THE pH OF MY LIFE

THE pH OF MY LIFE

The empty pack of Frooti lay at my feet. I crushed the emblem of defeat out of frustration. It had not lasted longer than the first few sips. Though the taste of fresh mango lingered in my mouth for quite a long time, yet I was not satisfied. I wanted the packet to lat longer; I wanted it to yield a bit more of the happiness that it had promised to me.

I sometimes marvel at the utter simplicity with which my life presents itself, but I am also awestruck by the metaphors used in telling my story: The Creator does have a wonderful sense of dramaturgy. The story always weaves its magic around the circle of my life. Recognizing the truth of a moment has been as exciting as discovering the soul of the universe.

My universe knows no boundaries. No boundaries have been delineated for me, but I somehow feel stifled in my world. This world is new to me, I know that there are other galaxies waiting to be explored, but the incumbent situation has revealed such truths that they are enough to anoint the wounds of my life for the time being. My life has been bleeding profusely for ling time. It would be wrong to place all the blame on myself. I lay past of the burden on the shoulders of my fate that has framed my situation and ruled over my lot.

My lot makes me relies that it was a pleasant walk in the night, it was much better to walk by the night than by the day. The scorching heat was not a part of the night, the night even saved me from the agony of having to bear the burden of my shadow: while the day was full of long and dark shadows, there wasn’t a single one in the night. I do feel a bit lonely in the night, but the company of one’s shadow can be quite intimidating. The walk by the night is in many ways better than the walk by the day. The exercise is so pleasing that the night seems to be walking with me. It is unbelievable how my destiny and the night can saunter together like pilgrims, without talking, merely walking. The two have been in each other’s company for such a long time that I feel that I was better off in the night.

The night never made me a lone traveler. Things were never gloomy. I never went out of the way to do anything to alleviate my alleged loneliness: I didn’t have to. There was the moon in the heavens, there were the stars in the firmament, and moreover, there was the hope of the dawn following the night. The optimism was also accompanied by my experiences that the happiness that life promises to us is never long-lasting. While most of it fades away with time, yet some of it merely lingers for a while like the taste of the mango-juice. The memoirs of the promises that life lives up to too fade away with time.

Time emerges as a brutal monster, but it is not as merciless as it seems to be. Time also does its best to anoint the wounds of the past, it always succeeds in its attempts, things don’t seem to be as miserable as they once were, and the pilgrims continue their trek. Several incidents of the past are like a joke for me now. Each joke reminds me that my life has not been as bad as it is, things were never as gloomy, life was never as gloomy: the adversities that life presents before us are merely a passing phase; happiness forms the continuum. The stretch of happiness is the favourite oasis for the pilgrims trekking across the dull and serene spectrum of my life. Each beautiful moment of my life stands out as an oasis, the lingering freshness of each beautiful moment of my life has somehow diminished the sourness of the painful moments.

The painful moments are like the taste of Frooti that lingers on in my mouth for a while, but eventually fades away giving way to a neutral taste. Life seldom remains neutral for a long time. The pH of my life alternates between the acid and basic pH values as often as the day alternates with the night during one’s lifetime. The taste of mango is a mixture of acid and basic radicals. Life is also a mixture of happy and sad moment: the mixture only adds to the taste. Whatever may be said of our lives, our existence leaves us with no choice but to hang on to the flow of life; this is what makes everyday of our lives exciting. I will enjoy the last drop o my life, I will enjoy the last drop of the juice in Frooti.