He glanced at his phone. It was already 1.45pm. John was late. Again. Even though he was reading the newpaper to bide his time, it's annoying to always have to wait for John. Especially when the coffeeshop staff always gives these weird stares. But then again, it might be due to him having sat there for more than 20 minutes and not having ordered anything.
"Hey Mike!"
"Finally", Mike muttered under his breath.
As John took his seat across Mike, he noticed the cold stare that he was getting. He was about to ask what is it all about, but then he remembered that Mike has gastric, but still had to wait for him to get started. Meekly, he said,
"Sorry I'm late, man. The jam was terrible."
Mike stared at John, but then realized that John looked genuinely sorry. He gave a sigh, and assured John that he wasn't angry. After all, how could he be angry at him, who has been his friend since primary school?
John's face instantly lit up and gave the happiest smile you could imagine. They ordered their food, and both of them was wolfed down their food with incredible speed when it arrived. Now the staff was giving them stares for a whole other reason.
"What's in the movies now, Mike? Feel like catching one?"
"Hmm...not much here. What kind of movies do you wanna watch?"
"Erm...comedies, I suppose? These are some gloomy days."
Mike adjusted his spectacles, and looked at John. That was not the face of someone who has had a gloomy day in his life. But he knew that John was incredible at hiding his feelings. He scanned through the movie screening times in the papers, which was surprisingly more effective than using the phone, as the paper showed screening times for multiple cinemas at once.
"There's not much in terms of comedies. Ah wait! There might be...oh no, nope. My mistake."
"Is there one?"
"Yes, but...it's the kind you hate. You know, the slapstick kind."
"Oh no, not that kind."
John groaned. Mike knew he hates slapstick comedy. On hindsight, it might have been better if he had just said that there's no comedies showing. For he knew that John would start on his speech.
"You know, I just don't get it. How can people think of slapstick as a kind of comedy? It's just people falling left and right, and exaggerating everything."
"Well...", Mike tried to salvage the situation.
"Some people like it, I guess. They don't have to think as much. They just...shut off their brains."
"Yeah, that might be so, but sometimes, it just feels dumb."
Mike whipped out his phone, and furiously typed in something.
"According to Wikipedia, something can be considered a comedy as long as it makes people laugh. As long as people laugh, then it's considered comedy, I guess."
John still had that look in his eye. Mike knew it wasn't over. He quickly took a sip of his coffee before John started again.
"If that's comedy, then how about works like The Divine Comedy? I don't think going to Hell is considered funny."
"It might be...for some."
John raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, think about it, John. We're living here, in this world. And this world, it's a cruel one. It's not the most forgiving one, to be sure. So we gotta do what we can to survive, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"So while we're trying our hardest to survive, we tend to do...mistakes. Sometimes we hurt people. Sometimes we do bad decisions."
"Okay..." John could see that Mike's face had taken a serious tone.
"Don't you think it's funny, then, that even when we're doing all this, we're being judged? That our actions that we do to continue living are being judged? And that we might be punished after we die?"
John was silent.
"I think it's laughable, John. To be honest, I'm not quite sure how to make sense of all these afterlife stuff. I know it can't be proven, but it can't be disproved as well. So...I just laugh it off."
Both of them went silent. The mood of the entire table went into a sombre tone.
"John...what do you think about life?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do you think there's any meaning to it? What are we here for?"
"Erm..I don't know, Mike. I just try to live the best I can."
"What if...there's no meaning? What if we're just here...because we are? What if all those people who are looking, seeking for the meaning of life, the ones going on their spiritual journeys and such, are just wasting their time and effort?"
"Then...the joke's on them."
Both of them sniggered.
"Life..the greatest comedy of them all."
