A Reception Day [Part 6]

The Girl with the Glasses

There is no pleasure more than in being able to express your story to other being(s).

Hence, we write, through the night;

Cause if you can light the sky in the bleak of the night,

then the future is indeed bright.

***

“Hey…”

I was engrossed in completing my edit on a latest story, when a steady voice from one side kept me distracted.

Peaking by my right, I had quite the surprise; It was the girl in the glasses!

Now that she has had my attention, she continues “…Hey…thanks”

I was held perplexed by her presence, which perhaps left her confused. And why not she be?

There I was looking at her, drawn by her allure, mesmerised by her demeanour. Those round glasses on were the perfect ornament to her face, sitting gently on her nose which she adjusted with her calm fingers; just perfect! Perhaps my jaw dropped a little then, which I might have never realised.

She must have!

Hence, she continued with a wry of a smile: “umm…thanks?”

Pic Courtesy:  Avah Drawing

A Reception Day [Part 5]

That Night at the Airport

If you look me in the eye, I would ask you to tell me “what do you see?”

If you open your eyes, then you will see, that it is just you and me!

If you tell me the things that you want, I will give you all the things that I have got.

Trust me darling, it’s a perfect paradise.

When your heart skips a beat,

when you feel butterflies in your stomach, the same way you felt for the first time,

when you place your head over my shoulders,

I would say, Hey! Listen to you breathe; Are you living in a dream?

It is time to be together, forever!

***

 A dream!

My friend must be feeling like living in that perfect dream. The dream which has been made true today.

By ten forty-five, on that night, while I was arriving at the airport, my friend would have already gotten married. 

There would have been no shortage of pure swoon-worthy moments from the wedding and really, what more can you ask for in a marriage ceremony?

From the moment of him, looking at his bride, falling in love with her all over again, to telling her that you look amazing; the wedding must have had crying moments of happiness and love.

And here I am standing at the end of the driveway to the airport departure gates, miles away from the action.

While still outside the terminal, I could see the planes slowing down, gliding from one end of the runway to the other. With so many planes landing, it becomes difficult to keep track of that one plane continuously. Sometimes it disappeared and then reappeared from a fleet of aeroplanes. Many manoeuvres later, it would take that one final turn and start moving towards the airport terminal, towards the departures side. 

Men dressed in orange work vests would guide the plane to its rightful spot, vigorously signalling with the lighted batons that they held in their hands.

Time to get in! 

It was way early for me to arrive at the airport, for my flight is scheduled to depart at around half past one in the morning. 

Nowhere for us to go anyway, have we?

Besides, with all the buffet that I had before, it is genuine to have a seat to rest. So, what better can you do than to suck it up and wait in the airport, waiting for your delayed flight!

“Identifications please!” asked the security personnel while I handed over my phone to show the booked flight confirmation email.

“Oh sure. There you go” I replied as I passed over my identification card.

Having a careful glance over my face, he utters a simple but formidable “next”, signalling me to move on ahead.

Life moves on but as the Avengers said it: Not Us!

So, take me over, yes take me over to the crescent of the moon. Oh, my operator, take me to the dream; a place to make me throw out the keys and start living in that dream, with just you and me!

Yes, that dream!

In that dream I knew you well,

where we could shape-shift and trick the past again,

Sigh, that dream.

In the end, the truth is just a ruse!

I am being told to dare to dream. That saying of “if you can believe it then you can do it”, is somehow associated with my superficial innate ability to dream big.

But that is not how it works in general, is it?

Now that truth is a ruse, you being driving a car on the tarmac knowing everyone standing beside the road, patiently looking for a ride; they will take a ride from everyone, for everyone wants a ride-but not from you. They pull away from you!

The reality is often disheartening isn’t it?

But does that stop you from dreaming? Think about it.

I didn’t, cause wandering into that space leads to peril, which causes imminent cold, that shivering to my bones; perhaps I needed someone to reset my soul.

Thoughts spread like wildfire inside that wonder of a brain, multitasking its engines to glide me through to the baggage space and bringing me back to present, to face the back of a queue.

What Would You Do? [Chapter 1]

 “Why are we doing this again?”

              “You will see; the fans are going to love you, and it is good for your approval ratings”

“Yeah…right” (sighs)

He holds the tour plan on his lap as the seat belt’s sign flashed on.

I am coming to your city!

It was stated on all the pages as he disgruntledly glanced through every one of them.

“Critically acclaimed writer, best seller of…; God! You wrote all of this didn’t you?” he asked his manager, Dave.

Dave: “All are the work of the organisers. Though I did approve them…; trust me, it would be fine. And be excited; plus, you would start your tour from your good old place, people are crazy about you there!”

He forced a smile on his face, quickly diminishing in an instant as he rocked back in his seat.

“But I don’t want to go back…do I?” asking to his inner self with a sense of deep retrospection.

There was no reply, it felt hollow; perhaps the one inside had gone to slumber, its been long since they had a conversation.

“Like you are of any help!” he murmured as he blamed himself to reach out to the one inside.

              “Seems like you are at it again, don’t you?” Dave quipped.

He did not like that. But before he could say anything, he was interrupted by the lady

“Sir, would you like some tea or coffee?”

He thought for a moment and then queried “Would you have any liquor in here?”

Smiling she says “Yes Sir, the bar is just at the back of the last cabin. I can get some for you. What would you like?”

              “That’s fine, I will get it myself” he replied.

Feeling relieved, he immediately proceeded towards the bar.

“Shall I come with you?” Dave enquired.

He replied promptly “Nope, I am fine!”

He finds his way in the back, reaching the bar, much to his relief.

Onlooking the bar, he was perplexed in his quest to address the person before him as a bartender or a crew member.

Alas, he was greeted by the man tending the bar.

“Good day Sir, what would you like?”

Scratching his forehead with his fingers, he asks “Would you have any whiskey” even though he could see the collection, he still did ask the question, just to start a conversation.

All his success and fame did not change him much to the core, for he was still one awkward person.

Smiling the person at the bar showed him the collection and said “The ones at the centre is all we have sir. Which one shall I serve you?”

He felt disinterested in making a choice and so he replied:

“Anything that would give me a good sleep”

He made a wry of a smile to make things less awkward, even though it had befallen on him that it might not be working.

On the other hand, the flairman was quite generous in saying “Fine Sir, I will serve you my favourite then”

              “Sure, thank you so much” he replied feeling relaxed.

Clutching the glass on one hand, he moved closer to the shut transparent window which was at arm’s length away from the bar.

He scanned the area at the bar; it was completely empty except for him, the person who just poured him his favourite whiskey and an occasional presence of the air hostesses fetching the orders from back at the front.

              “Am I the only alcoholic here” he felt like asking, but rescinded to his own thoughts by looking outside through the window.

“Clear night sky, looks wonderful up here, isn’t it Sir?”

        “Yes…” he says “…it’s wonderful…” (exhaling) “…wonderful indeed!”

Pic Courtesy: VSCO

A Tale of the Broken

If I could talk to you now,

fix my gaze on your face,

or rest in your unwavering embrace;

I would never let go.

I wrote those lines again, for it being so dear to me.

This is a story of a broken man.

*** 

Lately the broken man has been living in his head.

Is it because the rest of him is dead? Well, he is dying for the truth.

Is there no way back from here?

Is there no one who would be pleased to meet the man and say “Pleased to meet you”?

Take my side,

take my hand,

say your prayers;

for I do not care, 

even if there is no way back from here

All his life he is searching for something, the something that leads to nothing.

The broken man is never satisfied, for when that something does comes around, it is taken away, leaving him with the feeling that he feels the most.

A Reception Day [Part 4]

MARRIAGE DAY

That Night at Barbeque Nation

It was time for my friend to get married!

As the dust settles, the sun coming down with the crescent of the moon slowly coming up over the horizon; it will be the beginning of the ceremony of spoken promises. Before God and the witnesses or before the fire, the bride and the groom will recite their vows to each other.

They will smile, yet being so shy, looking at each while passing over the rings to each other. The ring forms a circle around the finger, the circle which has no beginning or end, the symbol of infinity; it is endless and eternal, just how love should be!

This is going to be one of the most important day for my friend, but yet here I am, being miles away, awaiting a taxi to come pick me up, in order to take me to my desired location. Come to think about it, I really had scarce time with me today and the dinner at Barbeque Nation seems to be a mere consolation. The day has much higher significance or value than it got today.

“Where to Sir?” asked the driver while I just boarded the Taxi.

“To the Finolex intersection please” I replied as I made myself comfortable.

The taxi started to move towards the location as I started to look outside, leaning over the door, my face facing the glass.

All the thoughts started to flow in now.

Travelling beside the windows can serve a gateway to another world altogether. A world of deep thinking, contemplation and self-reflection!

***

Have you ever been high? Ever tried Alcohol? Have you ever been in love?

Let me tell you why I am asking you this. You see, alcohol unlike other food does not undergo normal digestion. It reaches the stomach and then is directly absorbed into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, it is carried throughout the body and travels to the brain.

At first there is some observable intoxication, secondly your limb movements start to nimble, deteriorate and then it leads to clear and absolute intoxication. It is at this point that your body starts to give away, creating a total trance state, a feeling of being in a complete dissolution from reality and then at this moment there is no going back. What happens after that? You fall asleep, or vomit (if you can’t take it anymore).

Isn’t that how love gets to you?

As an analogy, love, unlike any other emotion, acts differently on us. You may never know what hit you but its has already cast its effect on you. Slowly you are starting to behave apart from your normal senses. You talk funny, you feel different, your limbs start to move on its own, you start to lose control. When it reaches your heart, you tend to stop thinking rationally with a feeling of warmness inside. And yes, when it reaches your brain, you become a completely different human being altogether.

But what happens when the love you held dear, the one you kept it real close is no more there for you?

“We are at the destination sir”

The driver interrupted my train of thoughts once we reached the intersection. Looking around into the reality again, I exhaled a breath of sigh and left the Taxi.

The restaurant was at about a distance of three blocks towards the back of the intersection, and so, I decided to take a walk up to the restaurant.

While walking, I started to hover over my thoughts again.

It kept me thinking that the breakdown and elimination of alcohol cannot be sped up by drinking water or sleeping, and neither coffee, nor a shower will sober you up faster. As long as your rate of consumption is greater than your rate of elimination, your alcohol level will continue to rise.

So consecutively, how to have less of it?

How do I reduce the consumption?

How to be sure of how much I would need?  

***

“Welcome Sir” the receptionist at Barbeque Nation greeted me with a smile.

They have grown to know me off late. Apart from my frequent visits to their outlets, they have also been a host to one of my pre-book launch events.

He continued “Would you prefer your usual place sir?”

I replied feeling glad “Sure, why not!”

I have always liked Barbeque Nation. In fact, I have had admired it a lot. And why not?

Once you get a place to sit here, you start to get imbibed into the magical experience. The moment the waiter approaches your table, you find yourself in food heaven.

A standard question follows: Veg or Non-Veg?

Quite an innocent question. But being a regular customer, knowing beforehand, what the wonderous gastronomic journey ahead beholds; it is quite difficult to control yourself in not having them all.

Those juicy, succulent tender pieces of perfectly cooked chicken, immaculately moist fish, the deliciously spiced prawns have been my favourites among the starters. The best part is that you have an option to season and grill them yourself as well, as per your taste. Just perfect!

“Sir, would you like to try out our special Mutton Sheekh Kebab today?”

“Yes please!” The grander the better!

You can’t really deny a melt-in-your-mouth Kebab. If you did, then you are at a loss mate!

The veg section has various options but I only reduce the scope to dragon potatoes and pineapples whose taste increases tenfold, if you season and grill them along.

They used to serve chilled beer before, however they have stopped serving them in their outlets following changes in government regulations. A bit amiss, but not much to complain about since you are already having a blast. Your plate is practically never empty as the waiters ensure that you are being attended to every time. Good food with great service, mark of a good restaurant!

And these were only the starters. There is a wide spread buffet waiting for you as well!

I usually try to avoid it though. A curry here and there, a bit of salad and I am done.

I was almost full with the meal and wanted to concentrate on the dessert, but tried to take some rest in between, before such spiritual experience. Flipping open my phone, I hopped through social media posts and came across pictures taken during my friends’ marriage. 

A Reception Day [Part 3]

MARRIAGE DAY

That Afternoon

Work is a never-ending process.

The more you think that you have done enough, is when it starts to creep on you. But the question is, how much should you really do? And would it be worth it?

And so, if the idea of the work done is proportional to the idea of no backlogs or seemingly nothing to follow up on, after one activity is completed; then would it be called incomplete if we add on to the activity or update the task altogether?

My supervisor disagrees with me on this but considering the same person believing in the art of the binary life; it is hard to grasp on the disagreement between us.

“Everything in life is either zero or one” is what he said once.

Office can be tedious at times; new deadlines with change in business plans can upset anyone on any given date. To be fair, business people upstairs are not the comrades of Satan, they are humans too! With the dynamics of the world changing with every second, it gets very hard to keep up with these ever-changing trends, and those are the poor souls who have to come up with ideas and countermeasures to keep the business relevant and competitive.

But well, hey, everyone has their problems and we face it head-on. The developers, working and slogging hours, taking extended work hours, to get a feature completed, sometimes also gets completely taken aback and left in shambles when it comes to their realization that that feature is no longer needed as the business focus has changed and we need a new one to look into.

The binary line is zero here perhaps!

Perhaps the world is conspiring against them. For them, the devils don’t come from the hell beneath, but from the level upstairs.

Back in the café, while sipping my afternoon chocolate milkshake, I canvassed the area close to the glass wall, where the developers made a comical retreat back to their desks, coming back from a meeting perhaps. Felt like they received some updates that they were not happy about; some major changes? Or forecast of extended work hours to scrape though building a product?

No clue while sitting here. I sipped in the milkshake some more to think of who they were though. It is very weird that I don’t even know what they work on or which team they belong to, even though we work on the same floor!

Janice from the café added some chocolate in the usual milkshake today, and she didn’t charge me extra!

She has been at the heart of the café for five years now, cheering up associates with those wonderful cups of coffee and engaging with them in a tone that will destress any situation. There were discussions among the facility team to have a coffee and vending machine instead of the café; but upon noticing the impact that she had on the well being of the associates that came to her joint, they decided to drop the idea.

I guess, those developers near the glass wall did not have any inclination towards coffee.  

I was elated with her hospitality when she offered the chocolate in the milkshake. I never preferred the chocolate milkshake as it was costly and I never fathomed why would an innocent coffee mixed with milk with cost so much than a simple milkshake. Now that I have tasted it, I presume why is it so.

“This is for your career anniversary today” is what she said when she handed over me the milkshake.

I smiled. But felt embarrassed as well, as she remembers the date but no one in office do! (as for their defence, I don’t know many of them as well)

“You know my friend is getting married today” I told Janice adding “It’s his anniversary as well”

Janice replies(smiling): “Well, good for him”

“Yeah…(pause)…yeah” I said

“So why are you here today?” Janice enquires.

“Excuse me?” I retorted as I was taken aback by the question. Perhaps I did not expect that. In fact, it came out of nowhere.

“I mean, shouldn’t you be in your friends’ marriage today?” said Janice as she tried to reframe her sentence.

Inception, the movie, has shown us that an idea can be planted deep inside a subconscious mind and that idea when seeded, it grows in a tree of such magnitude that it tends to destroy the sanctorum of stability and sanity.

Yes, the question even reframed, caught me off-guard and kept me thinking. Of all the seemingly meaningless conversations she had till date, this one has hit the right but unwanted note.

A Reception Day [Part 2]

MARRIAGE DAY

That Morning

It was a beautiful January morning.

The sun kissing the bed sheet and the pillow; hitting me and glowing up my face; and it feels just so nice. That’s what I love in the winter mornings. I end up cosying in my bed ever more than usual.

People say that dark, cold mornings can make getting out of bed a harder task than it already is. That, staying snuggled under a warm duvet is a much more inviting prospect when we’ve got to get up for work. It is the same in a sun kissed winter morning as well. At least to me it is!

And yes, unfortunately, hibernating for winter is not an option; I have to get out of bed, and I am excited for today like ever before.

Well, cause it’s January the 17^th. It is the career anniversary day!

And yes, my friend is getting married on this day as well.

I think that it is better for him to get married today on this date than any other date, because he might just not forget his anniversary, like ever; much opposed to the TV shows, where, it is the guy who always forgets this day or the first time the couple met. They cook up some weird scenarios to let us down. Would it be different this time?

Or perhaps, the TV programmes has changed their agenda over time and they might even have decided to empower men on remembering the dates important to their better half’s. I really have no idea!

As for me, I have a day that I am used to celebrate alone for some time now. Not that I have abandoned everyone but it is one of those days, when I like to spend some time alone, embracing the solitude, the same way I did for other days like my Birthday, Christmas, New Years Eve, the New Year as well and once a month, if there is no excuse. You get the point!

“How many people did you meet?” 

It is the question that I get asked in every session I have with Doctor Powell. Fortunately for me, the sessions have been reduced from once in every two weeks, to once a month and now it is once in every six weeks. It sometimes used to get annoying though, but slowly Doctor Powell has become a friend and now I like to hang out with this guy. 

Maybe it was the friend in him that wanted me to go out and mingle with people more or it might be part of the standard exercise, but nevertheless all’s good if it ends well, isn’t it?

Strangely enough, Doctor Peterson Powell, in short Pete (as he likes me to call him by this name), now knows more secrets of mine than my best friend does. Okay, perhaps two or three more than my bestie; and that too because we don’t get to talk or meet like the way we did before, ever since he moved out to a different state to pursue a new opportunity. Coincidently, his girlfriend works in the same state as well. I mean, good for him, and perhaps he will also get hitched soon; his recent behaviour indicates as such, and then I will truly become alone!

Pete filled into that void of uncertainty; he just might be that different friend I need who does not asks:

“Why don’t you get yourself a girl?” or

“Why don’t you date someone?” or even worse,

“When are you settling in and having a family of your own?”

Do I have it in me to do it…again? 

Perhaps Pete understood that or did not ask it yet. He might be treading carefully due to the arrangement that I have with him, could be in the back of his head every time, or it might be nothing. I think a lot, I have to sometimes. Anyway, it is good this way. I have been content and living quite well lately.

              “Shall we hang out today?” is what Peter enquires with me in the call while I was having my morning coffee, looking through my emails and planning my day.

“Sorry Pete, but not today. I am travelling and would only return next week. Until later?” I replied.

              “That’s sad! Hiking in winter? I hate hiking anyways. I like the slumber though” proclaims Pete hysterically.

"Ha ha…no, not quite yet. I am travelling home to attend a friend’s marriage reception. In fact, he is getting married today which I won’t be able to join unfortunately” I clarified.

              “Oh, okay(pause), okay. Well, you have fun alright!”

“Sure thing”

After some pause, he replied again “do you need me to reschedule the session scheduled for next week to a later date?”

“That won’t be necessary, but I will let you know” I replied.

             “Okay sure. Let me know anyway. Have fun, bye!” Pete said as he disconnected the call.

I placed the phone back on my desk as I looked at my computer screen; opened the airline page and entered by PNR number to enquire about the flight tonight.

Flight time: 11.45pm

Status: On time

I texted my friend: 
“Best Wishes on your marriage buddy and happy career anniversary!”

I presumed that he would be too busy in the marriage activities. There might be all sorts of activities he would be engrossed in, I don’t know all the details that might give him under undue stress in the last minute. It is his ultimately his marriage and everything must be perfect. And hence, I did not want to call him and add to his stress.

He replied to my text swiftly by saying: “Thanks a lot buddy. See you on Sunday”

I should have called him maybe. But while replying, did he miss the part of the career anniversary?

Thinking about it, for him it really does not matter what day it is though. It really should not, as it is his marriage day, and that is what should he be concerned about anyway.

Perhaps the prick within friends or in a group is in fact you!

Yes, you got that correct. That’s me. I sometimes become the same person, but I do not want to be guy anymore (if I am already) or it is possible that my friends may not even see me like that anyway.

I really want to be a friend who is very reliable; with whom you feel that if in your bad times, no one stands besides you; he will. I certainly am that guy or yes, I can be that guy if I don’t seem or behave like one. Maybe I don’t try hard enough or give an effort to become one.

Told you, I think a lot sometimes. I have to!

A Reception Day [Part 1]

Every story has a beginning. The place where it all started.

For 

"The  beginning is the most important part of the work"

-Plato

However

"Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end"

-Seneca

Prelude

“I am getting married”

There. Let it sink in.

Woah, hold your horses already. It is not me!

That came from an old friend of mine, who just announced it when I was coming back home from a busy day.

Picture Courtesy: katcrunch