Dreaming Under The Starlit Sky!

“Dare to live the life you have dreamed for yourself. Go forward and make your dreams come true.” 

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

It has been a long day. I had a tough time explaining the cab driver the route to my office.

My morning coffee wasn't strong enough. My evening coffee wasn't even warm.

My feet ache. The high heels have paid their due. The radio played the music I hate. And my phone stopped working for an hour. 

It is a Monday. It has to be dreadful living up to its name, I reckon.

Just when I assumed that, things changed. 

I was stuck in traffic listening to a song by Maroon 5. As I was slightly obsessing over Adam Levine's voice, I look outside the window to see a world brimming with different people.

Bantering couples, children going home from tuition, teenagers on their way home from college, a bunch of friends laughing wildly over coffee, women looking at showrooms in awe, a child dressed in bright yellow with an ice-cream in her hand and glee on her face.

What would their stories be, I wondered.

I go a little further to see a different set of people. The working class--men driving through a terrible traffic jam, women waiting to board a cab, people walking to their closest destination with a laptop bag, and some with a bag full of groceries.

But you know what was the common thing? It was the fatigue that was written all over their faces. 

What do we work for?

Is it for the corner office? It is for the even cushy corner office? Is it for that much coveted lifestyle that our friends take pride in? Is it for fulfilling the dreams of our parents? Is it for paying our bills? Is it for the ailing children at home? Is it for creating a name in the society? I don't know. There could be a lot of things.

No matter what we do and what we say, I believe that we all work towards that one dream that has been giving us nightmares since childhood. A dream that has been simply pushing us to make our lives beautiful. I mean, it is just a small dream that keeps us awake in the night. Of course, it is a tiny dream that influences everything we say, and every step we take.

And sometimes, it is just a vague dream that makes us let go of our relationships, tampering them, and ends up being a sour moment between our parents as well; a trivial dream that never leaves our mind though we hide it under the fibers of our brain hoping it would wean away. Someday.

But guess what? That dream is here to stay!

And if you have no clue on what your dream is, keep exploring and experimenting with a lot of things. You will get there. 

Because we all deserve that lovely story that we can tell our grandchildren under a starlit sky.

Love?

Rumpled sheets. Ink stains. Cigarette butts. Empty coffee cups. 

Void.

The memories of the last night were still fresh in his mind. He was lost in a strange euphoria imagining he found someone who'd share his morning coffee. He turned towards his left, to find her toss and turn in her sleep.

She smelled of love. 

He sighed, and pulled out a notepad from his bag.

“I want to put my story beside yours,” he left a note on her bedside table and walked out with a sense of obscurity.

In Due Course!

“Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after.” 

― Anne Morrow Lindbergh

They bonded over coffee and peanut butter smoothies, under the starlit nights, and over several texts and calls. They talked and laughed over copious amounts of coffee; he deciphered her silence like he knew the back of her hand. They both had interesting minds, and they spoke those minds to each other.

Even without any hint of pretence or trying to appear likable, they seemed to get along well. She took him to the places he has never been before; he told her the things she had never heard before. She always had a song playing in her hand for any situation; he had a logical statement for any situation.

Sometimes, she did not talk much; sometimes, he did not listen much. 

If he made an effort, it was misunderstood.

If she made an effort, it went unnoticed.
And if words were her forte, indifference was his.

The conversations were stimulating as ever, albeit, they dropped over time. 

"This won't work, you know?"

"Yes!"

They laughed over it, and pushed it aside like it never happened. Things changed, eventually. The bond faded, in due course.

Sooner or later, this was meant to happen, she said to herself.
It was all a fallacy, he said to himself.

The isolated coffee shop embraced her solitude, again.
Ironically, seclusion was just his wilderness.

When all was said and done, they moved on with their lives.

Things ended, even before they began.