A Bird Flies Away

A Bird Flies Away
My phone began to ring loudly. There were quite a few messages from her waiting   to be read too.  It was the same ring-tone, the one I knew so well. My phone was tuned to ring out a particular jingle when she called. I jumped up into the air when I realised she was calling me; I felt honoured and glorified at the same time. I wondered if she experiences a similar excitement when I ring her up.

A meaningless conversation was being carried on at that time between us at a metaphysical level. It was a wordless conversation, and yet it rung some sweet chords within both of us. We were looking into air and yet we were smiling. Each of us had the other one in one’s thoughts. I’ve often wondered what lovers talk of while they hold hands, and I felt I was on the verge of discovering some beautiful secrets. We were not holding hands, we were miles apart from each other, and yet the contact was as good as if we held hands.

Eventually, I felt our grips loosening; there was a dark shadow on us. Its darkness covered up all the wonderful powers love had aroused within us over several years. It loosened our grip. We found ourselves drifting apart, and all the pathos and bathos lent by the dark clouds above us added to the misery of being apart. We simply went different ways.

There were ravines of doubt and mistrust around us and they had come up between us, and our car was running at a steady pace between them. A deep and dark shadow was cast on our car as a bird flew by, we did our best to avoid falling prey to these dark tips of nature, but none of us was strong enough to tackle nature in its purest form. A small amount of doubt and mistrust had already found its way within both of us.

It happened in a jiffy before any of us could realise what was happening. Our entire presence was drowned by a dark shadow. I was a bit surprised by the alacrity by which it covered us, but it did happen. It was to shower its wrath over us in a short while, and both of us were sure to be drenched in absolute misery if we didn’t rush for cover.

Love certainly has the powers to make life live, but it can also make life miserable too. We realised this now. We experienced the presence of boulders around us like one experiences  the presence of skyscrapers while going around a modern city. Once the novelty of looking at high-rising-buildings wears itself away, what remains is only the strain of looking up at the top floor. There is always a temptation to look up and be at the top. Everyone of us makes efforts to get to this top. Eventually, we realise the top is a dream that keeps shifting away from us. We only have to strain ourselves a bit more to look at a fresh new top every day.

These buildings were bent on squeezing every bit of happiness from our lives into a void even as we did our best to pass through them without making our presence felt. Practically, we were miles away from each other, but at a different level, we were travelling in the same car through tall skyscrapers.

There were dark and formidable curtains over all windows of these buildings. I wondered what purpose they served for no one was tall enough to be able to peep through any of these windows. It dawned on me they shielded the rooms from harsh sunlight that falls on these buildings every day. I wondered if all of them were good enough to guard all inhabitants.

One size never fits all, I know, not everyone finds solace from the harsh sunlight even behind such blinds. Everyone is exposed to different amounts of sunlight; there is a different size of curtain for all of us, I know. This is why each window of every room in these skyscrapers has a different kind of curtain over it. Each curtain does its job well, and yet all inhabitants look at each other with jealousy floating in their eyes. Everyone believes the other one has  a stronger curtain than what covers his or her window.

As I peered out of the car’s windows, I found all those on the streets or footpaths had straw-hats over their heads. They had broad rims to shield their users from the sunlight. I began to wonder why the sun sends so much evil in its incarnation every day. A solitary beam stole into the car: its message was clear: you are going to be found out one day wherever you may hide yourself. I was trying to hide from miseries life inflicts while in the  car.

Even the car we were in had curtains over its windows, but they let in the beam of light. A sinister aura appeared within the car. We were able to see some of the tall buildings through the windows in a while. The sight did intimidate us for a while, but we soon got used to it. For a change in perspective, I tried to look out of the car’s dashboard. I might get a clue of our destination. We didn’t know where the car was taking us to, we  were simply being carried by the car through a jungle of skyscrapers with blinds drowning their windows.

Quite soon, all of it was accompanied by a loud roar of a waterfall around us. I began to wonder what the source of the noise was. Its sound was loud enough to drown all signs of life the city made. I was a bit scared I held her hand a bit more tightly. She dug her nails into my hands. It did hurt a bit, and I began to wonder if it was her love or her animosity. I wanted to be loved, but not in the manner she loved me. I wanted some more of the elixir called love, but I began to doubt her intentions.

As I held her hand in the car, I felt like a cage in search of a bird called love. It insisted on flying further away from me despite all my efforts to placate it. Seeds of mistrust had been sown between us a long time back, and they were now growing into plants and      trees.

This bird will eventually find its perch on a different tree, while I may have to be content with another bird in my  cage.