The Bright Side of Sunlight

Luxury distorts time, or perhaps time distortion is the hallmark of luxury. Either way, I was lounging in the sunlight in the park this weekend, when I noticed a Burmese python next to me, about fifteen feet away, also lounging in the sun.

Lazy afternoons being what they are, I didn't start. I just lounged and watched it for a while in a waking dream. I didn't blink, but it felt like I did, because five minutes after I'd noticed the python, there was a raven there instead. Ten minutes later, the raven became a woman made of smoke, still lounging in the sunlight. After two more minutes -- and I use the word "minute" loosely here -- the smoke woman became a Nomura's jellyfish. Ten minutes later, there was no jellyfish, just a man in a bowler, with a bushy white-grey moustache, sitting in a lounge chair reading the paper.

"Excuse me," I said with lazy sun-drenched politeness.

"Yes?" he replied.

"Could you please stop that? I'm trying to relax here."

"Oh," he said. "So sorry."

I closed my eyes and dozed.