The splashing of the waves rejuvenated the shimmering blanket of hope that seemed to have forgotten its way into his life. He sat down steadily on the beach watching the rhythmic upbeat of the salty waters, feeling melancholy. His recent days had always been like this...
His solitary attitude reflected in the lonely sun setting on the western horizon indicating the end of another day. Well, an ordinary day for the world, yet another dreadful day of guilt for him. Ever since he lost her, his days always ended with the same heavy sighs and an added burden of guilt that seems to consume him entirely with each passing second. The beauty of the sunrise did not affect him anymore, the chatter-chattering of the dubious diurnal species did not provide him the refreshment and peace of a new day, and the usual sunny mornings with trees rustling around his house did little to calm his irritation. Whereas the beginning of a new day brought renew hopes and dreams to the world, his new day begins as an extra burden on his already low confident life. Each day was a moment of torture for his being. Each pleasant evening doubles his anxiety, and adds a glow of unknown darkness and unbearable gloom into his life...
***************
The melody of the sea fills her ears with happiness. The sultry waters
of the Arabian Sea soothes her being relaxing her inner core to a
large extent. She relives her spiritual moments just sitting on the
dirty sands of the Juhu beach. She notices the people around her- the
large crowd of Mumbai's never sleeping population, the rowdy
gangsters that live among the common masses without as much as a
sign of criminal tagged onto them, the couples walking around the
beach holding hands and cherishing each moment together, the
onlookers staring intently towards the sea...but what she dreads most
are the lonely souls walking aimlessly or sitting and staring towards
the end of the horizon as if setting on a journey of their most private
guilt trip or despicable lies. She wonders, 'how could someone come to
a beach and just sit there cursing his life, whereas there are so many
beautiful and joyous memories that a normal human being can actually
relish along with the harmony of the ocean waters...'
Her motto in life was simple- 'one came to the world to live, so why
not cherish every moment of it and treasure what we can so that we
can take at least something good with us when we leave this world??'
She could never understand the real meaning of the word 'lonely'.
Being brought up in a joint family in Amritsar and growing up amongst
hundreds of friends and relatives, it is impossible for her to remain at
least a single moment alone. Her habit of making friends and treating
enemies with love gives her an undue advantage of never diving into
the vast ocean of what is called solitude and melancholy...
But, not everything we desire comes within our grasp..It had been six
long months since she came to study journalism in Mumbai. At first,
her happiness knew no bounds. Separated from her friends and family,
she set out to fulfill and live a new dream in this big city. However,
fate had other plans for her. Although she proudly established herself
as a famous crime journalist, her ever so cheerful life had turned
upside down. Urban lifestyle is complex and no one has no time for
another. Her usually bubbly self failed to attract people of similar
traits and as a result, her state took a complete 360 degree turn and
the word solitude which she hated so much became a tangible part of
her life. She became a lone wolf and lost her cheerful demeanor in
this sleepless world. As she sat at the contours of the beach, her
mind traveled back to all those days of turmoil that she went through
of being alone that made her restless and home sick. Her long walks to
the beach became indulged with self-pity and overwhelming sense of
deprived confidence.
*********
Sakshi's thoughts trailed off as her eyes fell on a particular stranger
she had come to notice spending months of melancholy days staring at
the sea. At first, she thought of brushing away her thoughts and
focus on how to deal with her own life. But, one day when she was
walking around the beach thinking of how to exaggerate her new
assignment in order to get a higher position and impress her boss, she
happened to run into the stranger whom she had noticed earlier, but
never bothered to talk. "I am turning into one of these people very
fast", she thought. She quickly composed herself and looked up into
his eyes to say a quick sorry only to regret her action later. Those
black orbs held so much pain and guilt that they pierced through her
heart and stuck her inner soul with gigantic and unusual proximity. She
could'nt help but stare into those eyes that seem to have gone vacant
all of a sudden and there was nothing but failure written all over it.
She subconsciously kept of staring at the stranger and her own eyes
became soft. He might have thought it rude to stare someone like
that or might have been in a hurry, that with a slight nod of his head,
acknowledging her apology, he moved away never to look back once.
She stood there dumbstruck thinking of how much guilt a person can
actually carry and why was she so drawn to him. The shrill sound of
her ringtone brought her back to reality. She shook her head
embarrassed at what the stranger might have thought of her staring
at him so intently. She promised herself to talk to this man once she
comes back to the beach again. The setting sun reminded her of the
amount of work she had to complete once she gets back home.
HOME...that one word lingered on her mind as she drove away on her
reddish Nano car across the bustling traffic of the city...
To be continued...
Kumkum Bhagya
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