Odd conversations
I really don’t deal well with social interactions. I’m okay if it’s something rote, something I have a pre-learned query/response for: “Excuse me, do you know the time?” “Do you have any change?” “Do you know where
Things outside of that, though, make me freeze and retreat into myself and hope desperately the person goes away. Friendly small-talk. Blatant flirting. Awkward conversations about relationships that make you query the sanity of the speaker. Trying to sell me something when I can’t just walk away. Telling me the world is going to end. Complimenting my jacket.
Waiting at the bus stop today, an old man sort of wandered up and struck up a conversation. My ability to comprehend language is really terrible when outside of expected subjects, so I spent a good part of it being awkwardly quiet without trying to be rude or overly-encouraging and hoping desperately he would just go away as he asked me about what sounded to me like “are you a ward” or something, and it was okay if I was, as long as I was a good one.
And then I finally got a whole sentence. “Do you know any warlocks?”
Oh. He was asking if I was a warlock.
And just like that, all of that anxiety just… vanished! He talked to me a bit more about warlocks and stuff before telling me that some guy somewhere loves me and wandering off.
Thinking about it afterwards, I can’t help but wonder. What does it say about me that one of the very few conversations with a stranger that I’ve ever felt comfortable with was a crazy old man asking me if I was a mind-reading warlock?
“My ability to comprehend language is really terrible when outside of expected subjects[.]”
Same here. It’s horrible and awkward and ugh.