A Not-so-bad Monday

He was progressively regaining consciousness, swallowing the roughness he could feel in his dry throat. His bed was feeling a little different today. A shade of brightness falling on his closed eye lids reminded him that it was morning already. However the trials to open his eyes were repeatedly turning out to unsuccessful. So he gave into the situation and thought of lying down for sometime.

Suddenly a movie started rolling at the back of his semi conscious mind. He was transported to a sight where he saw drinks and people in equal proportions. It was his office and somehow the army of workers had risen above their cubicles and were attempting to enjoy their lives. He himself held a glass which was empty and he lined it up among the other glasses on the table, like he was positioning a pawn.

A digital clock on the wall struck 12 and the day changed to "Monday" which looked even more lifeless than how it appeared. A man in the centre was welcoming numerous hugs. "Happy birthday, boss!" they all said before delivering a hug and walking back from the door. Soon, he was the only one there. After swallowing down another drink he stood up and walked towards the man who was trying to hide his tiredness behind a fake smile.

His eyes suddenly opened and abruptly ended the movie running in his mind. He shielded his eyes from the brightness and got up. The carpeted floor brought memories back, like a final piece of a puzzle which had finally completed the picture. The movie that was running in his sub conscious mind now made sense. He walked towards the front door, passing by his cubicle and picking up his resignation letter.

On reaching the door, he looked back, staring at a blood stained body lying on the floor with a broken bottle stabbed in its stomach.

He turned back and began walking, and for the first time in his life….. Monday felt relieving.

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Misery

The stillness of the night spectated him, as his shaky feet led him forward. He was a miserable man and that night he was just a little more miserable. He tried kicking the pebbles on his way, missing them every single time. The frustration was taking a toll on him. It was now turning into an emotional heart ache that was waiting to overflow.

It had just stopped raining. He slowly made his way under the tree on the roadside. The tree had been there for a long time now, its size told a lot about its age. Althought its green leaves somehow appeared lifeless, like they were trying to put up an appearance which wasn't natural.

The alcohol was now tightening its grip over his mind and his heavy heart dropped like an anchor in the ocean of emotions.

He started weeping like a baby. Stumbled by an emotional need, he looked around to find somebody. But the empty streets just laughed at his helplessness.

A furious breeze started to blow. He turned back and embraced the tree trunk and cried keeping his head on it.

The winds continued blowing and the tree let out drops of water from its branches. He looked with astonishment as it was only raining under the shade of the tree.

Perhaps, misery was with everybody. It was everyone's friend.

A Handshake With Loneliness

The darkness was his home. He lived in a place which was always under the curtains. He was the only one there. Just walking the dark and barren lands, sometimes sitting down on a fallen tree trunk. There were times when he sobbed and the winds tried to console him, there were times when he laughed like a maniac without any specific reason and the winds tenderly stroked his hair.

He would write words coming out of his heart on dead leaves and throw the leaves away with the winds blowing them to some place he didn't know.

He had somehow found a home in the darkness. Like an unknown face in the darkness had handshaken with his loneliness.

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Chains

Everyone were carrying a load of their imperfection which justified an imperfect universe. Some with their chained hands while some with their chained feet, they all had their imperfections distributed in different ways. But they also had distractions, letting their senses ignore the imperfections they had.

There was a constant share of imperfection in the world and it was not equally distributed. Besides people with single chains, there were also those who were entirely chained from head to toe. They were tied and made to stand at one place, attracting sympathy, as people secretly questioned their previous births. Those chains were their faithful companions, the only true friends they had.

He was one such "special" specimen carrying a hefty load of imperfections from head to toe. Among the crowded scene before him, he saw her staring at him. She herself had her feet chained, but it didn't show on her face. With a mysterious expression she started moving towards him. His hand and feet went numb for a while.

Finally, she was right before him as her eyes turned slightly misty. She came closer and embraced him. He saw his chains slowly melting away as his hands fell free, hanging parallel to his body. She still had him embraced and the chains guarding his feet melted away too. He wanted to embrace her back but he wasn't able to move his hands. Everything around him froze, he looked up, and reality stared back at him. He was still chained, with the chained passer bys ignoring him. He had just woken up from a nap, still chained to an extraordinarily imperfect life.

Still waiting to be set free.

A Disappointed Infant

He wiped the drops of sweat on his forehead. The design was finally complete and the human-like structure made of steel was standing before him. What started out as a simple project to trace mice in the dirty basement he lived in, turned out to become a full-fledged model. The digital screen blinked in the darkness, with the words “Battery full” flashing in green text. He had worked very little on the design of the model which made the figure look like a dummy from some low-budget sci-fi movie.

With a gentle push he guided the large figure to an open area. He plugged a large device to the model he had borrowed from the laboratory. There are advantages in a Janitor’s job too, that’s why he can “borrow” the equipment and the “techniques” without the knowledge of people working there. He pressed a red button and the machine came to life, letting out a loud growl, vibrating the model’s steel skeleton. The machine suddenly stopped and silence took over. He waited for something to happen and finally let out a sigh of disappointment.

He removed the plug from the model and it suddenly flipped backwards landing in front of a mirror. The figure noticed its steel body in astonishment, tilting its bald steel head from side to side. It suddenly turned towards him letting out a shrill mechanical voice, “Papa, Why am I so ugly? “

The Lost Smile

His life was an endless road. For the worldly eyes he was just a driver nothing more, but he was an aimless wanderer for himself. The road was his best friend and the faces in front of his eyes always kept changing, whether on the road or in the rear view mirror. However, there was one face that managed to linger on in his memory. He didn't find her beautiful but when their eyes met a silent conversation happened. At the end of the day, he was a driver and she was a regular passenger who boarded the cab to her work and back home.

Some days he would randomly ask her "How was the day ma'am?"

To which she would smile and say something which he would not hear as her smile said things more than she actually spoke. His question would be the same every time, a question which hid so many things he wanted to say.

Just when he started getting used to her, he stopped getting pick up calls from her. He silently waited for his manager to order him to go to that familiar road where she used to wait. But nothing happened. Every now and then he would purposely drive around the same route in a hope to spot her but he never saw her again.

The roads now seemed a little lonely. He used to picture her sitting on the backseat smiling at him, finding it hard to accept that she was long gone.

Another Chance

It was a make or break situation. He had accepted his fault and there he was, right in front of her, weeping like a child. She has always given into situations and compromised. But when the love of her life admitted about his accidental betrayal, she wanted to run away, leaving everything behind to find a refuge for her broken heart because people who promise to stand by you can also leave your heart bleeding.

The packing was done; the suit case was ready and she prepared to leave, trying to ignore his heavy sobs. He repeatedly apologized as she tried to push away those memories from her state of mind, memories which never fade with time. She opened the door, banging it right behind her and began looking for a taxi.

He was helplessly sitting inside, on the couch, crying out loud. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. He opened the door and she was there, with her suitcase, looking at him with her teary eyes.

She extended her arms and he hugged her. They both stood there in the moonlit night, crying their hearts out, in each other’s arms, like two lost lovers.

Soon, two glasses of wines were poured and one could spot a silhouette from their window, depicting two figures indulged in a passionate waltz.

= = = =

…Because love is worth every chance you give it.

Wrote this in response to this.