Solitary reader

The six hour bus drive from Pilani was over.Since me and Akshay hadnt eaten breakfast,we walked straight to Mc Donalds across the road.We looked forward to good fast food after two months,or simply put the last time we were out of Pilani.So we strolled in,dropped our bags and made it straight to the counter.It was rush hour and the place was packed with youngsters.Some had dropped into grab a bite,some just to hang out.A lone LCD was blaring away with no one paying it attention.We managed to get our orders placed and sat down.It was then that I saw this guy sitting alone in a corner sipping a cup of coffee...just a cup of coffee.No burgers,no french fries, no mcpuffs to go with it.What had more of his attention, was the morning newspaper on his table.These two thing were enough to make him oblivious to the activity around him.Now I have seen all sorts of people go to McD(and other such places),but never one like him.The whole act of a person being engrossed in a newspaper right there was enough to arouse my interest in him .So I observed him.After a while ,he got up,neatly folded the paper,put it in a duffel bag he was carrying,took out a novel and went to sit on a bench outside to read it.He was still reading it by the time we left about an hour later...still engrossed and at peace with himself.
It then struck me how utterly simple his actions were and how contented he was.A coffee was all he needed to accompany his morning paper.Some people cast curious glances at him..thinking it was sort of rebellious to read a paper in a hep place like that.They came and went..he carried on..did what he felt like.
It usually takes one to purchase something to feel the satisfaction of enjoying it.That stranger taught me it doesnt.