In The Cafe

Summary

A man finds solace in living at an internet cafe after leaving behind his previous life, including his dog.

Abstract

The man's decision to reside in an internet cafe marks a significant departure from his former life, characterized by financial burden and mental strain. He finds comfort in the cafe's privacy and affordability, which provide a respite from the pressures of his past, including the corporate world and personal depression. Despite the loss of his dog weighing heavily on him, he appreciates the simple pleasures of life within the cafe, such as coffee, cigars, and late-night city walks. This lifestyle, while unconventional, offers him a chance to recover from his depressed state and escape the demands of society and his own mind.

Opinions

The man views his new life in the internet cafe as a preferable alternative to his previous, stressful existence.
He believes that the peace he finds in the cafe outweighs the societal expectations of conventional living.
The man reflects on his past life with regret, particularly the loss of his dog, but recognizes the internet cafe as a sanctuary from his struggles.
He rejects the pressurizing voice in his head that pushed him towards societal norms, indicating a sense of liberation from internal and external pressures.
The man sees the internet cafe as a temporary haven where he can regain his vitality and distance himself from the corporate world that once consumed him.

The man who took comfort in the internet cafe

He hugged his dog for one last time and handed over the keys to the security, and then walked away in tears. The dog was sold to another man as he could not take the dog with him anymore.

He got into the cabin of an internet cafe as planned, where he would be spending his life from now onward (at least for some time). That small cabin was good enough for him to lay down with enough privacy.

It was such a relief for him since he wasn’t burdened by the thoughts of heavy rent payment. And after all, all he required was a little space. The other kind of life — the expensive, busy life — had gotten the better of him anyway.

As days passed he realized that all that he lost was worth losing except the dog. Enough was enough and this was far better than anything else he had endured in his life — which he barely wished to remember.

The depression and unsatisfactoriness that had been haunting him for years had finally paved the way for him to end up in this little cabin of an internet cafe with a cigar, a coffee, and his favorite cartoon played on the computer screen.

Perhaps this is not a good way to live — he thought. But then it was good enough for him at least until he can recover a bit of vitality with the easing off of the depressed state.

He could no longer fall for the pressurizing mean voice in his head — he was done with it for good — for real good. For he had endured this pressure of his own mind and the minds of the corporate bosses which had eaten him up alive for the past 25 years.

For the first time, in a long time, he has the privilege to take long walks at night through the city without the burden of the next day. As soon as he comes back from his daily sauntering he will relish the ready-made noodles available with the drop of a coin, in that cafe.

Net café refugees (ネットカフェ難民, netto kafe nanmin), also known as cyber-homeless (サイバーホームレス, saibā hōmuresu), are a class of homeless people in Japan who do not own or rent a residence (thus having no permanent address) and sleep in 24-hour Internet cafés or manga cafés. Although such cafés originally provided only Internet services, some have expanded their services to include food, drink, and showers. The net café refugee trend has seen large numbers of people using them as their homes.