The room was warm, as always. The type of warm that is kind to your skin, the kind of warm that makes you feel you're being hugged. The room's lighting was soft, some would say welcoming, nothing too bright to upset your eyes, and nothing too dim to make you struggle seeing. The chairs stood neatly in a semicircle on the tiled floor, someone had taken great care to make sure they all aligned perfectly. Not that it really mattered.
The snack table sat on the other end of the room, a few steps from the water dispenser which was a few steps from the bookshelf. It just sat there, no one really ever took out a book or showed any interest. Which would make sense, they didn't come here to read books.
On the snack table sat two coffee urns, freshly brewed, you could tell by the aroma. There was a stack of enveloped teabags, a tray of pastries and a white box with the top reading, 'Dan's Bakery' in some fancy font. No one had opened it yet, no one knew what Dan had brought them today. He had always alternated between muffins, cookies, doughnuts and croissants.
She sat by the window, just like every single day since she started a little over a month ago. She had her hood down today, her hair was damp from the quick shower she had taken before coming, a loose pair of sweatpants and trainers. She was on her phone, not typing, not reading, just scrolling , passing time before the meeting started.
Sienna.
Some knew her name, she had mentioned it on her first day. Some remembered it, some had forgotten and the new guys didn't know.
She was what most people would call a 'chill' person. She wouldn't use that word to describe herself. She wasn't a loud girl, not someone you would immediately notice when you walked into a room. Neither was she the quietest. Whenever it was her turn to share to the group, she always managed to find something to say, something brief, something to suggest she had a grip on things, to suggest she wasn't doing too badly.
A woman cleared her throat, not because she needed to, but to get everyone's attention. Mariam, the facilitator, held a clipboard which she later rested on her lap when everyone looked up. She sat at the center of the semi-circle, presumably to get a good view of everyone present. She was nice, everyone liked her.
"Welcome, glad to see everyone here." She began in a tender voice, accompanied with a warm smile that seemed genuine enough.
There were the regulars, Martin, the only married man in there. He always tapped his fading wedding ring whenever he was talking. Sadie, a university student doing some course no one remembers, except for Mariam, she always seemed to remember everything about everyone. Sadie had her earbuds still in. There was Dan, the bakery owner who always brought in treats from his bakery. He was proud of that bakery. Always said it's what has kept him going. He always tried to be nice to everyone. Anne, the single mother of two boys, she called them 'my little monsters' and always chuckled after. And the three new guys, the tallest of them all had started last week, always had arms crossed or inside his pockets. The other two, a boy and a girl, they had come in together. No one knew what relationship they had. No one asked.
No one ever asked anything. Not in public at least. Except for Mariam. But in private, say at the snack table, or on the hallway, some managed conversations; "How's business Dan?", "How are the little monsters Anne?", "Doing okay at school Sadie?" The usual stuff that makes you come off as caring.
Today Mariam didn't ask everyone to introduce themselves. No, not tonight. No one knew what criteria she used to determine what days they would say their names and which days they would skip. She settled her gaze, a warm one, at Anne who sat on her far right, and with a smile said, "Why don't you start us off."
Anne was silent for a couple of seconds, then cleared her throat and started them off. She took close to four minutes, she paused a lot as she spoke, as if trying to remember a certain detail to share. She wasn't rushed, nobody was ever rushed. You could take a whole ten minutes and no one would interrupt. They all treated each other like some fragile thing that would shatter to a million pieces if handled carelessly.
The sharing moved towards the center where Mariam was, they all listened, keenly it seemed. Not because they really cared about how many customers had visited Dan's bakery that day, or how Sadie's classes had been. They simply listened because it was courteous, because it was a kind and polite thing to do in that setting. And because listening for people like them meant being seen.
When it got to Sienna, she shifted on her chair and fixed her gaze on Mariam and spoke softly but confidently. "I've been...managing," she said. "Work's fine, a little busy but nothing I can't handle." She took a pause and a hint of a faint smile played at her lips.
"I met a friend for coffee, we had postponed it for a while now."
"How was it? How did you feel about it?" Mariam asked with a tone that seemed like she really cared about that. She had a way of sounding really interested in the little happenings in all their lives. Whether she really did or didn't, no one knew.
Sienna thought for a while then spoke, "It was okay," she paused and thought for a second. "It was really nice, showed me glimpses of my previous self." The faint smile came to life for a second then disappeared.
"Thanks for sharing that." Mariam gave a nod.
The session carried on. Someone cried, and was patted on the shoulder. Three didn't say anything at all, and Marian said it was okay. Everything seemed to be okay with her. The tallest of the three new strangers was one of them, just sat and listened, arms crossed, gaze fixed on whoever was sharing.
Outside this group of strangers, Sienna's life went on like normal, following some sort of routine.
Morning coffee from some nice cafe she had recently found out about while scrolling on her phone. She had tried it out with one of her roommates and fell in love with the place. Emails at the office followed. Research reports. Some article to summarize. Maybe a meeting or two before the week came to a close.
She had a good relationship with her colleagues. Mostly because she was dependable. She performed her tasks diligently, met all her deadlines, was kind enough to everyone.
Her mother always said she is too quiet. Her roommates liked her because of that. Because she didn't ask too many questions, didn't bother anyone with anything. She made dinner twice last week. Went out with some colleagues last Friday and laughed at some joke she later found wasn't too funny.
She was doing fine. She was doing how most people were doing.
After everyone who had something to say had spoken, Mariam wrapped things up in the same manner she so often did. "One last word to describe where you are right now. If you feel like sharing."
"Tired." That was Sadie.
"Hopeful." That came from Dan, the bakery owner.
"Okay I guess." That was from one of the new guys.
Others didn't say anything and once again, Mariam said it was okay.
Mariam ended the meeting, thanking everyone for coming in. They then stood up to leave, some walked to the snack table for a coffee and a pastry. Dan finally opened the box and revealed it was cookies today. With a smile, he said, "Used brown butter today. Tastes really good."
Sienna passed by the without taking one, but offered a "Thanks" that sounded like she meant it. As she walked, her eyes paused on the tallest of the new guys. He wasn't looking at her, but he hadn't looked away either.
Then she walked past him and out the door.
No one called after her, no one ever called after anyone. Outside that door, they all went their separate ways, to live their separate lives, until the next meeting when they would be one.