City central clock stroke 10 AM. In the nearby alley there was the city's oldest business center. Modern Skyscrapers surrounded it. It was an 8 storied building. The second floor was owned by Pinnacle computers, the top software solution provider in the world. It had suffered hugely due to recession. There was silence inside. A man who was in his late 20's was sitting on his chair with hands on his head leaning to his desk inside his cabin. His eyes were sore. His face was down. Company had released a list of the employees whose job was cut off. His name was there. But he was not sorry or angry. In front of him was his mobile calling a particular number. He had been trying to call this number several times overnight. Each time same reply came.
"The Number you are trying is switched off. Please try later."
He had a small quarrel with his girlfriend. He wanted to quit this job. He wanted to be a writer. He had dreamt about a lot of stories and wanted to share them. He wanted to live in his stories. It was not true that she did not love her but her parents wanted her to marry a guy who could provide her a lavish life. She was too afraid to go against the wish of her parents. She wanted him to stick to the job. He was fed up of his monotonous office life. He wanted to go far away from tyranny of his boastful boss. He wanted freedom. He stood up and tried the number again. Same reply irritated him. His heart was pounding like he had been struck by a thunderstorm. He defenestrated his mobile. He was not angry on her. He was getting impatient. It was impossible for him to bear the reply once again. He loosened his tie, removed his jacket.He moved towards the elevator.
"Trrring."
The elevator stopped. He moved inside the elevator. Instead of pressing button to go downstairs he pressed to the top floor. What was going on in his mind? He was lost in his emotions. He was cold. He wanted to enjoy the freedom from this monotonous job meant for morons. At the same time he was trembling from the thoughts of how could he live without his girlfriend. He had dreamt to go to all beautiful places with her and to fulfill all the wishes she had. He had never felt so much lonely. She was always there to share his fears. He had never thought of living without her. He wanted to run to her, and tell her how much he loved her and that he could still earn to make her happy. He knew she had gone too far to ever return.
"Trrring".
The elevator stopped at the 3rd floor. A rich plump man in his late 40's with a lady in early twenties entered the lift. The man was bald and clumsy but to hide his ugliness was wearing branded hat and tailored suit. His face was full of cuts showing his early hard days. He had taken all the bad paths to be a big sheikh of the society. He started his career as a small salesman but with his acumen and cunningness he slowly became a big property dealer. Though he was wearing branded clothes but he had no sense of clothes as he was wearing bright green colored coat with a white trouser. His hat was larger than his head. His white Ray Glass was too bad for his overall look. His achievements had made him haughty. He cared for nothing. He had every possible material to please him. The lift was moving upward. The lady with him was wearing bright red colored miniskirt with a Gucci glass. She had a Prada ladies' bag in one hand and a cigarette in the other. She was beautiful and was a model for a well-known agency. She was with this man as he had all the money which she needed to enjoy her life to the fullest. The age difference was not bothering her as long as he had the money. She entered the elevator puffing the smoke. The elevator was filled with her sweet fragrance, but as the smoke filled the elevator it smelled foul.
Nothing was diverting the young man's mind. He was lost in his thoughts. He was perplexed. He was fired from his job, as he had wished but the agony of losing her girlfriend was hurting him. He did not know how to react. Watching the senseless behavior of the young man the lady felt awkward. She had a knack of getting flirty looks from other men, which she enjoyed. This boosted her ego. She had always thought that with her beauty she could fool any man. This young man was ignoring her which she did not like. She loosened her hand and the bag fell on the foot the young man.
"Sorry".
She bent down to take the bag. She wanted to have straight look in young man's eyes which was always downward. The young man was unmoved. The lady was irritated. A beauty was standing right beside him and he was not glaring at her. She slightly pushed the bald man to look at the young man. Through her eye contact she told him.
"Something is wrong with this man. Look how stressed he looks."
He reminded him of his old days when her wife had left her as he had failed to fulfill her needs. The bald man sighed and took out his costly cigarette case and pushed a cigarette towards the young man. The young man was unmoved. He put the case back in his coat's pocket and tried to ignore him.
"Trrring"
The lift stopped on the 6th floor. A Buddhist monk entered the lift. He was sixty years old but with his austerity he looked as if he was thirty. His orange garment was clean and neatly ironed. He had no lust for this materialistic world. He was a preacher of nirvana. He preached that it was human ignorance to run towards materialistic world. One should maintain stern discipline and through rigorous austerity he could achieve the ultimate goal of human life - to get Nirvana. He stood in front of the young man. He ignored the bald man and the brazen lady. The gloomy young man reminded him of his youth when he was running for the materialistic world. He was running to and fro to achieve everything by hook or by crook. One day while running away from police, he met his Guru.
"What are you doing?"
"Why are you doing these crimes?"
"God is analyzing your deeds every moment."
"Some where you have to stop and pay for what you have done."
He left everything and since then he had maintained a strict life and tried to inculcate what his Guru had taught him.
He felt pity on the young man and moved towards him. He put his hand on his shoulder and tried to soothe him. Still the young man was numb. He was lost somewhere in his thoughts. The monk moved back to his place. His cold and gentle touch had failed to perturb him.
"Trrring".
The lift stopped on the 8th floor. The young man left the elevator. It was the roof top of the building. The zephyr was blowing. It could hardly soothe the young man. He had made his life so tough. He was blaming no one. He was squeezed by the expectations of others. His whole life he had spent fulfilling the expectations of others. In his childhood his parents had expected him to be the class topper. If he failed to secure a good rank, his parents took it as their failure and thus it pressurized him. His teachers wanted him to complete certain projects. He was good in sports and his friends wanted his help in their study. He was like a machine always obeying them and doing his job sincerely. On one side his family wanted him to do well in job and keep up the family name, but on the other hand he could not dare to challenge his boss about his annoying behavior towards him.
He was standing on the hand rail on the side of the roof. He took out his tie and threw it over the top. The cool zephyr slowed down the pace of its falling. In his childhood he had always feared of death. He had never understood why one lived if someday he had to die. Being acrophobic should have enhanced his fear. Smothering and suffering had made him numb. Desperate to end his existence he was standing there. It was the time to leave all agony behind and to have a new beginning. As he gathered all his strength to leap, he heard sounds and as he was gaining momentum, the intensity became louder. Who cared if he was dead? He stopped for a moment and looked back. There it was - fascinating sight in front of his eyes. An eagle was feeding its sibling. As the eagle went closer to one sibling, other sibling would cry louder. The bird was confused. It ultimately fed the one crying the loudest. With sudden rush of blood he became inquisitive.
"Why was the bird feeding her siblings? They were not going to care for it when they grew up."
He came down and watched the kite feeding its siblings. He smiled. Soon his smile turned into laughter. Suddenly the subtle world had changed for him. What was he going to do? He was embarrassed with his childish behavior. He had become like his family and society who were always seeking for results. If the kite had looked for results it would have never fed its siblings. The bird was happy as its gene was being passed along with them. It was its nature. It did not follow what others told. So what if his beloved had left him? May be she wasn't the one. He had to resume his faith in his capabilities. This wasn't the end of the world. He promised himself that he would believe in himself. He would start his life afresh as if this was a new day. He would do as his heart suggested and enjoy every moment of it.
He would fill his life with happiness. He would never expect for results. It was the time he had to get ready. It was the time he needed to start living his life HIS way and fulfill all his small dreams.
-edited by Nishant Kumar
