Inseparable Me: A Passenger of Time

Amidst the hot and humid afternoons, the lunch was still a To-do Task on a festive day. Half of the neighbourhood was almost asleep after a mouthful gourmet and I was busy thinking what to cook. I scanned the entire kitchen and apart from noodles, there was nothing interesting I could have made. So, I got Dal Khichdi from a restobar nearby that looked dreadfully empty. When I reached home, I had a strange visitor who also happened to be my friend.

“Weren’t you supposed to be at your place?” I asked with a reluctantly unwelcoming tone.

He didn’t say anything, but he snatched the parcel from my hands and started distributing the food.

“Hey!” I yelled while he continued to divide the food into three plates.

“Is there anyone else coming?” I asked with a furious voice.

Ravi entered the room with another bag of parcel and it was another batch of food. I was hungry like a dog anyway and we all started gobbling. I went into the kitchen to get a water bottle, but instead I found a bottle of scotch. Looking at the label, I suspected it to be a Speyside 1965. I filled a peg for Ravi and offered it to him. He silently raised a toast to me while he was still chewing the food and making those awful sounds. I went back to the scotch and took a sip from the bottle itself.

Fuck! This tastes like grapes dipped in honey. I was stupefied by its divine taste.

Speaking of divine - Shit! Today is an auspicious day. I wasn’t supposed to drink.

I was swearing more than the judges in the Roadies audition.

Screw this! I already took a sip. I can’t put it back.

I realised what I’d done and finished my lunch anyway.

The moment I stepped out of my house, I realised I was in Agra. I was attending a cousin’s wedding and she was sitting beside me on the stairs while I was taking pictures of Taj Mahal. I was in a very good Instagramming mood, but my mother too came in and turned the entire Instagram session into a “Wedding Album” database.

I went out by evening to get some fresh air and to my surprise; I was being chased by some goons. I didn’t know at all who the fuck they were. It looked as if I’d raped their sisters or mothers and they were after my life to seek vengeance of a kind. I too wanted answers, so I waited. I waited for them to approach me and ask them what they actually wanted from me. When they saw me standing still, they slowed down. One guy was approaching with heavy footsteps gradually nearing me. His hands were holding an anvil that approximately weighed a ton. He threw the fucking thing onto me and I somehow dodged it. I found a full-metal sledge hammer and I lifted it with all my strength. I too swung it and knocked his head off. I ran from the scene into some school that looked very familiar.

Guess what? It was my school where I was first bullied by some fat douchebags. I actually saw myself being chased by them and the Younger Me ran up the stairs, bumped into the Present Me. It was ME, who saved ME from the past and I kept wondering why I always get such dreams where I am being chased by some lunatics. I wanted to run away from all this and I went to the bus station. I was peacefully having Vada Pav and guess, who did I bump into now? It was my crush! The moment she looked at me, she knew I would smile at her and walk away, as always. But, this time, I was running away anyway! So I thought, why not run away in some fucking style? I smiled at her – true, but then, I approached her, I hugged her tightly and said, “You will miss this moment for the rest of your life!” I kissed her and disappeared into the crowd. She stood there flabbergasted in her pink and white floral kurta, looking ravishingly blank; an expression so rare and so gorgeous, I could never forget the sight of it even after the end of my afterlife.

When I reached home, the pendals were all down and there were no people. There was no music, no fireworks and the silence was chilling. The workers were taking off the bamboo poles from the place and my uncle was standing like a statue. I began yelling at him asking for an explanation. He was numb; physically, mentally and emotionally. I could feel his pain and I held on to that final bamboo pole which the workers were trying to dislodge. I kept shouting – “I want answers” but nobody uttered a word. The lights in the entire premises were turned off, and I was alone biting the dust as I lied on the ground, weeping in despair. I could hear the music in my head but I failed to make the world listen to it.

Was it a coincidence or déjà vu? Was it meant to be this way or was it a stroke of luck? Did I mess with the imaginary time machine or did it happen all by itself? I have no clue. Well, such was a siesta dream after a long-fucking-time.