Brainstorming session

Even though I've been retired for over two years, my former employer - a global pharmaceutical company - has invited me for a brainstorming session. It will take place in a local bar, not in the office building where I've worked for so many years. When I arrive I recognize a lot of my former colleagues, of whom A serves as the sole bartender. What surprises me is that no-one is ordering any drinks. No-one seems to recognize me either.

When the session starts it appears that not only am I unable to participate, I'm also unable to hear what's being said. Not that it matters much, because within minutes the brainstorming session morphs into a meeting of the Council of Leiden, the Dutch city where I live. Subjects being discussed are bicycle routes, parking regulations, construction permits, etc. And though I can hear what's being said, I can't talk back. Well, I can talk back, but nobody hears me.

After the meeting, when people start to mingle, the situation normalizes and I am able to participate in any discussion. I recognize and greet H, a former concert promoter with whom I used to be in regular contact. He tells me he has become a member of the Council, and contributes to important decisions, of which he is very proud. He's wearing triangular glasses set in a yellow frame, his hair has greyed, and he looks much older than he should.

I also run into R, who was in the same class as me when I started my studies at Leiden University in 1976. I ask him what he's doing here, but he doesn't reply and drifts off.

What I learn during the course of the evening is that this bar mixes drinks from leftover medicines, which may explain why no-one is drinking. Still, everyone's holding their empty glasses. When I look closer I see some powder at the bottom of every glass.

Later I discover that when I lean against the wall and lift my feet I don't drop to the floor. Excited, I shout that I have conquered gravity, but no-one is interested. The lights of the bar are lowered, and one by one the people start to leave.

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