A Trip to the Other World

Each new day, as the story of life unfolds, we are privy to new realms of the self and the universe. I didn’t know what that day had in store for me until I was taken to a whole new world.

The morning was unseasonably cold due to heavy rains the previous night. The cab was moving swiftly at a comfortable pace. I was sitting in the middle-left section, reading Crime and Punishment. There were two other women traveling with me, one was sitting with her eyes closed, I don’t think she was asleep though, and the other was blabbering incessantly on phone, ruining the serenity of a beautiful morning but I tried to ignore. I took a fleeting glance on the road ahead. There wasn’t much traffic yet. I closed the overhead duct, and went back to my reading.

A few minutes later…

Someone was honking frantically. I turned to my left; a biker was trying to overtake our cab. The cabbie let him. The moment the bike overhauled our cab, it lost control and toppled over. Our cab swerved towards right in an attempt not to run over him and came to a halt with a strong jolt. Sometime during the tumult, my head hit the left window frame. I blinked, spots of light danced through the darkness in front of my eyes. "Am I done here?" My entire life flashed through my mind in a split second, my first visit to shirdi, cuddling my mom, dancing with my dad, teasing my li’l brother and wonderwall… his face just wouldn’t fade away. “Is that all? I haven’t even seen him yet.” I thought before I tranced into utter blackness. Honestly, I don’t really mind dying except for missing him... and my parents.

For next several minutes, I lay unconscious in one of the women's lap. When I regained my senses, I felt fierce headache following which I regurgitated. It was difficult for me to keep my eyes open but I was not sure if I should sleep. I think I had a concussion but I didn’t know what condition I was in. I asked the driver to move the cab. As soon as we reached work, I was taken to the hospital. I tried to walk but my legs were trembling.

I was admitted in casualty. A doctor and two nurses looked after me immediately. They took my vital signs; my temperature had shot up and blood pressure had plummeted. The doctor asked my name and other information. I remembered everything. He assured that there was no loss of memory. They took me for a CT scan. I struggled real hard to keep my eyes open but I couldn’t. I was given medicines through an intravenous drip in my right hand. This was the first time when I experienced a drip and it was f***ing painful. In fact, I don’t remember when the last time I was admitted to a hospital. Within 10 minutes, my hand was swollen. I requested them to take it off but they didn’t. It was important to normalize my body temperature and blood pressure.

I think I went to sleep for a while. After some time, my colleagues came and told me that I will be discharged in a couple of hours and I should inform my parents now. But I knew they will freak out. So I decided to get home first and then explain things slowly. The doctor told me that it was fine for me to sleep except that someone needs to wake me up every 2-3 hours. If I have difficulty waking up the next morning, then I will have to see a doctor asap. I asked if I will be able to wake up at all and he smiled.

My Beloved - I

"How could you betray me my dear wife? I loved you more than anything, I still do. Where did I lack?" He begged before the gigantic close-up pegged neatly at the front wall of the living room. He stepped closer to the picture, touched as though he would run his hands though her soft brown hair, and slowly ran his fingers down to the dimple on her left cheek. He embraced the picture and stood there for a while.

He turned around and realized that it was the same room they tastefully decorated together after their marriage. He looked around and realized that though she left him long ago, she still lived there more than he himself did. How on earth would he be able to forget her? He looked at the small crystal memento she brought for him when she visited Hong Kong for a two-day conference. He remembered how sorely she missed him already the moment her plane took off from the airport. His wife always loved him. What made her change so drastically? He slid against the wall, until he sat on the floor gazing blankly at the ceiling. The memories of the first day at St. Stephens College flashed through his mind.

He was sitting in the cafeteria when a girl with lowered eyes holding her notebook close to her chest approached him in her soft voice, “I saw you in the class today. Do you mind if I could share the table with you?” He looked at her and then looked around and noticed that no other table was available. He nodded and went back to reading his book. She had a cup of Earl Grey tea and two pieces of muffins. She offered him some, but he declined. He pretended to be absorbed in reading and stole a few glimpses of her subliminally from the corner of his eyes. She had a round face and she looked intelligent in her grey eyes. She was wearing a pink gloss that complemented her fair complexion. She was beautiful.

The next day when he was in the chemistry lab, she came and stood in front of him. He looked up and she greeted him cheerfully. He was glad to see her but he didn’t know how to strike a conversation with her. She explained that she missed her lecture and wanted to take notes. Without a moment’s delay, he gave her his notebook and she left. He wanted her to stay and talk to her but was too shy to ask. He kept looking in her direction until she became smaller and smaller and then disappeared finally.

She didn’t show up the next day and another no show on the following day. He grew curious. He waited for a week and finally took her contact number from the office. When he called, her mom told him that she was down with viral and may be back to the college in a couple of days. He felt relieved.

When she returned, she expressed gratitude for his caring gesture. It was the beginning of their friendship. They spent most of the time studying together. At other times, they spent evenings strolling on a beach. Their relationship continued four years of college even though they went to schools in different parts of the country. Following graduation they married. They were more than in love with each other. He never seemed angry at her or never raised his voice and she did anything he would ask.

I Just Can't Stop Lovin' You

Everyone comes into your life for a reason. Ever since she’d known him, she tried to solve the mystery. Her inner self proposed her with an idea that perhaps she was the one who could understand him. However, he never exhibited a sign of sharing this view. In almost three years, he did not speak to her more than a couple of times.

Kate absolutely loved her and being her best friend, she did not want her to spend so much of herself on someone who didn’t care.

Every time she talked to him, however, briefly though, she found no flirtation or added charm in his tone. She found him different from anyone else she had known. To her, his smile was a revelation. Whenever she'd look at his gorgeous contagious smile, she'd feel as though life is smiling back at her. Not that she herself was an ordinary girl. She was pretty charming and a very confident person. She knew who she was and where she fit. She had a lot of friends but none of them made her feel the way he did. She was irrevocably in love with him.

Whenever she’d see him, she’d want to wave but would just resist. If she'd done that, she'd have felt like a pervert. But that day, it was different. It was his birthday. The moment she thought of wishing him, he crossed her gaze. She wished nothing more than to have him look deep into her eyes. It appeared as if they really knew each other and all he wanted was her to be there for a moment, as though there were so many important things they wanted to say to each other without uttering a word at all. Such were the times when she wanted the universe to come to a halt. He looked uncertain however and walked away, and she wondered what it meant.

Later she tried to explain it to Kate as an evidence of a true connection, but Kate dismissed it as another 'non-event.'

"If he liked you, you would know it." Only Kate was her unwavering friend.

How many times can you give up on someone you love?
Perhaps never!!

She was chosen for the "Annual Photo Shoot". It was an important event, which was slated for the following Monday and there was a lot of preparation to be done. Whatever she was doing, she would envision him there with his thoughts and opinions. And though they'd not really spoken much, she always had a clear idea of what he would think. He wouldn’t like a lot of makeup, for instance but he would be fine with style.

He liked her dress, she thought, as she pulled it carefully and let the fabric settle over her body. That's why she'd selected it.

"He doesn’t care how you look or what you do."
"Maybe he'll. You don’t know that."
"He won’t. He's had a lot of chances to care, and he hasn’t."

The photo shoot went well, better than her expectations. She saved some copies to show him later.

"If you want, keep the copies for yourself and for your family but not for him. You don’t belong with him."
"Love has no conditions. If there are, then it’s not love. It is fine if he chose not to come my way. A soul mate doesn’t necessarily be a life mate and a life mate doesn’t necessarily be a soul mate!"
"I don't know anything about soul mates. All I can tell you is that external beauty is superficial. It's only a human construct and the universe has very little use for it but a loving soul is more beautiful than anything else. As a matter of fact, you have more than your share of beauty."
"Ahem!! That was nice. Where did you pick it up from?"
"#$%#^^%$^"

 

Communication Gap

Recently, I happened to traverse across several places including the south coast of India. I also spent some time at one of my company’s lush green campuses where they have a beautiful pond. This pond houses some very beautiful ducks. These ducks have a very soothing effect on your soul when they have a heart to heart talk with you.

Usually when I would be fagged out and would need some fresh air, I would step out and sit by the pond to have a chit-chat with these ducks. Initially, the ducks refused to befriend me but when they did befriend me, I was surprised at their ability to talk a mile a minute. They would weave one topic of conversation seamlessly into another. They also shared the litany of complaints about the kind of visitors they had. I accompanied all this with a few affirmative oinks, agreeing with everything they shared with me. During the chats, I’d feed them small pieces of bread crumbs as well for I thought they must be hungry and they loved that too. This continued for a couple of days before I received a mass mailer which read something like this:

“It has come to our notice that the ducks in the pond are being fed bread crumbs and crackers instead of duck food. Such food is rich in carbohydrates and is not healthy for the ducks as it makes their internal organs become enlarged and fatty. They have a small pouch in their esophagus to store food before passing it on to the digestive system. The bread gets stuck in the crop and prevents the passage of food to the stomach. The employees are requested not to feed anything to the birds. The facilities management department will take care of their food requirements. We appreciate your cooperation.”

As usual, I visited the ducks again in the evening. They were as happy to see me as I was to see them. We kept talking for a while but today I did not give them anything to eat. They asked why I did so. I inquired if they received any mail from facilities and they shook their head in denial. I told them that they must have forgotten to copy them in. However, as per the mailer, overeating led the ducks to put on weight and consequently, they look out of shape now. So they have requested the visitors not to feed the ducks anymore. The ducks agreed that they had indeed gained some weight.

I tried to comfort them that ‘out-of-shape’ is also a shape and to me, they looked pleasantly plump so they need not worry. As the old saying goes beauty lies in the beholder's eyes. As long as their heart is beautiful, external beauty doesn't matter. They looked a little calm and relaxed. I told them that they will be given healthy food by the facilities department and I will speak to them about the mail bit. I also asked them if they have any other concerns and would like me to be their voice. But they were fine so I took their leave and went to the facilities department. 

I questioned them if they were trying to ruin our friendship with the birds and if not then why did they not mark the birds on that mail. The birds were not happy at what had happened so they owe the birds an apology. They felt sorry and assured me that they will make up for the slip.

I came back to my room, ate my food and slept peacefully.