I was returning home after an excrutiating day at work. I had chosen to walk even though it was quite some distance. 'Some fresh air would do me good.' I had thought. Well it was twice as good as I had expected. My mind had started to clear for the first time in days and towards the end of it I had started to cheer up a bit. Even the chatter of the cicadas felt like a hearty welcome and I scrunched the gravel path in tune with them to produce a crescendo. It was in that jovial moment, when I was merrily joggling in the drizzle holding aloft my arms to let nature take me over, did God decide to punish me for all my sins. For all I know, I could have been crucified to thin air as I stood there confounded. My throat went dry as I watched a pair snog on a nearby park bench. A monstrous voice roared inside me admonishing me for what I had done. What was worse was the knowledge that it was me myself who was to blame for my helplessness. Fate, it seems, diligently seeks out its lowly victims and mocks them in their faces. With utter deliberation I tore my eyes away from the cynosure and moved on. I was still mulling over the event as I turned the final corner and caught sight of one of our mutual friends making a beeline for me.
'Blow number two, c'mon smite me!' I smirked.
We exchanged pleasantries and made some small talk but I could sense the need to discuss some master plans, so I asked her into my apartment. She pounced on the offer hungrily. The rest of the journey went in silence, each of us contemplating our own thoughts.
"Oh my God! Its worse than what I had imagined."
"What?" I jerked back to reality.
"What?...Nothing."
I was sure I had heard those words as we had crossed the threshold. Once again I studied her thoroughly and yet again found nothing but raw determination shining back at me. At length, I shrugged it off. 'Maybe I am hearing things now. No. She definitely is looking around the room. Ah well, let's see!'
"So, you wanted to talk about something?"
"What!..Oh yeah, umm....We were wondering if you would come with us to this new place we're checking out this saturday."
"We?" I was getting irritated and suddenly found myself rethinking my decision of bringing her along. 'Why can't they just leave me alone?'
"Oh...me and some of my friends." She added way too casually.
"Sure." I replied in a manner to make it clear that the conversation was over. 'I have to do this one time or the other. The sooner the better.' I hoped.
"Umm...okay. I'll call you later with the details." And with another furtive glance around the room, she left.
'What are you girls upto?' I slouched over to the couch and threw myself onto it. Something inside me had started to throb painfully and I was having difficulty pinpoining exactly what. 'There's only one way to find out and I'm sure am not gonna like it. God! I need a beer.'
No comments:
Post a Comment