The boys kicked the ball to each other. The game of football was proceeding nicely amidst a few games of cricket. It did not matter that they had only a quarter of the ground as their zone. Shouts of near victory arise and fall.

The grandmother was trying to keep up pace with her grand-daughter as she set out to explore the world. You could see the clear amusement and the displeasure of having to run behind a 4-year old.

In another part of the ground, the two puppies were up to their own game, jumping on to each other while their mother lay a few meters away watching. The score wasn’t clear.

The young executive clearly had no time for the rest of the world. She had promised herself that she will do her jog religiously. The ipods made it easier for her to drown the rest of the inconsequential world.

The old men’s gang was back to their discussions on what ailed the country. It did not matter that they had themselves lived their lives in the country. But they had a right to their opinion and it didn’t matter that they were being quickly forgotten.

In the only obscure part of the park, the couple had occupied the only private bench where they could whisper to each other. The giggles, the light touch and the flirty hands all told a story.

I stood on my balcony watching yet another day at the park and thought to myself, is this not a world full of peace…..

Then the newspaper arrived….

It was like picking up from where they left off…
Everytime he tried to tell her what she meant to him..
And everytime she logically proved why it wouldn’t work
And everytime he would tell himself….
Somethings are not meant to be…
Yet he was at this point every single time…
Thinking ‘Que Sera Sera‘!!!

And yet he watched her walk away from it all..
Knowing well that she would return to roost..
There was nowhere else that she could go…
Yet she walked hoping he would call him..
She walked and he let her…
She had walked too far this time…
Life wasn’t always a drama with happy endings!!

She wanted so badly to work it out. Tell him it had all been a mistake. It was eight months since they had last gone their ways.

But then the words didn’t come out at all.
So she just stayed still in his arms. It felt forever.

His eyes went to the clock.

As the end-credits started rolling….
He looked for the pause button…
He didn’t even know if there would be a sequel
He didn’t want the movie to end…
Too bad, life wasn’t a movie…

Dreams of the early morning always come to life….

He wanted it to happen so badly
So he started sleeping early…
So that he could dream about it

The dreams didn’t come and he felt as tired as ever

He kept on dreaming about dreaming
But then insomnia was not an easy one to cure..

He: Ok! Let’s do it then
She: What? Don’t patronize me
He: You wanted me to do it
She: Yes. But I want you to want it
He: Why would I want to do it?
She: No point talking to you

Later,
He: Actually, I think it’s a great idea
She: I don’t care anymore

Hmm, an interesting looking man alone in the elevator. This should be fun, she thought.

I like his eyes on me when I am looking away.
The eyes meet again. Oh, the fun of muted, stolen looks!!

‘Could you please lead me to the reception?’he asks
The eyes had hidden behind the blind man’s glasses

Why don’t you just speak out your mind?

Dont think it will work anyway…. Then why screw the whole thing up?

How do you know without even doing it?

You just know. It hurts to be hurting.

So where do you think you are now?
Have you heard of the term self-fulfiling prophecy?

I work in a Library under a sign bearing the word ‘Silence’. I work there for the entire day from 9 in the morning to 6 in the evening. I step out after locking up from the abode of silence onto the street. People are all running and running but they are all not talking to each other. They are in a hurry to get back to their own personal lives. I pass the money for a ticket and the ticket automatically reaches my hand. The conductor seems to be saying something but I don’t understand. I am not in a hurry to get back to my empty house.

I step onto the back street leading to my house. It is a narrow alley with a vast array of shops selling all sorts of wares. This is the middle of the bustling market. But the silence is even louder amongst the cacophony of bargaining and selling. I pass by all the sellers where no one has the time to greet me or enquire about my day. I get back home and look at the television spewing words in plenty but all I can hear is the imperfect silence of a clinical newscaster.

The wife had passed away and the children had moved on. There was no time for anybody to stop and listen to what an old man had to say. I remembered the time when I had an opinion on everything. I talked like I had only a limited time to tell the world my thoughts. I believed that it was important to talk.

I thought at first it was my old age that took me to the silence and people had just outgrown me. But then I looked around and I realized that people had just stopped talking. They had all become silent. Of course, they did talk but they were not really ‘talking’. I now thanked the gods for making me incapable of speaking and hearing anymore. It had been 6 years and 3 months since I said my last word.

Did I miss hearing? I dont think so.

This was inspired completely by a show that came on Star One. There are these short movies called ‘Studio One’ that comes at 10.30 in the night. In this vast collection of mediocre media, I thought some of these films were pretty cool dealing each day with a particular element - loneliness, love and idealism, childhood. So the above one was just a creative license on one of the episodes. I would have loved to write it in Hindi as I saw it but unfortunately I am just another South Indian..