now.

In the cab, the driver tried to make small talk but our hero kept to himself and paid little attention. The voice of the inner monologue in his head was calm yet disturbing. I need to pay bills, talk to my parents, wish my sister on her birthday, buy a gift for her…the monologue would never stop. An infinite list of To-Dos which no note keeping app could keep up with.
The crowded city does not give the man a chance to be on his own. Sure, if you feel alone, there are places to eat, drink, watch films, meet strangers…but no place to let you cry.
He got down from the cab and headed towards the restaurant. It was newly opened and the reviews on Zomato raved about the ambience of the place and deliciousness of the food. He entered and asked for a table for one.
Going out alone to eat did not make him feel awkward anymore. For him, being alone was now the new normal. He looked at the menu and ordered a salad with a smoothie. Supposedly, ‘healthy food’ was in vogue now.

While his food arrived , he glanced towards the table in front of him. He saw a woman sitting with a man. He wondered what they might be talking about. It had been a while when he had gone out with a woman. On another table was another woman, sitting alone, perhaps she was waiting for someone or perhaps not, he could never
know.
His food arrived and he gleefully savoured every single bite. This was the only time he could be on his own, indulgent, explore his senses through food , have unfiltered thoughts, praise himself, criticise others, all in his mind. It was the most pleasurable experience. The sadness, the isolation, the loneliness all vanished; for a while.

After having devoured the salad and having gulped his sugarless smoothie which was awful, he asked for the cheque and went out for a stroll.
He had to work on a presentation for the next day. His boss understood him and our hero did not feel stressed, but the upcoming presentation still bothered him.

As he strolled around, he saw crowds, families, couples..all enjoying, walking, buying stuff. He sat down on a bench. The inner monologue was back reminding him to complete his presentation, to do his laundry, to pay his bills..He shushed his mind. Loneliness can be intimidating sometimes.

He thought to himself, “I wonder if that woman sitting alone at the restaurant would be still waiting for someone. I wish I could talk to her once.”  He walked back towards the restaurant in search of that woman, she had left and so had his hopes of getting his life together.