He straightened up and bulged out his heavy chest against the gale. The air circled around his waist, his arms and the ribcage could feel the temperature difference. The shoulders were relentlessly trying to pull back the bare chest, the arms trying to embrace the waist and avert the shiver and crack of ribs. The face was helpless; enduring all the scarring. They all endured and persevered for the sake of eyes. Cause eyes were timid; cause it was time when eyes would take too long to come out of their protective shell and confront the strong wind. The rest were patient though and knew, that eyes had to come out eventually; it all seemed a ritual lately.
Deep inside the brain, there was a pandemonium. Control and Instinct had long gone haywire. None of the two knew who mastered whom. May be their roles were reversed or perhaps both intertwined like the yin-yang. They both battled and the consequence was a naked body standing in the cold wind’s way. Mind was busy reminiscing the past, the misfortune, the mistakes and the aftermath. It seemed dormant now, completely battered and clobbered. The scenes of life so far, started- first slowly and then in an endless replay mode. Eyes were both witness and the convict for recording them.
There was no recollection of the good times in life. He was prepared, nurtured and trained for the toughest, fiercest challenges. But choices and decisions turned some uneven pages in life. The bed of roses suddenly transformed into a labyrinth of thorns. The might was adequate, the success was officially awarded, but the sacrifice made was too much. The mirth of success was short-lived. Perhaps he ran too fast for others to keep up. He climbed the podium and looked back. The cheers were gone. So was the person for whom this was all about. What is success? Is it what you have accomplished? Or is it what you are left with?
They say dreams have substance when they are not companions of your sound sleep but catalysts to insomnia. He had too many of them. The early morning alarm bells were just his wake-up calls that ‘it hadn’t happened’. The rest of the day had been spent pondering ‘what if it will?’. But the dreams never materialized. An atheist he, asks secretly to the supposed Almighty; one question, “Why others’, why not mine?”. “Were others the first to dream that? Or they deserved more than me? ” “Are all my dreams disruptive to Your Natural Order and Scheme of Things?”. What are dreams? Are they spiritual guidance, a God’s message? Or are they extreme scientific hallucinations; a chemical imbalance?
A hail stone brushed the cheek, the arms loosened and the sudden chill interrupted the play. The brain was exhausted, almost given up. It somehow started its routine monitoring of the body. Eyes had no intention to open up. The shoulders were adamant in their position. The arms tightened again. The face just took another scar. Lungs reluctantly inhaled and mixed oxygen in blood. But there was an unusual activity in the heart. Who was directing it? Control or Instinct?
The heart was in its best form. The pumping of blood throughout the body was being carried out with full efficiency. Brain dropped by, to perform a last status check. Inside a thousand memories resided. All of them of love, care and affection. All of them from friends, family and the one person who always waited, cared and loved. Brain was stunned. Heart patted, brain swung back violently, Heart smiled and said, “Whenever you are ready! Take your time.” Brain knelt! The pandemonium that had broken out, broke off. Eyes had only one way to love back, it came out of their protective shell. The sight of the clouds hugging and kissing the snow capped mountain peak was overwhelming. Then, flood.
